Supervisors mull future growth in Fishersville

FISHERSVILLE — A draft plan offering a blueprint for Fishersville’s development over the next 20 years encourages a mixture of residential and retail development and expanding the area’s health-care strengths, such as Augusta Medical Center.
There is also mention of finding land for a 50-acre community park and other neighborhood parks.
Augusta County Supervisors on Monday got a glimpse of the small area plan for Fishersville.
The community is expected to add more than 3,000 residents and have more than 10,000 people living in its nearly 17- square-mile area by 2028.
The plan’s final version will be put together next month and public hearings will be held before supervisors and the county’s planning commission in August.
County Planner Jeremy Sharp said the small area plan does not override the county’s comprehensive plan, but is intended to complement it.
As one of Augusta County’s urban service areas under the comprehensive plan, Fishersville is one community targeted for future growth.
An advisory committee held meetings last fall concerning Fishersville, and county residents weighed in with their comments at two subsequent meetings.
Sharp said the mixed-use development in Fishersville could resemble what is happening at Windward Pointe just off U.S. 250.
Homes are being built close to a new Food Lion and other shops, offering residents shopping within walking distance of their homes.
Another type of mixed-use development would include more multi-family and townhouse developments.
Sharp said Fishersville’s future economy should include building on the health services offered by AMC and Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, and expanding the area’s office and retail offerings.
As for transportation, the plan recommends improving existing roads and adding new roads to connect current and future land uses.
While supervisors seemed pleased with the plan, one said the increased cost of water and sewer and other services makes it more difficult to attract residents to the county’s urban areas.
Pastures Supervisor Tracy Pyles said the approximate 10-percent increase in annual water and sewer rates — intended to help reduce pollutants flowing to the Chesapeake Bay — are “making it attractive to go to the country.”
Wayne District Supervisor Wendell Coleman, who represents the Fishersville area, praised Sharp and other county staff for their work on the plan.