Consultants’ work in other Virginia cities mark likely path for Williamsburg comprehensive plan (ANALYSIS)
Projects in Newport News, Norfolk and Danville foretell what the city's $600,000 contract will produce
On May 14, 2026, the Williamsburg City Council voted unanimously to hire Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC to update the city’s Comprehensive Plan. The selection was competitive. The city issued its Request for Proposals in October 2025, drawing twelve qualified submissions. A seventeen-member committee comprising eleven community stakeholders and six city staff evaluated the field, interviewed four finalists, and awarded the contract to Wallace Roberts & Todd with a top score of 83.00 and eight first-place votes.
The contract carries a value not to exceed $575,000 against a proposed budget of $600,000, with an 18 to 24 month timeline and a community launch scheduled for September 2026. The work is organized around five tasks:
Definition — $93,812
Engagement — $145,678
Assessment — $127,201
Plan Development — $182,672
Adoption/Implementation — $35,638
Total — $585,001 (Excluding $15,000 in expenses for a full proposed budget of $600,000).
Three completed Virginia projects by WRT serve as the evidentiary basis for this analysis: a citywide comprehensive plan in Norfolk, neighborhood and corridor-scale plans in Newport News, and a district-scale plan in Danville. The evidence across all three projects points to several consistent patterns:
Norfolk — The firm audited 691 actions from the prior comprehensive plan and produced a dedicated Existing Conditions StoryMap, establishing a data baseline directly comparable to what Williamsburg’s 2021 plan will undergo. Planning Commission engagement expanded from one proposed hearing to five dedicated work sessions, suggesting Williamsburg should anticipate a more intensive adoption process than the contract specifies.
Newport News — Community visioning expanded to include participatory budgeting exercises where residents allocated mock city dollars across spending categories, going beyond the standard workshop format proposed for Williamsburg. Economic analysis deployed ESRI-based benchmarks to evaluate anchor institution impacts, a methodology directly applicable to Williamsburg’s relationship with William & Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Danville — The implementation framework recommended Tax Increment Financing, a Community Development Authority, a Housing Trust, and form-based code overlays, expanding well beyond the standard tracking matrix proposed for Williamsburg. Five Catalyst Sites received three-dimensional street sections and axonometric views, a spatial approach relevant to Williamsburg’s named corridors including Capitol Landing Road and Merrimac Trail.
The pattern across all three cities is similar. The firm delivered its proposed framework in full and expanded upon it, most visibly in the depth of community engagement, the specificity of spatial tools, and the rigor of implementation frameworks. The full analysis below examines fourteen anchor subtasks by cost and subconsultant, comparing each against equivalent deliverables in Norfolk, Newport News, and Danville to show how the firm translates budget allocations into planning outputs.
This section assesses the proposed five-task budget structure for the Williamsburg Comprehensive Plan Update alongside comparable evidence from Norfolk, Newport News, and Danville. Because the latter two represent district and neighborhood-scale planning, variances in deliverable scope are recognized as scale differences rather than strict methodological divergences. Findings are classified by whether the comparison city aligns with the baseline approach outlined for Williamsburg, expands by adding greater detail or complexity, or diverges by utilizing fundamentally different tools.
Task 1: Definition — $93,812 total
Definition is the foundational task, covering project launch, branding, planning framework development, and the establishment of the committee structures that will guide the process.
1.2 Branding Workshop — $8,158
This subtask establishes the plan’s visual and messaging identity before public engagement begins. In Norfolk, the firm deployed a unified brand identity built around the NFK2050 logo and the tagline “Planning Today, Building Tomorrow” across physical signage and digital materials. In Danville, branding and marketing guidelines were developed and integrated directly into the Schoolfield District Plan’s appendices.
1.5 Consultant Team Site Visit — $20,129
This is the earliest opportunity for Williamsburg to engage the full consulting team on the ground. In Newport News, the site visit focused on the Warwick Boulevard corridor and Fort Eustis access points, directly informing the economic and land use framework that followed. In Danville, the firm expanded the standard site visit into a multi-day on-site event called Schoolfield Week, bringing residents, stakeholders, and city agencies together to explore initial ideas. The Danville precedent is the most directly relevant to Williamsburg given the RFP’s identification of Capitol Landing Road and the Uptown Area as priority corridors requiring on-the-ground evaluation.
1.7 Comprehensive Plan Update Committee — $23,051
The largest subtask in Task 1, this item funds eight meetings of the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee. In Norfolk, the Advisory Committee appointed by City Council met four times and was supported by Working Groups that met twice internally and once publicly. In Newport News, the structure expanded significantly, with a Core Team of city department leadership holding six dedicated meetings alongside a separate Citizens Advisory Group, a Steering Committee, Community Advisory Committee, Early Action Subcommittee, and three task forces. The Newport News precedent is the most instructive for Williamsburg, as the firm has demonstrated a willingness to build out committee structures beyond what the contract specifies when the planning context requires it.
Task 2: Engagement — $145,678 total
Engagement is the second largest task in the budget, covering four community workshops, an ambassador program, community surveys, and interim and final engagement summaries.
2.2 Community Workshop #1: Listening — $22,550
This is the first public-facing event of the plan process and the initial opportunity for Williamsburg residents to engage directly with the consulting team. In Norfolk, the firm executed five open houses during the listening phase, contributing to over 2,100 community touchpoints across the city. In Danville, the community kickoff drew over 130 attendees and included neighborhood walkthroughs to ground the team’s understanding of the district.
2.3 Community Ambassador Program — $10,613
This subtask funds a grassroots outreach program to extend the plan’s reach beyond formal workshop settings. In Norfolk, the NFK2050 Champions program deployed volunteers to support outreach and relay community feedback directly to the planning team. In Newport News, the Denbigh-Warwick Area Plan integrated community volunteerism into the engagement structure, soliciting pledged hours for neighborhood watch groups and community clean-ups.
2.4 Community Workshop #2: Visioning — $39,622
The largest engagement subtask, this workshop translates listening phase findings into a shared community vision. In Norfolk, the firm executed a series of summer open houses using interactive tools including a meeting-in-a-box kit distributed to residents for self-hosted conversations. In Newport News, the visioning session expanded to include participatory budgeting exercises where residents allocated mock city dollars across spending categories, with Natural Systems receiving $185 and Health and Safety receiving $142.
2.6 Community Workshop #3: Draft Plan — $27,831
This workshop presents the draft plan to the public and collects formal comment before final revisions. In Norfolk, the firm deployed physical public comment drop boxes throughout the city alongside digital surveys to gather feedback on the draft. In Danville, a dedicated draft plan open house drew over 150 attendees who used dot-voting and visual preference surveys to refine the final vision.
Task 3: Assessment — $127,201 total
Assessment covers baseline data gathering, existing conditions analysis, demographic research, and economic and market analysis. Jon Stover & Associates leads the economic analysis component, carrying the largest single subconsultant allocation in the entire budget at $30,000.
3.2 Baseline Data Gathering and Mapping — $43,714
This is the largest subtask in Task 3 and the foundation for all subsequent plan recommendations. In Norfolk, the firm produced a dedicated Existing Conditions StoryMap and audited 691 actions from the prior comprehensive plan, establishing a quantitative baseline directly comparable to the review Williamsburg’s 2021 plan will undergo. In Newport News, ESRI Business Analyst data extracted specific benchmarks including a 0.27 percent population growth rate, a 6.7 percent vacant housing rate, and a 79.1 percent drive-alone commute rate for the Denbigh-Warwick area.
3.4 Economic Development and Market Analysis — $40,023
This subtask evaluates real estate trends, market conditions, and the economic role of anchor institutions. Jon Stover & Associates leads this work, reflecting the specialized economic expertise the firm brings to the Williamsburg engagement. In Norfolk, the analysis incorporated the 2023 Norfolk Comprehensive Housing Study alongside an evaluation of the Port of Virginia as a major regional anchor, with demographic projections estimating the city’s population will drop to 237,000 by 2050. In Danville, the firm assessed the catalytic market impacts of the Caesars Virginia resort development on the historic Dan River Mills site, drawing on the 2022 Danville Housing Strategy to ground the analysis. The Danville precedent is directly relevant to Williamsburg given the comparable role of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation as a major private institution shaping the city’s economic identity.
Task 4: Plan Development — $182,672 total
Plan Development is the largest task in the budget at 30 percent of the total proposed cost, covering the drafting of plan goals and strategies, a co-creation summit, graphics production, and multiple draft iterations for public review.
4.1 Draft Plan Goals and Strategies — $80,883
The single largest subtask in the entire budget, this item funds the drafting of the plan’s core policy framework across all plan elements. In Norfolk, the firm developed a Future Land Use Map categorizing policy into eleven distinct place types across four primary pillars, while designating three Planning Focus Areas for large-scale transformation. In Newport News, the plan was structured around five overarching themes including placemaking and economic revitalization, with Village Centers and Catalyst Sites mapped to guide land use priorities. The Newport News approach is the most directly relevant to Williamsburg given the RFP’s identification of Capitol Landing Road, Merrimac Trail, and the Uptown Area as priority locations for focused land use guidance.
4.2 Co-Creation Working Group Summit — $16,162
This subtask funds a full-day intensive session bringing together city staff, stakeholders, and the consulting team to translate public input into draft policy recommendations. In Norfolk, the firm conducted hybrid work sessions designed to align internal city departments with emerging policy directions. In Newport News, the summit expanded into a two-day interactive workshop where the core team, citizens, and staff engaged in iterative planning exercises reviewing alternative development concepts.
4.3 Maps, Graphics, Imagery, and Diagrams — $26,057
This is the largest WRT-only subtask in the entire budget, reflecting the firm’s internal design capacity. In Newport News, the firm produced detailed conceptual renderings of a proposed regional town center on the former Kmart site and a civic hub on the Sherwood Shopping Center site. In Danville, the graphics deliverable included three-dimensional street sections, intersection diagrams, and axonometric views for five designated Catalyst Sites across six character zones of West Main Street.
Task 5: Adoption/Implementation — $35,638 total
Adoption and Implementation is the smallest task in the budget, covering the development of the implementation plan, final plan submission, deliverables packaging, and the establishment of tracking and reporting tools.
5.1 Develop Implementation Plan — $12,401
The largest subtask in Task 5, this item outlines the regulatory tools, action timeframes, and funding sources that will guide the plan’s execution after adoption. In Norfolk, the firm categorized all plan actions into foundational, substantial, and transformational tiers, paired with an Implementation Matrix tracking timeframe, lead agency, partners, and scale of impact for every action. In Danville, the framework expanded to recommend Tax Increment Financing, a Community Development Authority, a Housing Trust, and form-based code overlays, alongside rough order of magnitude cost estimates for each Catalyst Site. The Danville toolkit is directly relevant to Williamsburg given the RFP’s question about whether a form-based code is appropriate for Capitol Landing Road.
5.4 Plan Implementation — $8,001
This subtask funds the development of tracking and reporting tools to monitor plan progress after adoption. In Norfolk, the firm created the NFK2050 Evaluation Report rubric to systematically assess future zoning and land use applications against plan goals, and established a baseline metrics table tracking indicators including Park Score, Walk Score, tree canopy coverage, and acres of wetlands restored. The plan was adopted by City Council on December 9, 2025 via Ordinance No. 50201. In Newport News, comprehensive implementation matrices were established for regular municipal tracking, with annual progress reviews and website updates recommended every five years.
Drawing on the 2024 American Community Survey data, Williamsburg’s demographic profile contrasts with the three comparison cities. With a population of 15,798 across 8.9 square miles, the city is smaller than Norfolk (231,105), Newport News (183,056), and Danville (42,214). Williamsburg records the highest median home value at $428,100 and the highest bachelor’s degree attainment rate at 45.8 percent, alongside an 18.8 percent poverty rate. This contrasts economically with Danville, where the firm recommended specific regulatory tools like form-based codes and tax increment financing in a city with a $119,100 median home value and a 24.7 percent poverty rate. Across these varying demographic and geographic contexts, the firm’s established pattern involves deploying specific tracking matrices, interactive engagement, and granular spatial visualizations to fulfill baseline planning frameworks.
The writer used AI tools and these sources:
Williamsburg
Norfolk
Danville
Newport News
Other ways to support the Williamsburg Independent:
Buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/williamsburgindependent
Tip on PayPal: paypal.com/ncp/payment/2L8DQJ62CWGRS
Go shopping: etsy.com/shop/dogstreetpress
Read a book: bookshop.org/shop/independentbookshop
Facebook: facebook.com/williamsburgindependent
Twitter: x.com/WburgIndie
Thank you for producing this detailed, informative report.