By: Daniel Evans — Freelance Writer

The Suffolk City Council voted at its Nov. 20 meeting to again table a vote on the 2045 Comprehensive Plan, the latest delay in a project that first began nearly three years ago.

The council and Mayor Michael Duman voted 5-3 to table the vote until Dec. 18. The vote was to update the city’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan, a process that has been prolonged due to community fears regarding traffic woes and the loss of agricultural land.

Shelley Butler Barlow made a motion to delay the vote until January, when new Councilwoman Ebony Wright would be in office. However, Councilmember Roger Fawcett followed with a substitute motion with the Dec. 18 date, and that motion passed before Butler Barlow’s could be voted on. Duman, Fawcett, John Rector, Lue Ward, and LeOtis Williams all voted in favor of the December date. 

“I’m not pleased with where we are now simply because it’s been close to three years and this is the discussion we are having,” Duman said, calling it one of the most “frustrating” processes he’d ever been a part of. “… I’m not really sure that there’d be an end to this process. Ever.”

The public hearing began with a presentation from Keith Cannady, Suffolk’s comprehensive planning manager, who went over changes to the plan since the city’s August meeting. The updates included adding 12 new visionary projects and maps and descriptions to the transportation portion of the plan. The city had also added additional language recommended by the Virginia Department of Transportation recognizing collaboration between the city of Suffolk, VDOT, and the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization. 

“The draft 2045 Comprehensive Plan protects the interests of developers and real estate agents, but it does not represent the people of Suffolk,” said resident Erin Clemow, who spoke during the public hearing. “It represents the same vision that has resulted in people speaking out at many city council meetings the last few years. This is not just a vocal minority.”

Clemow asked everyone in the audience in favor of tabling the vote until January, when the new council is seated, to stand. Much of the audience in a crowded council chambers stood in support.

Later in the meeting, after the vote had already been held, Councilmember Leroy Bennett argued that pushing the vote to January made the most sense. 

“We should’ve given that other two weeks,” Bennett said. “What difference would it have made if we had given two more weeks to have the final vote?”

Several council members said the plan is reviewed every five years and will never be a perfect document. Butler Barlow used an analogy related to running from her high school days. She remembered falling over the hurdles and her coach telling her she was running faster than she could process.

“We know the growth is coming. We know the growth is important,” Butler Barlow said. “We know that growth is necessary for the success of the city, for the financial success, for the enjoyment of our citizens, but we have to get a handle on it because I think we’re growing faster than we know how to grow.”

Councilmember Timothy Johnson said he can’t vote on the plan given its current framework but could do so if changes are made.

“Overall, it is a good plan. A lot of mistakes, but a good plan,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of things that need to be looked at, a lot of things that need to be improved upon … Agriculture-wise, we can do better. But we’re trying to do better, and that’s what I hope the farm community knows. We are trying to do better.” 

Johnson also said there needs to be more growth along Route 58, noting that it’s a place where development could take place without impacting agricultural land. He also wants to reduce some of the development on U.S. 460. He said that he could probably support the plan if those changes were made. 

Referencing a comment during the process saying that the “farmland is gone,” Rector noted that there are more than 42,000 acres of farmland in Suffolk.

“This is equivalent to the entire land mass of the city of Norfolk. It’s more than the entire land mass of the city of Hampton, the city of Newport News and over twice the size of Portsmouth.”

The entire plan can be read at https://suffolk2045.org/.