HENRY COUNTY, Va. – Henry County residents are getting a say in planning for the future as leaders finalize the county’s first comprehensive plan in 30 years.
The Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission met jointly Monday to review a final draft of the plan before it is posted for the public to read.
“Obviously, the world has changed a lot since 1995,” said Brandon Martin, public information officer for Henry County. “So, in terms of addressing some of the emerging industries and how our economy has changed over that time, we need really to dig into the comprehensive plan to see how we can move forward based on where we’ve been over the last 20 years.”
County leaders have been working for the past year and a half to update the 1995 plan with help from the public along the way. The input helped identify key priorities.
“We need to continue to build out infrastructure in the county, continue to build out water and sewer infrastructure,” said Micah Montgomery, planner and community development specialist for Henry County. “We’ve made a lot of strides in economic development. We need to reinforce the support on historic small towns such as Fieldale, Bassett, Ridgeway … [also] expanding housing, increasing housing supply, housing diversity, our housing stock.”
Portions of the plan are already available for public review ahead of an open house at the Henry County Administration Building on Jan. 27.