Wanted: New perspectives on the fate of a growing community. Strong opinions on development a plus.

That's the call being issued this week by city hall, where officials are reaching out for some public guidance as they ramp up work on the revision of the comprehensive plan.

A blueprint for future growth, the comprehensive plan is a long-term vision that maps out the desired course of each Waynesboro neighborhood.

Several starts and stops taken during this latest reevaluation have stretched the process out three years already. Seeking to refocus attention on the task, the city earlier this year hired an outside planning firm, North Carolina-based LandDesign, to head up the project.

As part of that newly energized approach, officials are also convening a series of public workshops, inviting residents to voice their ideas on the city's future.

The first of those events takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at city hall. Later dates are being considered for late October but have not yet been confirmed.

"The idea here is for people to be able to come through, look at our maps and discuss those things that matter the most to them," said City Planner Jim Shaw, explaining the style of the workshop will encourage one-on-one discussion between residents and staffers.

"Our goal," he added, "is to look at ourselves as a community and say, logically, how much of certain land uses can we support and how do we want to shape those uses."

The inaugural workshop will allow attendees to circulate through several different stations focused on topics such as land use, transportation or environmental impact. At each step, staffers from both the city and LandDesign will be on hand to field questions and comments.

That feedback then will be used to shape a series of suggested changes that also will be presented for public critique before being whittled down to final form and presented to the City Council.

With Waynesboro already in the midst of an aggressive growth spurt, the comprehensive plan update comes at a critical time for the community. To underline its importance, Shaw points out that more than 40 percent of the city is still undeveloped land.

"It's just sitting there, waiting, essentially," he said. "We have to ask ourselves, 'What do we want that to be in the future-' We have to take some initiative."

No deadline has been set for the completion of the new comprehensive plan, although officials hope to plow through the process by the end of winter.

Alicia Petska is a staff writer for The News Virginian in Waynesboro, Va.