On Wednesday, the Salem City Council and the city’s planning commission will meet to discuss the city’s Comprehensive Plan 2045, “Back to Salem’s Future.” The presentation will be given by Salem staff and Glenn Walters, the city’s consultant from TownStudio.
“Our vision is to preserve the elements of our history that have proven successful, while seamlessly integrating forward-thinking strategies to embrace a dynamic and promising future,” the city’s website states.
The development of the plan involved advisory committee meetings, community workshops, stakeholder engagement sessions, departmental reviews, open houses and input from Virginia Tech graduate students.
The draft plan, posted on Salem’s website, asks three “key questions”:
- How can we diversify our housing, population and business offerings while retaining the sense of place and character that we cherish?
- How can we prepare areas of the city for new and exciting redevelopments while supporting the businesses and residents that are already there?
- What tools do we need to create to fit new development into existing patterns, ensure high quality and ensure we maintain our aesthetics?
The summary of recommendations in the document involved expanding mixed-use development, creating walkable neighborhoods, expanding the Roanoke River Greenways and strengthening regional collaboration, among other goals.
“The key to the future is to reposition underperforming parts of Salem with plans that encourage new and unique districts supportive of varied employment and housing opportunities,” the plan states.
The joint meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Community Room of the Salem Civic Center at 1001 Roanoke Blvd., Salem. The agenda for the meeting can be found here.
