Mathis corridor, parks focus of city comprehensive plan committee

MANASSAS — Manassas has finished the initial stages for its Comprehensive Plan for 2040 and is now headed into technical studies by the Planning Commission’s Comprehensive Plan Committee over the next few months.

Eventually, the plan will go before the City Council for direction and ultimately adoption.

The Comprehensive Plan is “the City’s key policy document for land use, development, preservation, and related economic and social issues,” according to city officials.

Manassas Planning and Zoning administrator Matthew Arcieri said that the committee will “synthesize it over the summer” and that hopefully by the end of the year they can present the final plan to the public.

The results of an annual are weighed heavily in the planning process. The survey highlighted that traffic was a major issue with citizens. Residents also didn’t like the low number of parks and open space and the availability of bike and walking trails.

The survey also noted that affordable housing satisfaction was low.

During a series of meetings over the past year, residents said they wanted improvements to major gateways to the city such as Routes 28 and 234, and improving beautification at those areas. The Comprehensive Plan Committee is also looking closely at improving the Mathis Avenue corridor by considering land use and urban form improvements.

On a high note, a total of 81 percent of city residents who responded rated the city as excellent or a good place to live and only 8% percent gave a rating of below average or poor marks.

The city rated above the U.S. average in 51 of 64 areas and above the regional average in 49 of 64 areas that were compared. The overall appearance of the city is high compared to the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.

During one of the recent public meetings about the comprehensive plan, Pat Thomas, a retired Prince William County Planning and Budget Officer, emphasized that while crafting a Comprehensive Plan, a balance needs to be taken into account. She stressed the balance between growth and charm, quality versus affordability, and reinvestment versus gentrification.

“How do we reinvest and not push people out?” Thomas asked, of redeveloping the Mathis Avenue corridor.

When it comes to the desire for more parks and open space, Manassas Planning Commissioner  Russell Harrison said that city schools control a lot of the open land that should be considered for park space.

Arcieri agreed, saying “we’re not going to build our way of out of the parks deficit without involving the schools.” Thomas also mentioned that the downtown “anchor” of Old Town Manassas is “so strong”- and how can the committee push that charm out to the rest of the city. She asked the Comprehensive Plan Committee to think about towns in the U.S. that do things well and see what the city can model after – and also to focus on the areas of the city that they have been doing right and “build more of that into the plan”.

“You don’t want Manassas to become Virginia Beach,” Thomas said.

The first stages of the Comprehensive Plan were the Citizen Survey and the series of community conversations.

Every two years since 2014, Manassas has conducted a citizen survey, with the most recent in 2018. The survey takes a scientific sample of the city and asks questions about things like housing and safety in the city. The survey, along with Community Conversations, helps guide the city in crafting the Comprehensive Plan.

The Comprehensive Plan Committee will continue to meet through June and take place at various conference rooms at City Hall, the Manassas Museum, and the Public Works Department.