If goals envisioned by the James City County Planning Commission Policy Committee come to fruition, Hampton Roads would be rebranded by 2035 with a new identity recognizable nationwide that fuses items like historical sites, natural resources and a strong school system.
The goals were brainstormed during a discussion by the commissioners at a meeting Thursday. The work is part of a bid to create a community-driven strategic plan for all of Hampton Roads. Currently, the architects of the plan are gathering feedback from the 17 localities that comprise the area to find common goals.
During a discussion of rebranding the region, Richmond’s “RVA” and the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill “Research Triangle” were offered as examples of successful regional identities. The Charlottesville area was also offered as an example of a place that had cobbled its disparate resources like wineries and a strong educational system into a regional draw.
“We are known as a retirement community,” Commissioner Robin Bledsoe said. “Somehow locally we have to get around that notion.”
Bledsoe said Hampton Roads, and James City County in particular, have the advantage of a good location. The area is situated in a centralized location, between oceans, mountains and the offerings of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Commissioner Rich Krapf said part of the problem is there is a perception the crime rate in Hampton Roads is high. He also said that outside of a few areas, like Ghent in Norfolk, the area does not stand out as a hub for young people. Another issue making it difficult to link distant localities in Hampton Roads is its eponymous waterways.
“You’ve got a huge body of water separating [the region],” he said. “It’s a difficult challenge to come up with a regional identity.”
Linking the area would mean crafting a common identity for areas from the Historic Triangle to Hampton to Southampton County to Virginia Beach and everything between. That identity could then be used to advertise the region and for economic development like luring businesses.
The policy committee also expressed a need for the region’s transportation network to better connect the localities, a sentiment expressed by the York County Planning Commission when it brainstormed goals Wednesday.
Bledsoe said some kind of rail system is necessary for the region to be competitive.
“I really believe had we [built a rail system] 20 years ago, we’d be a completely different place,” she said.
Krapf said a continued focus on widening roadways could compromise the region’s character, erasing features like tree-lined streets and smaller roads in favor of wider avenues and interstates needed to move larger volumes of people.
Hampton Roads is served by bus authorities like the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority and Hampton Roads Transit, and there are rail options on the Southside, but otherwise the area is largely dependent on the automobile to move its citizens.
Krapf said a large change like reforming the transportation system to be more inclusive of mass transit options is not only a change in infrastructure but also one of culture. Some people simply prefer the convenience of getting in a car and driving directly to a destination.
Other goals from the commissioners included diversifying the economy and fielding a well-educated and competitive workforce.
Bledsoe said the education system should be more focused on producing graduates who are globally competitive. That would mean teaching more specific technical skills that are in demand on the global marketplace.
Commissioner John Wright III said the area is at a disadvantage to Northern Virginia, as that region can afford to better compensate its teachers.
“We should be shooting [for what Northern Virignia does with teacher compensation],” he said.
During their discussion of diversifying the economy, the commissioners suggested getting away from the perception of the area as a military hotbed and instead focus on the strengths of individual localities, like historical resources, agribusiness and other resources.
The suggestions from the commissioners will be taken to the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, a state-mandated regional group tasked with producing the strategic plan. The plan will be called “Envision Hampton Roads.”
HRPDC will take the goals expressed by each of the localities along with several other sets of information to forge “Envision Hampton Roads,” which will serve as a planning guide for the next 30 years. Other feedback going into the document includes the results of surveys, more than 50 listening sessions with groups that include governments and businesses and six focus groups with Hampton Roads residents.
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