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Hundreds of residents have already participated and turned in their surveys for the Buckingham comprehensive plan. Even though the deadline to submit has already passed, that doesn’t mean you can’t take part. In their Monday, Oct. 16 meeting, the Buckingham County planning commission extended the deadline to submit comments. 

After having seven weeks to complete the survey, the deadline was originally at the beginning of October. The planning commission agreed to extend the deadline to Monday, Oct. 30 for both online or paper surveys. 

The data from these surveys are divided into various demographics and categories to compare Buckingham to other counties and the state as a whole to plan for growth. The hope is that extending this deadline will allow for more demographics to have a chance to participate and create a fuller picture of the county. 

A great turnout

Even though the deadline is getting extended the County has already seen a great turnout for the surveys, officials said. As of the meeting on Monday, Oct. 16, the county has received 320 online surveys and 110 paper surveys.

“This is my third comprehensive plan and I don’t believe we’ve ever had this many,” said Planning Commission Chairman John Bickford.

The main concern with the extension of the deadline is how it will delay getting the results from the survey. According to Todd Fortune, who is working to put the plan together, this extension shouldn’t put him too far behind as his team is currently working on a data-driven section that’s not affected by the survey results. He hopes that he can still bring partial results from the survey to the work session on Monday, Nov. 20 with at least some demographics.

“I’ll get you what I can by the 20th, I just can’t promise it will be a whole summary,” he said. 

Buckingham comprehensive plan timeline

The full plan is expected to be ready for print by September 2024. This is when it will be brought before the planning commission for a public hearing. If any data changes between now and then, like opening a medical facility or a school receiving accreditation, it can still be reflected in the plan as long as the change happens in time.

“The document can be edited up until the point of when you’re ready to go to a public hearing,” said Fortune. 

Any Buckingham residents interested in taking the survey can find it at tinyurl.com/2023BuckinghamCompPlan.