Special Planning Projects

NEW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES FOR REDEVELOPMENT

Prince William County Designated Opportunity Zones

The U.S. Department of Treasury has officially designated 212 Qualified Opportunity Zones in the state of Virginia as part of the Opportunity Zone and Opportunity Fund, a provision for a new revitalization tool by the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The Zones and Funds will allow investors to receive tax benefits on currently unrealized capital gains by investing those gains in qualified low-income census tracts (Opportunity Zones). Six of the census tracts submitted to the program by Prince William County were chosen for this program.

 

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

Economic Development Chapter Update

The Prince William County Planning Office has begun an update to the Economic Development Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. The overall goal of the update is to support and implement the existing economic development strategy through land use and development tools and infrastructure improvements.

 

CULTURAL RESOURCES AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Bristoe Station and the Kettle Run Battlefields Preservation Study

The purpose of this study is to document both the Bristoe Station and the Kettle Run Battlefields and recommend preservation goals and strategies. Prince William County was awarded a grant through the American Battlefield Protection Program, a division of the National Park Service (NPS), to complete this study. Both battlefields are located near the intersection of Bristow Road and the Norfolk Southern Railway tracks.

 

Cockpit Point Battlefield Study

The purpose of this study is to complete baseline documentation of the Cockpit Point Battlefield from a grant awarded through the American Battlefield Protection Program, a division of the National Park Service. The grant will allow further identification and documentation studies of the Cockpit Point Battlefield centered on the Cockpit Point Battery on the Potomac River.

Manassas Battlefields Viewshed Plan

The Board of County Supervisors authorized staff to pursue a grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP). In July of 2006 the ABPP awarded a grant to the County to hire a consultant to complete the study. The grant was conducted in consultation with staff from Manassas National Battlefield Park (MNBP). Opportunities for public input were provided throughout the project. The final report was completed in 2010.

 

The Settlement Recordation Project

The Settlement Recordation Project is intended to record remaining elements of this community and tell its history from immediately after the Civil War to the present day. The project builds on research conducted and recorded in 2018 for The Settlement Oral History Project and includes submitting documentation to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the National Register of Historic Places for inclusion in the programs.

 


STUDIES, GRANTS, AND OTHER PROJECTS

Virginia Walkability Action Institute (VWAI)

The Virginia Walkability Action Institute (VWAI) is a program designed by the Virginia Department of Health and VWAI faculty to support a multi-sector regional team in Prince William County and other localities to develop an action plan to apply effective walking and walkability strategies for the respective communities. Following the identification of an area of study, the Institute through education, training, and collaborative work, supports communities in developing tools to enhance health and wellbeing of their communities.

Safe Routes to School

The Prince William County Department of Transportation (PWCDOT) is developing a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) plan for twelve schools located within the Small Area Plans (SAP) of Gainesville/Route 29, North Woodbridge, and Yorkshire. The project planning effort is being conducted under the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Transportation /Land Use Connections (TLC) grant program. The Planning Office is collaborating on this effort. The objective of the SRTS plan is to identify pedestrian and bicycling gaps within the SAPs, identify priority routes, and develop recommendations for SRTS improvements.
Safe Routes to School is a program that promotes walking and bicycling to school by providing safe and accessible routes for children to get to school. The SRTS program includes a combination of education, encouragement, engineering, and enforcement strategies. The SRTS improvements for this project focused on the engineering strategies by identifying the sidewalk and bicycle infrastructure improvements necessary to provide safe routes to school.

Dale City, Virginia: Safety and Connectivity in a Planned Community (A Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Transportation/Land Use Connections Program Grant)

As a continuation of the Dale City, Virginia AIA SDAT Study, the Planning Office applied for and received a grant from the MWCOG TLC to further study the feasibility and implementation of the SDAT study. The grant focuses primarily on the Minnieville Road/Dale Boulevard intersection to create a "town center sense of place".

Dale City, Virginia AIA SDAT: Furthering the Vision of a Planned Community

The Prince William County Planning Office applied to the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) Sustainable Design Assessment Team program and the application was accepted on January 9, 2015 for the project focusing on the Dale Boulevard corridor in Dale City and explores potential improvements to the four key areas of activity along the corridor at Hoadly Road, Mapledale Avenue, Minnieville Road and Gideon Drive.

Prince William County Peak Hour Express Bus Study

Prince William County Department of Transportation formally submitted an application in early 2020 to the Transportation Planning Board as part of the FY2021 Transportation and Land-Use Connections Program requesting technical assistance to determine the feasibility of peak-hour express bus lanes focusing on major roadways in Dale City and eastern Prince William County. 

Joint Land Use Study

Prince William, Stafford, Fauquier Counties and Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico have partnered to develop a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) to examine land uses in around MCB Quantico. As a result of the analysis and collaboration, a set of actions have been drafted to promote land use compatibility and strengthen coordination among MCB Quantico and the Counties.

Mixed-Use and Multi-Modal Connectivity in Innovation Park and Gainesville (A Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Transportation/Land Use Connections Program Grant)

Prince William County received a planning assistance grant from MWCOG TLC for consulting services to guide the character of development in the Innovation Park and Gainesville study areas. An integral component of the study is to evaluate the potential for multi-modal connectivity via bicycle, pedestrian paths, bus, or other transit.

Potomac Communities Design Guidelines Study

The Potomac Communities Design Guidelines Study consisted of a three-pronged approach to accomplish the task of preparing guidelines of build urban design recommendations for the various segments of Route 1.

 

Rural Preservation Study

The purpose of the Rural Preservation Study is to provide an overview of the County's rural preservation policies and evaluation of their effectiveness, identify additional rural preservation tools that may be appropriate and effective, and make recommendations regarding possible amendments to the County's land use planning policies.

 

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