What's New

Transportation Planner

The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission has an employment opportunity for a Transportation Planner:  Professional member of a regional planning staff.  Responsibilities are varied and include writing and administering grants, developing transportation plans and preparing reports, disseminating information, and assisting member jurisdictions with local contract services.  Effective knowledge of traffic calming, bicycle and pedestrian planning, GIS, and transportation modeling techniques desirable.  Providing staff support to advisory boards, councils, and committees.  Duties also include making presentations to elected officials, boards, committees, and outside organizations.  Applicants must possess the ability to carry out planning projects independently and to work well with local and state staff and the general public. Coordinates work with other agencies especially VDOT and DRPT. Strong oral and written communication skills and proficiency with Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.  Requires a master’s degree in planning or related field or equivalent combination of education and work experience. Local and/or regional planning experience a plus.  Salary:  Depending on qualifications.    To apply, send a resume to Bonnie S. Riedesel., Executive Director, Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission, 112 MacTanly Place, Staunton, Virginia 24401.  Please submit your resume by February 17, 2012.     An Equal Opportunity Employer

Fields of Gold Progress Report

The Fields of Gold Initiative is the Shenandoah Valley’s coordinated effort to promote the Valley as an agritourism destination.  It combines two of the Region’s greatest assets, agriculture and tourism.  To view a progress report on the recent activities of this initiative, please click here.

VAPDC Winter Conference ~ February 9-10, 2012  

The Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions (VAPDC) Winter Conference will be held on February 9-10, 2012 at the Richmond Marriott. VAPDC is proud to partner once again with VML and VACo to be part of VML-VACo Legislative Day on February 9. The VAPDC Winter Conference will kick off Thursday evening with dinner at Center Stage in downtown Richmond. VAPDC is pleased to have Bob Sledd, Senior Economic Advisor to the Governor and Mary Rae Carter, Deputy Secretary for Rural Economic Development participate in the evening and offer their perspectives on the Commonwealth's economic development efforts.  For additional information, please visit website www.vapdc.org.   

Vtrans 2035 Public Input Requested

The Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan known as VTrans2035 is undergoing an update.  Information about the VTrans update is available on the website www.vtrans.org.  Public input and comments are being requested and can be submitted on the website at the following web address:  http://www.vtrans.org/contact_us.asp.  Materials regarding initial input needed on the Plan are posted on the web now, and  will continue to be updated throughout the project. 

Buena Vista Comprehensive Plan

The Buena Vista City Council and the Buena Vista Planning Commission will hold a joint public hearing regarding the adoption of a revised Comprehensive Plan for the City of Buena Vista, Virginia, on January 19, 2012. Any questions regarding this matter should be directed to the City of Buena Vista Office of Planning and Zoning at (540) 261-8607.  Please click here to review the Comprehensive Plan.

2012 Census Boundary Annexation Survey (BAS) Workshop to be held in the Shenandoah Valley

In preparation for the upcoming 2012 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS), on February 8th, 2012 the CSPDC is hosting a workshop to be conducted by the Census Bureau.  The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) annually to collect legal boundary information, government status, and names for incorporated places, minor civil divisions (MCD), counties, states, and American Indian areas.  The Census Bureau uses the boundary information collected in the BAS to tabulate population data for the decennial and economic censuses as well as annual estimates and surveys such as the Population Estimates Program and the American Community Survey.  The workshop will provide an overview of the 2012 BAS, an explanation of geographic concepts and boundaries used by the Census Bureau, and demonstrations for creating a digital and paper response for completing the BAS. You are encouraged to bring your BAS materials to the workshop since there will be an opportunity for you to ask Census staff any questions you may have about your boundary information.  All local and regional GIS personnel, and/or those responsible for maintaining accurate legal boundaries are encourage to register and attend.  To view the Save the Date Announcement, register, and find out more information about this event, CLICK HERE.

2011 Program Highlights

The CSPDC is instrumental in leveraging and bringing in thousands of dollars of new investments to the Region.  We are involved in an array of programs and projects including economic development, community development, transportation and land use planning, energy efficiency and environmental programming.  To read more about the 2011 Program Highlights, please click here.

Rural Transportation Plan Published

The Central Shenandoah Regional Rural Long Range Transportation Plan was developed as part of the planning district's rural transportation program funded by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). A Technical Advisory Committee representing each of the rural member jurisdictions was established and, over the past 4 1/2 years, has been working with the CSPDC and VDOT's consultants to guide the planning process and provide valuable locality input. The Plan identifies and evaluates the transportation systems in the rural jurisdictions of the CSPDC region and recommends a range of transportation improvements that best satisfy existing and future transportation needs of each locality. To view the entire Plan, click here.

VDOT's 2011 State Bicycle Policy Plan

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) recently completed the 2011 State Bicycle Policy Plan identifying the agency's vision and goals for the future of bicycling in the Commonwealth.  The Plan ensures that bicycling remains an integral component of Virginia's multimodal transportation system. For more information on the Plan, please visit the VDOT website.  2011 State Bicycle Policy Plan

Fields of Gold Agritourism Survey

Farmers and producers are finding new ways to generate income through agritourism. Fields of Gold, the Region's agritourism program, is inventorying the agricultural assets of the area. By completing this survey, Fields of Gold will promote your farm or farm-related activities in the Shenandoah Valley.

Farm operations of all sizes, farmers’ markets, restaurants and retailers featuring local products or other agri-related businesses are welcome to fill out this short survey which can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Fields_of_Gold.  To learn more about Fields of Gold, please contact Monica Plecker at Monica@cspdc.org

Fall 2011 Quarterly Planner Newsletter

The Fall 2011 Quarterly Planner Newsletter of the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission has been published. To review a copy, please click here.