The Town of Richlands was at a crossroads in its history. On the edge of Virginia’s coal region, the Town benefited from the natural gas exploration and drilling in the area, along with the relocation of businesses from deeper in coal country to its major crossroads location. However, developable land not constrained by steeps slopes and the floodplain of the Clinch River was at a premium.
The firm conducted community engagement through an online survey and a public input meeting with various issues stations that generated a very lively discussion. The firm also did an extensive analysis of current land use, zoning, and slopes/floodplains utilizing a technique created by the firm for more accurately pinpointing the constrained land. These analyses were followed up by the development of goals, objectives, and strategies aimed at kick-starting the Town’s economic development efforts through better land-use policies and zoning, more robust capital improvement planning, and the implementation of a series of key grant-fundable projects. The Summit team completed all phases of the project on time and in accordance with the project schedule outlined in the proposal, to the satisfaction of the town.
