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Brandermill plan will get update(Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 7--As Chesterfield County looks to change its plan for the future, the Brandermill community is looking to redefine itself. On Tuesday, the Brandermill Community Association board of directors voted to hire a consultant to modernize the 4,000-home, 13,000-resident development's master plan. It will be the first time since the project's approval in 1974 that the master plan, which sets guidelines for the future of the community, has been updated. Andrea Epps, vice president of the Brandermill board, is leading the effort, and the board has selected Richmond-based Designforum, a firm of land planners, urban designers and landscape architects. "We were named best planned community in America in 1977 by Better Homes and Gardens magazine because of the carefully crafted master plan," Epps said. "It's now time to redefine that vision and embark on the journey that will carry us through the next 30 years." The idea is to produce a more contemporary vision for the 2,800-acre mixed-use development ahead of the county's overhaul of its comprehensive plan, which is slated to begin early next year. The updated plan will establish new guidelines for countywide growth, as opposed to how the current plan addresses 21 individual areas of Chesterfield. Epps said Brandermill's plan would cover everything from landscaping, transportation and open space to commercial development and public facilities. She said the goal is to have the plan incorporated into the county's new guidelines. Several rounds of community meetings will be held to gather feedback, Epps said. Chesterfield's planning department and revitalization office support the update, saying it will help the community age gracefully and in line with the county's vision. "What Brandermill needs really is somebody to go through, look at the existing land-use patterns -- because it's a mixed-use project -- and make sure that they still make sense," Chesterfield Planning Director Kirk Turner said. From 2000 to 2007, Chesterfield's housing assessments averaged an annual increase of about 14 percent. Brandermill averaged an annual increase of about 9 percent, the lowest of all major communities in the county, according to a report by the Chesterfield County planning department. "I think what you see is that Brandermill, given its age, is not increasing in value as rapidly as some other communities in the county, and I would expect them, as a board, to be concerned about that issue," Turner said. Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or [email protected]. To see more of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesdispatch.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |