Question: What capacity is needed for staff positions and costs to update the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan?

Response: 

Updating the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan would require significant resources, including consultant costs and commitment of staff time. Based on a review of recent Comprehensive Plan updates in comparable jurisdictions (see Table 1 below), a full update typically: 

• Takes approximately 2–4 years to complete;
• Requires approximately $2.0 million in consultant funding; and
• Requires internal staff resources across multiple departments, including planning transportation, housing, and economic development.

In addition to the direct and indirect costs of undertaking these comprehensive updates, communities often pause other Planning efforts while comprehensive updates are underway. The next two-year work plan is scheduled for Council consideration in early 2027. That update will provide a venue to scope and schedule this effort in consideration of other priority efforts, such as follow ups to the Duke Street Land Use Plan, strategic zoning ordinance modernization, and other Council objectives. 

Alexandria’s Master Plan is composed of Small Area Plans and Citywide Topical Chapters (see Table 2 in the Appendix). Fifteen of the chapters were adopted in 1992. Eleven of the chapters have been adopted in the last 10 years, including 7 small area plans and 4 topical chapters. The sections of the Master Plan that would most benefit from a comprehensive update include: 

• An overall city map that shows how the small area plans connect;
• The older sections of the Citywide chapters, particularly Goals and Objectives, Demographics and Statistics, Land Use, and Urban Design; and
• Continuing our ongoing efforts to revise the zoning system to facilitate quicker review of development projects.

Table 1.

APPENDIX

Table 2.

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