Subject:
Title
Strategic Plan: Review of Board/Commission Input and Potential Adoption
Body
DATE(S) OF PRIOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF THIS ISSUE:
The Town Council has discussed updating the Town of Vienna’s Strategic Plan at a series of work sessions beginning in 2024. The dates have been:
• Jan. 22, 2024
• March 7, 2024
• April 5, 2024
• Feb. 10, 2025
• March 10, 2025
EXPLANATION AND SUMMARY:
Background
On April 29, 2019, the Town Council adopted the Town of Vienna 2019 Strategic Plan: Honing Excellence in an Exceptional Hometown. The adoption was the culmination of a process that had begun in late 2017, when a consultant was hired to lead the strategic planning process.
The 2019 Strategic Plan was provided in prior reports, but can also be found on the Town’s Web site, at <https://www.viennava.gov/Town-Government/Town-Strategic-Plan>.
The document established a vision statement and a set of goals, strategies and action steps that were to be undertaken over the following five years - through 2023.
In early 2024, Town Council indicated its desire to review and potentially update the Strategic Plan. To assist in this process, the Town hired a consultant who facilitated a work session at the Community Center on March 7, 2024. The Council also gave responses to a survey produced by the consultant. A follow-up Town Council work session was held on April 15, 2024, to review a draft of the new document’s Values, Strategic Focus Areas, and Strategies.
Staff’s assessment, based on comments from Council Members, was that the Town Council was not particularly satisfied with the draft product and that it needed significant additional work. Staff agreed, thinking that it was overly complex with language that was not sufficiently clear.
As a result, the process was taken “in-house,” and a new draft was developed and discussed at a work session on February 10, 2025, after discussion among senior staff. After that session, additional edits were made in response to Town Council comments and the updated draft was reviewed and discussed on March 10, 2025.
The Town Council indicated general support for the draft reviewed on March 10, but asked that staff reach out to Boards and Commissions to get their input. In addition, there was communication with recommendations from at least one resident.
Context for the Strategic Plan
As a reminder, the Strategic Plan occupies a medium-term position among the vision and strategy documents that the Town Council reviews and approves. Such documents include:
Ø Comprehensive Plan - Required by State and with the longest planning horizon of 20+ years, though required to be reviewed for potential updating every five years. The Comprehensive Plan covers the physical development and land preservation of the town, in topics that include land use, transportation, the environment, parks, economic development, and community facilities. It does not include operational matters.
Ø Strategic Plan - Adopted by Town Council for a period of 2-4 years (to be determined by the Town Council). It has the widest vision in that it covers physical development and such operational matters as human resources, financial stability, safety, and other matters not covered in the Comprehensive Plan. Staff recommends that each Town Council review the document to determine whether it remains a clear statement of the Council’s priorities.
Ø Annual Priorities - Adopted by Town Council in the beginning of each of the past two years, with the purpose of providing focus areas for staff and the Town Council for that calendar year. In the ideal, these priorities should be drawn from longer term visions within the Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Plan. If these annual priorities are not consistent with those other documents, it may indicate a need to update the longer-term documents.
Ø Operating and Capital Budgets - Updated annually, though the capital budget has a longer-term planning horizon. The documents should be consistent with both the Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Plan.
Ø Special-topic plans (Parks, Economic Development Strategy, Annex property, etc.) - Conducted and adopted as the Town Council sees fit. These plans should be consistent with the Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Plan, but also may result, through the focus on the special topic, in a need to revise the longer-term vision and broader documents.
OVERVIEW:
To fulfill the Town Council’s request, the Town Manager and the Director of Planning and Zoning personally visited boards and commissions. Each visit included:
1) Providing, in advance, the draft Strategic Plan (Attachment 1) as updated by staff after the March 10, 2025, Town Council work session;
2) Brief presentation of the background to, and process of, development of the Strategic Plan; and the Town Council’s purpose and request;
3) Discussion among the members of the board/commission, with participation of the Town Manager and/or the Director as desired; and
4) Board/Commission decision on how comments would be provided (either through notes/minutes from the meeting or in a memorandum).
Input from Boards and Commission
The following represents input from the boards and commissions:
Planning Commission (PC)
The Planning Commission’s input was provided at its June 11th meeting, in the form of comments and suggestions during the discussion. In general, the Commission was very supportive of the short two-page version, as opposed to the much longer version from 2019. Recommendations included:
• Removing parenthetical statements from the titles of Values and Goals and Strategies
• Amending 3.f. from saying “Support Vienna’s vibrant dining scene…” to “Promote a positive environment for Vienna’s restaurants….”
Windover Heights Board of Review (WHBR)
The WHBR input was provided at its July 1st meeting, through comments and suggestions during the discussion. The Board was generally supportive of the contents of the draft, but had two suggestions:
• In the Vision section, add “local businesses” to the phrase that states “…and our government places its residents and local businesses at the heart of every decision.”
• Add a line that more strongly states that Vienna is “honoring the historic nature of the Town.”
Board of Architectural Review (BAR)
The BAR held a discussion of the draft at its July 7 meeting, where the comments were generally very supportive of the framework and content as guidance for the many Town activities and investments. A BAR member mentioned that she hoped the Strategic Plan would be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.
The BAR’s input is provided in the form of a memorandum from the Chair, which is provided as Attachment 2. The memorandum recommends approval as presented.
Conservation and Sustainability Commission (CSC)
The CSC held a discussion of the draft at its July 24 meeting. The Commission was generally supportive of the framework and content but did have ideas and suggestions related to its mission as the CSC. The Commission tasked three of their members to develop a memorandum that would contain what was discussed. The CSC’s input memorandum is provided as Attachment 3.
The two suggestions that the CSC has made are:
• 1.g. Add composting to the list of services.
• Amend 2.g. to say “Protect, manage and improve our natural environment, including the Town’s streams and tree canopy. Conserve resources, promote energy efficiency, support resiliency and mitigate climate change in alignment with Fairfax County’s programs* for the same. Apprise community about their role in achieving sustainability and a healthy environment.
Transportation Safety Commission (TSC)
The TSC’s input was provided at the meeting, with comments from individuals, but also from two commissioners who sent in individual comments by the time of this report. Input received related to the Strategic Plan included:
• Add the goal of Vienna being a walkable community, not just for transportation safety but also for health and the feeling of a pleasant community.
• In Area 2, potentially as part of 2.b., it would be good to mention the importance of continuity of infrastructure with that of Fairfax County. The comment was related to the importance of connecting such elements as sidewalks and bike lanes.
• The Town should be more explicit regarding regional interaction, with a statement such as “Maintain and enhance regional relationships, coordination, and influence with County, State, and Federal entities.” It would encourage Vienna to be effective regarding forces developing outside the town. An example provided was in the coalitions necessary to resist the development of the proposed casino in Tysons.
• Include something about e-bikes, e-scooters, and motorbikes.
The one important Commission from which no input was received was the Town Business Liaison Committee (TBLC). By the time that the Town Manager and Director were visiting boards and commissions, the TBLC was no longer meeting until the fall, after the August 25th Town Council meeting. The Director of Economic Development supported the effort by reaching out to TBLC members multiple times by email, but no input was received.
Input from a Resident
In preparation for the February 10th Town Council work session, Matt DiFiore, a Town resident, submitted comments on the draft that was being considered at that time. The Town Council may recall that the version being reviewed at that time had eight goals and a longer list of items. As such, Mr. DiFiore’s comments related to a draft that has since been changed significantly. However, both the Town Council, at the March 10th work session, and staff believe that quite a few of his comments remained relevant. In fact, some of the comments were already incorporated into the draft for the March 10th work session. His comments are provided as Attachment 4.
Revised Draft with Board/Commission Input
Staff has taken the liberty of attempting to incorporate input received from Town boards and commissions, and from that of Mr. DiFiore, to produce an updated version of the Strategic Plan. Attachments 5 and 6 reflect that effort, with Attachment being a redline version that includes column notes on the sources of the edits, and Attachment 6 being a clean version.
Staff welcomes Town Council discussion and completion of the effort to approve an updated Strategic Plan for Vienna.
Follow-Up to Adoption of the Strategic Plan
With support of the Town Council, staff will move forward with two implementation steps to the Strategic Plan.
1) Staff will develop an attractive layout for the document.
2) Staff will elaborate on the Goals and Strategies adopted by the Town Council with action steps. Some of the steps will be items that the Town is already implementing or that are completely within the scope of staff work. Others may be reflected in future budget proposals or new management initiatives.
3) The adopted Strategic Plan will be brought before the new Town Council, sometime in calendar year 2026, to ensure that the document still reflects the vision for the Town. Staff proposes that each new Town Council get an opportunity to review the document for continued relevance. The fact that the document is much shorter than the prior Strategic Plan will make reviewing much simpler.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Town Council review the updated Strategic Plan document (Attachment 6), which takes into account the board and commission input that the Town Council requested. If the Town Council is prepared to do so, it could vote to adopt the document, either as presented or as amended during this discussion.
Board or Commission of Interest:
Planning Commission, Windover Heights Board of Review, Board of Architectural Review, Conservation and Sustainability Commission, Transportation Safety Commission, and Town Business Liaison Committee.
Departmental Recommendation:
The Department of Planning and Zoning recommends that the Town Council 1) review the input from the boards and commissions, and the Town resident, and the updated draft Strategic Plan to determine whether the document reflects the Town Council’s vision; 2) direct any changes to be made; and, if prepared to do so, 3) adopt the updated Strategic Plan.
Town Attorney Recommendation: The Town Council may consider adopting, amending, or deferring adoption of the proposed Strategic Plan in its discretion. The adoption of the Strategic Plan does not authorize any expenditure of funds or award any contracts, and any such action would require formal approval.
Town Manager's Recommendation: I recommend the Town Council adopt the Strategic Plan, as presented.
PROPOSED/SUGGESTED MOTION
Recommended Action
"I move to adopt the Strategic Plan as presented in Attachment 6 and direct staff to prepare an attractive layout for the document."
Or
“I move to adopt the Strategic Plan as presented in Attachment 4, as amended during this discussion, and direct staff to prepare an attractive layout for the document.”
Or
Other action deemed necessary by Council.