Plan Danville gives residents a place to have impact on future of the city

DANVILLE, Va. (WDBJ) - There is now a space in Danville made specifically for the community for them to voice their opinions and ideas on what they’d like to see for the future of their city.

The community celebrated the opening of Plan Danville Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting.

“Plan Danville is going to be our public outreach piece,” said Renee Burton, Division Director of Planning and Zoning. “This is where we’re looking for individuals to come. We want everyone to come. It’s open for anyone and all to give us your ideas, thoughts, and concerns. We want everyone to be included.”

City leaders review and make changes to the 20-year comprehensive land use plan every five years, but they want help from the community to best tailor it to their needs.

The six Plan Danville ambassadors will cover different regions of the city and communicate their conversations with residents to city leaders – directly impacting the comprehensive plan.

“The people in our community are the context experts,” said Roshay Richardson, Plan Danville Ambassador. “They’re the ones that that live here every single day and know exactly what is going on. They know exactly what they need. It just takes someone to actually listen and do what you say you’re going to do.”

Anyone can walk in to 206 N. Union Street anytime an ambassador is present to voice their opinions or concerns.

The ambassadors will also be out in the community making sure every neighborhood has a voice.

“This is my home. You don’t just abandon your home, you try to make your home feel like home. That’s what why this is really important for me to be able to make sure that everybody feels like this is home, so they don’t feel the need to go off to another city to feel included.”

They plan to be open Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. They will have a QR code on the door that will have the times that they’ll be open.

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