Uniontown Neighborhood Plan

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A Building Bridges informational meeting about Uniontown

Uniontown: Preserving Heritage, Shaping the Future

The Uniontown Neighborhood Action Plan was born from a collective desire to honor the deep-seated roots of this historic community while addressing the practical needs of its residents today. This initiative emerged as a collaborative effort between the city and the neighborhood to create a clear, actionable roadmap for long-term reinvestment and preservation. This effort was the first holistic planning process for the neighborhood, whose recorded past began soon after the Civil War.

By blending community-led insights with strategic planning efforts, the project focuses on enhancing the neighborhood's unique character, improving local infrastructure, and ensuring that Uniontown remains a vibrant, sustainable place for future generations to call home.

Neighborhood Action Plan

The Action Plan serves as a functional guide for the city’s long-term investment and policy decisions within Uniontown. It translates community feedback into a structured set of priorities, focusing on tangible improvements to local infrastructure, land use, and neighborhood connectivity. The plan details community goals and specific actions that are Strategic, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART).

The Uniontown Steering Committee managed the planning process by facilitating direct dialogue with residents and property owners to define the community’s goals and actionable steps. Members also conducted technical reviews of all planning materials to ensure the final document provides a functional framework for the City’s long-term infrastructure and policy decisions.

Plan Adoption & Rezoning of Uniontown

Following a collaborative review by city staff and the Steering Committee, the Uniontown Neighborhood Action Plan was presented to the Planning Commission on August 17, 2023, and City Council on August 24, 2023. Per Council direction, the Planning Commission held a public hearing to incorporate the document as an addendum to the City of Staunton Comprehensive Plan. This amendment, which included staff updates to the Future Land Use Map and Chapter 1 goals to address the plan’s action items, was officially approved by City Council on December 14, 2023.

During the development of the plan, a physical analysis determined that while the community preferred an R-2 (Low Density Residential District) designation, a significant number of existing lots could not accommodate that district's minimum area or width requirements. Consequently, on August 17, 2023, the Planning Commission authorized staff to draft amendments to Title 18 Zoning of the City Code to create a new district—the Traditional Residential Development District (TRD-1)—tailored to the neighborhood's existing residential characteristics. Following an initial review of the draft by Planning Commission on November 16, 2023, the Commission scheduled a public hearing for January 18, 2024, and recommended approval of the new TRD-1 district. City Council voted unanimously to adopt the new district on February 8, 2024. This was followed by a recommendation from the Planning Commission to rezone 55 parcels in Uniontown from Industrial and Residential to the TRD-1 designation, which received final City Council approval on May 9, 2024.

Recent Milestones

2024

In March, the Governor signed House Bill 136 into law granting the City of Staunton the authority to waive or reduce utility connection fees on specific properties in the Uniontown area.
The FY2025 Budget, adopted in April 2024, included $100,000 for surveying the Uniontown community. This project included surveying that will be critical during the water and sewer design phase. The adopted Capital Improvement Plan for FY2025-2029 included $750,000 in FY 2027 to design the water and wastewater utility services in the Uniontown community.
In September, the city partnered with the Timmons Group to perform a land survey of the Uniontown Neighborhood. The comprehensive land boundary survey identified existing conditions of the neighborhood, focusing especially on the lots rezoned to Traditional Residential Development. It also included a topographic survey of surrounding areas. This work is imperative for general planning and future design initiatives, specifically for the contemplated improvements to infrastructure (water utility upgrade and extension, sanitary sewer service, and roadway expansion).

2025

Fieldwork for the land survey was successfully completed in early 2025. The survey work is currently under review by city staff, as multiple properties had inconclusive title search results. Following this review and completion of the boundary survey, the intent is to provide a public source for all future survey efforts in the Uniontown footprint, a tool for acquiring the necessary easements for infrastructure development, marking a significant step forward in the project's development.
In January, the city applied for a Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation with assistance from the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission and our on-call engineer to address many of the recommendations in the Uniontown Neighborhood Action Plan. The requested grant amount was $8.9 million, with a city cost share of $5.5 million. Unfortunately, the city was not awarded funding but remains committed to the project through its investment in the Capital Improvement Plan.
In April, the City Council continued an annual reserve fund for future improvements in Uniontown. In the FY26 budget, a General Fund Operating Budget Transfer of $287,261 is allocated to this reserve and will be added to the existing reserve which is at $574,522. The fund is expected to reach $2,010,827 by FY30. The design of water and wastewater utility extensions in the Uniontown neighborhood were moved up to FY 2026 in the Capital Improvement Plan. $750,000 was budgeted for the design work out of the Water Fund balance and Sewer Fund balance.

2026

The Preliminary Engineering Report has been completed and design is underway for the water and sewer extensions. Pending the ability to acquire all necessary easements and right-of-way, the projects are expected to go out to bid in 2027 and construction could start as early as late 2027.

The Uniontown Neighborhood Action Plan will be incorporated into the 2045 Comprehensive Plan, expected to be adopted in Summer of 2026, ensuring it remains a priority for the City’s future.

Links

Uniontown Neighborhood Action Plan Final Draft

City Council Resolution adopting the Comprehensive Plan Amendment

Comprehensive Plan Amendment Exhibits, as presented

August 17, 2023 Planning Commission Agenda Item Documents

November 16, 2023 Planning Commission Agenda Item Documents

November 16, 2023 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes

For any questions about Uniontown, contact Rodney Rhodes, Community Development Director at rhodesrs@ci.staunton.va.us or 540-332-3862.