Community Development Department (Assistant Town Manager)
The Rocky Mount Community Development office handles a wide variety of functions helpful to the residents of Rocky Mount and Franklin County. The office oversees revitalization projects, community planning and zoning, mapping and Geographic Information Services, economic development and tourism activities, and facilities management for the Town’s two parks, a joint town-county park and the Citizen Square/Farmers’ Market.
Community Development involves the public in the processes involved with maintaining quality neighborhoods and affordable living, and provides staff support for the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Franklin County Veterans’ Memorial Commission, the Beautification & Urban Design (BUD) Commission, and a variety of Town Council committees, as appropriate. The Office also works closely with community groups, including the Community Partnership for Revitalization (the local Virginia Main Street organization) and the Rocky Mount Retail Merchants Association, to encourage small business growth within the community.
The Virginia Enterprise Zone Program designated an enterprise zone for the Town of Rocky Mount in January 1994. Businesses which locate within the zone qualify for Real Property Investment Grants and Job Creation Incentive Grants, as well as local incentives, such as reduced licensing fees, taxes and utility hook-up costs.
The department is finishing out the Needmore Neighborhood Revitalization, which refurbished housing along five streets just off North Main, and is heading full-steam into the Uptown Revitalization Project, which expects to bring new economic life to the Uptown area by making public infrastructure improvements and transportation enhancements to attract new businesses, more pedestrians and more visitors to the community.
The Town and CPR work in partnership to maintain the former Norfolk Southern Depot in Downtown Rocky Mount as a community and hospitality center and the host of the twice-monthly Footlights of the Blue Ridge, a bluegrass concert series. The Town is working to develop a larger concert venue to host regular bluegrass concerts and other special performance events.
Community Development works closely with our partners in Franklin County. In economic development, the Town and County are aggressively marketing Phase II of the Franklin County-Rocky Mount Industrial Park, formerly known as the Cox Farm. The Town and its partners are developing this prime industrial property by adding a rail siding from the adjacent Norfolk Southern railway and developing a new roadbed to serve three industrial building sites within the next phase of the Industrial Park.
In tourism, the Town is working closely with Franklin County to assist with development of a whitewater park on the Pigg River, the first elements of which may be complete in late 2008. The Town is the Eastern Gateway of the Crooked Road, Virginia’s heritage music trail celebrating bluegrass, traditional Appalachian, gospel and blues musical styles.
The Department does not issue building permits (those are issued by the Franklin County Building Inspector’s Office), but does oversee some construction activities, including zoning permits, erosion & sedimentation control, site plan approval, traffic impact analysis and other related activities. The town's professional staff includes a planner, who serves as Planning & Zoning administrator, and a GIS/Code Enforcement Technician.
Can Community Development help me …
Rent a park? Call 483-0907 and ask for Stacey, or e-mail here.
Start a business? Call 483-0907 and ask for Matt, or e-mail here.
Check my zoning? Call 483-0907 and ask for Paul, or e-mail here.
Find an overhead map of my property and its utilities?
Call 483-0907 and ask for Nathan, or e-mail here.
Review my site plan? Call 483-0907 and ask for Paul.
Help me re-zone my property? Call 483-0907 and ask for Paul.
Get me started on adding a new room to my house?
Call 483-0907 and ask for Paul.
Can Community Development help me …
Rent a park? Call 483-0907 and ask for Stacey, or e-mail here.
Start a business? Call 483-0907 and ask for Matt, or e-mail here.
Check my zoning? Call 483-0907 and ask for Paul, or e-mail here.
Find an overhead map of my property and its utilities?
Call 483-0907 and ask for Nathan, or e-mail here.
Review my site plan? Call 483-0907 and ask for Paul.
Help me re-zone my property? Call 483-0907 and ask for Paul.
Get me started on adding a new room to my house?
Call 483-0907 and ask for Paul.
The Assistant Town Manager also serves as the Community Development Director, providing management support to the Town Manager, handling special projects as needed, manages the Town's Enterprise Zone, works with existing small businesses to encourage success and growth, recruits other small business commercial ventures and provides technical assistance to establish operations in Town, coordinates special events and cooperates with other agencies and groups for such community activities, manages grants that may be received by the Town, works with residents and community leaders to better develop neighborhoods and residential living, and generally promotes the Town using our website and business and residential promotion guides.
An Administrative Assistant/Deputy Clerk provides clerical support to the department staff and serves as back-up help for telephone and walk-in customer assistance in the Town Manager's Office. The person in this position is responsible for scheduling reservations of the Farmers' Market, and shelters at Mary Elizabeth and Mary Bethune parks. The Planning & Zoning Administrator and GIS Technician/Code Inspector are also under the direction of the ATM/CDD and provide a high level of assistance in various aspects of economic development, growth planning and management.
Matthew Hankins, Assistant Town Manager/Community Development Director
Town of Rocky Mount
345 Donald Avenue
Rocky Mount, Virginia 24151
Phone: 540-483-0907 (same for all staff)
Fax: 540-483-8830 (same for all staff)
E-mail: mhankins@rockymountva.org
Paul Stockwell, Planning & Zoning Administrator
E-mail: pstockwell@rockymountva.org
Nathan Wright, GIS Technician/Code Inspector
E-mail: nwright@rockymountva.org
Stacey Sink, Administrative Assistant/Deputy Clerk
E-mail: ssink@rockymountva.org
