The Planning Department enables Waynesboro’s citizens and leaders to make prudent long-term decisions that improve the well-being of the community and realize the City's vision. Planning does this by:

• Leading an ongoing public conversation about the state of the City, its long-term vision, and strategy for achieving it
  • The Planning Department captures this conversation in the City’s core planning documents and revisits these documents whenever they become outdated. These include the Comprehensive Plan, Land Use Plan, Transportation Plan, Bicycle Plan, Greenway Plan, Downtown Revitalization Plan, and various neighborhood and small area plans.

• Advocating for the public interest in all land development and entitlement decisions
  • The Planning Department administers the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances in situations when administrative decisions are required and makes professional recommendations to the City’s elected and appointed leaders on discretionary matters. The Department runs a clear, efficient, and fair review process that protects the public interest without unnecessarily deterring development or hampering the ability of citizens to make use of their property.

• Working with other departments on public infrastructure projects
  • Along with Engineering, Parks and Rec, Economic Development, and other divisions of the City, the Planning Department develops concepts for public projects and strategies for making them happen. This includes applying for state and federal grants, as well as prioritization of City expenditures through the City’s Capital Improvement Plan.

• Representing the City’s interests in state and regional planning processes
  • The Planning Department represents the City of Waynesboro in state and regional planning efforts, including VTrans (Virginia’s state transportation plan), the Staunton Augusta Waynesboro Metropolitan Planning Organization, the BRITE bus advisory committee, the Staunton Augusta Waynesboro Walk/Bike Summit, South River watershed protection groups, and other initiatives as needed.

• Building civic capacity and awareness of planning principles in the City of Waynesboro in order to ensure future leaders are prepared to make decisions that advance the City’s vision
  • The Planning Department stays current on best practices in the planning field and creates opportunities to facilitate discussions that educate citizens, Planning Commissioners, and elected officials to better advance their goals. The Planning Department watches global and regional trends that may affect the City of Waynesboro and seeks to raise public awareness of these issues in time for the City to react to them effectively.