Danville Citywide Comprehensive Plan

Once a busy center of tobacco processing and textile mills, the southern Virginia city of Danville retains much of its historic urban fabric and small-town charm. Yet its role as a strategic center and the final capital of the Confederacy left behind a challenging post-Civil-War legacy for this city of 42,500, which underscores a veiled economic divide rooted in historic injustice. Downturns in a shifting economy and the increased impacts of climate change exacerbated these strains and inequities. When a multi-million-dollar casino brought new investment to Danville, the city recognized it as an ideal opportunity to develop a new comprehensive plan that embraces a future-forward perspective.

PLAN Danville put community members at the center of the project, with a multi-pronged, 18-month engagement approach to establish trust with residents and dig deep to understand their greatest concerns. At the same time, the planning team analyzed a wealth of existing planning documents and developed a strong, supportive working relationship with city leaders. The entire document and its actions are data driven, rooted in findings from either qualitative community engagement feedback or quantitative data analysis. Together, these findings became the foundation for PLAN Danville. With a foundation of newly established clarity, trust and investment to build on, both residents and city officials embraced the plan and began implementing elements almost immediately.

SmithGroup partnered with Progressive Companies for an extensive community outreach program, especially seeking to engage those who had been skeptical in the past. The process enlisted community ambassadors to boost representation across all six regions of the city and used location-based technology to track data gathering. It raised visibility with a cohesive branding effort shared through numerous channels, including roundtables, pop-up events, social media, surveys, a website and downtown storefront. Overall, the average resident heard something about PLAN Danville 10 times a month for 15 months. Participants not only felt informed, they saw their input reflected in the plan.

The team supplemented the comprehensive plan with a neighborhood plan, strategic action plan, economic risk assessment and a holistic resilience plan. The data-informed research revealed that existing FEMA flood maps didn’t reflect the new reality of heavier rainfall in concentrated periods, which was causing increasingly devastating flooding along the city’s Dan River. The team formed an updated assessment by examining filed insurance claims and combining flood maps with custom GIS analysis on slopes and soils, then used 3D visualizations and modeling software to demonstrate how land use changes, new development practices, and recommended greenspaces could improve quality of life in impacted areas. SmithGroup’s expertise in preparing grant applications helped the city obtain funding for a holistic resilience plan.

The final plan is distilled into eight easy-to-digest chapters: Community, Land Use, Transportation, Infrastructure, Housing, Economy, Environment and Culture. These chapters reflect the community’s highest priorities for change and address the plan’s three guiding values of equity, health and climate resilience. All recommendations focus on providing dignity, safety and a high quality of life for community members.

PLAN Danville is a working document that reflects its residents, now with new pride and positivity toward their city building a better future. It is already helping to shape that future. The plan provided a scorecard that is used during the city’s budget process. The City Council provided funding for a Neighborhood Action Program to complete and implement Neighborhood Action Plans in its 2025-26 budget. New Zoning and Development Codes and new Architectural Design Guidelines are also underway, reflecting the goals and strategies of the comprehensive plan.