Bristol, VA hosts last open house for new comprehensive plan

BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) – The city of Bristol, Virginia hosted a third and final open house for its comprehensive plan on Thursday.

The open houses have been a way for the city to get community input from its citizens.

“The plan is for the entire city of Bristol, Virginia, and the region to a lesser extent,” Jay Detrick, Bristol, Virginia’s Community Development Director, said. “And the people who live here need to have input in the plan. If we don’t get input from the citizens of Bristol, Virginia, it just kind of becomes a city staff plan. So, we feel that’s like the most important thing that we can get.”

Liesa Jenkins is a Bristol, Virginia resident who has been to every open house meeting about the city’s new comprehensive plan. She has a lot of ideas about what she would like to see included in the plan.

“One of the big challenges for Bristol is housing, affordable housing,” Jenkins said. “We have three vacant elementary schools, and I see great opportunity to turn those into housing of different types that would help meet some of the needs.”

Jenkins would also like to see more sidewalks in neighborhoods and more community gardens.

“For example, in my neighborhood, there are five churches within a block of me and several vacant lots,” Jenkins said. “So I’m wondering, can the youth be involved in helping a community garden that would provide fresh vegetables for food banks or for their church to give away, or even for the people who live in [the] neighborhood.”

Detrick said the current goals in the plan came from public input. He said he’s been getting a lot of feedback about public transportation, affordable housing and the opening of the new Bristol Intermediate School.

He said he is looking forward to the updates about land use and different types of development.

“Maybe some more mixed-use development or something different that we haven’t had in Bristol, that might come because of the casino or any of the other economic development actions that we’ve taken,” Detrick said.

Jenkins said she is also interested in having public transportation at the Bristol Train Station and knowing more about the Virginia Intermont College property.

“I’m really excited for the future of Bristol,” Jenkins said. “I think we’re at a turning point for our community. We obviously have very strong tourism right now, but what we also need are the types of jobs that people can earn a living, not just minimum wage plus tips. And so I hope that some of the development opportunities will also include opportunities for workforce, such as solar energy.”

Jenkins believes the twin cities of Bristol, Tennessee and Virginia need to work together to accomplish these goals. She also has a vision of how she would like to see this plan put into action.

“What I hope they will do is form teams like Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol, Virginia, and residents of the neighborhoods in the cities or whatever to actually implement those goals,” Jenkins said.

A draft of the comprehensive plan will be presented to the planning commission on Monday, Aug. 19.

The plan has to be approved by both the planning commission and the city council. A public hearing also has to be held.

To find more information about Bristol, Virginia’s comprehensive plan, you can check their website .

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