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Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting - September 3, 2019

Planning Commission — Tuesday, September 3, 2019
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionPlanning Commission
DateTuesday, September 3, 2019
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:46

meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission at September 3rd, 2019.

0:50

Regular meetings are held here on the first Tuesday of each month at the Roger E.

0:56

Hedgepath Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building on 300 South Main Street.

1:02

Citizens may address the planning commission during specified times on the agenda and are requested to adhere to the following.

1:09

Please speak at the podium, state your name and address.

1:15

Please limit speaking time to a maximum of three minutes.

1:19

Speak only once during a specific hearing or comment period.

1:22

A wireless microphone is available to anyone requesting the assistance.

1:26

Please silence your cell phones, show respect for all speakers, and allow all opinions to be expressed in the tolling atmosphere.

1:36

With that we'll call the meeting to order could we have a roll call please?

1:40

Mr.

1:40

Collie?

1:41

Here.

1:42

Mr.

1:42

Davis Mr.

1:45

Jones Ms.

1:47

Jones Ms.

1:48

Cassard?

1:49

Present.

1:50

Mr.

1:50

Langer?

1:51

Present.

1:52

Ms.

1:52

Money Hans here?

1:53

Mr.

1:53

Steffi?

1:54

Here.

1:54

Yeah for them.

1:57

So we'll start with the consent agenda.

2:00

Based on the length of the consent agenda it's going to comprise about half this public hearing to read it.

2:06

But I'll do so anyway.

2:10

The first item on our consent agenda is approval of the Planning Commission minutes from August 6th, 2019.

2:18

Second item is rezoning 19005 ordinance 1906 a request to rezone 2.869 acres of property at 900 and 1002 Glade Road from RR1 Rural Residential to PR Planned Residential for multifamily housing and townhouses by Craig Stipes of Broad Street Partners on behalf of Ruth Epperly Rica State and Kevin Gilbert.

2:51

And the action is to schedule a public hearing for October 1st 2019.

2:56

Third item is rezoning 19006 ordinance 1907 which is a request to rezone 0.9418 acres at 1401 Giles Road tax map from planned residential PR to planned residential PR for increased density and height by Steve Simonis of Balsam Associates for Justin Boyle of J3 Properties.

3:49

From downtown commercial with conditions to downtown commercial with amended conditions by the Virginia Tech Foundation that's scheduled for a public hearing on October 1st the fourth item the fifth item is CEP 006 conditional use permit request at 211 prices fork road and 460 Turner Street in the North End Center located along Prices Fork Road and Turner Street and Gilbert Street to allow increase and increase in building height in the downtown commercial district for a new building on Gilbert Street up to 100 feet in height by the Virginia Tech Foundation.

5:07

The action is to schedule a public hearing for October 1st.

5:23

A request for a right-of-way vacation and adjustment along Gilbert Street in conjunction with rezoning 19007 by the Virginia Tech Foundation.

5:35

The action is to schedule public hearing for October 1st.

5:40

The ninth item is rezoning 19004 Ordnance 1904, a requester zone a total of 6.15 acres from general commercial to R5 Transitional Residential and R5 traditional transitional residential to PR Planned Residential at 1310 North Main Street for mixed-use commercial multi-residential development by Pat Bixler on behalf of CDE properties.

6:13

And that action is to cancel the public hearing scheduled for tonight, September 3rd, and reschedule for November 5th, 2019.

6:29

I move approval consented agenda.

6:32

Second.

6:33

All those in favor?

6:35

Aye.

6:38

Moving on, we'll open our public hearing.

6:42

First item on our public hearing is a zoning ordinance amendment 46.

6:47

A request to amend the town of Blacksburg zoning ordinance floodplain overlay district.

6:52

We have a staff presentation by Coffee Howard.

6:58

Thank you.

7:52

That means that there's no development encroachments, fill construction, improvement, or any other development that is allowed to increase the 100-year flood elevation.

8:02

This is directly associated with flood risk.

8:05

And Blacksburg does not allow any variances to be granted for any increases in the 100-year flood elevation.

8:16

This is one of the few instances where Blacksburg regulates the floodplain on Virginia Tech's campus.

8:23

So this no-rise code has recently had some costly impacts to some of Virginia Tech's undeveloped lands that are slated for future infrastructure projects, such as the Western Perimeter Road Project.

8:40

This is a conceptual design of the Weston Permanent Road Project.

8:44

It shows several creek crossings.

8:54

Currently, the perimeter road, the final design and construction have been tabled for now due to financial challenges, but Virginia Tech still wants to proceed with this ordinance amendment because they feel that it would be very valuable to the future design of this road and any future road lake projects.

9:25

This would only affect infrastructure projects in Virginia Tech's campus and those which would not have any residual impacts on town lands.

9:33

And this would have no change to development projects in town or have any impact on residential or classroom projects on Virginia Tech's campus.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Urban Planning██████████████████████████████30%
Floodplain Management█████████████████████████████29%
Zoning Ordinance████████████████████████████28%
Public Engagement█████5%
University Governance████4%
Procedural██2%
Environmental Protection██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting - September 3, 2019

The Blacksburg Planning Commission met on September 3, 2019, at 7:30 pm in the Municipal Building. The meeting included a consent agenda with routine approvals, two public hearings on a floodplain overlay district amendment and a conditional use permit for an office on the ground floor, and reports from commissioners. Key decisions were made to recommend denial of the floodplain amendment and approval of the office conditional use permit.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved unanimously (6-0) the following items:
    • Approval of the August 6, 2019 meeting minutes.
    • Scheduling a public hearing for October 1, 2019, for rezoning requests at 900/1002 Glade Road (RZN19-0005), 1401 Giles Road (RZN19-0006), and the North End Center properties (RZN19-0007, CUP19-0006, RZN19-0008, ROW19-0001).
    • Cancellation of the September 3 public hearing for RZN19-0004 (1310 North Main Street) and rescheduling it to November 5, 2019.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Douglas White (760 Triangle Street) spoke on both public hearing items. On the floodplain amendment, he expressed concerns about existing flooding issues and urged Virginia Tech to conform to town standards. On the conditional use permit, he acknowledged the need to fill vacant spaces but worried about Virginia Tech's encroachment into town commercial areas and questioned how far the town would allow that growth.
  • Mike Dunn (1603 Boxwood Drive), Virginia Tech Transportation Planner, thanked the Commission for considering the floodplain amendment request, noting that the Western Perimeter Road project had been tabled but the amendment would be valuable for future infrastructure projects.

Discussion Items

  • Zoning Ordinance Amendment #46 (Floodplain Overlay District)

    • Staff Presentation: Town Engineer Kafi Howard explained the amendment would allow infrastructure projects in the University zoning district to be excluded from the Floodplain Overlay District if they receive an approved Conditional Letter of Map Revision from FEMA. The amendment was prompted by Virginia Tech's Western Perimeter Road project (now tabled) and would apply only to university infrastructure projects with no residual impacts on town lands. Blacksburg currently has a stringent "no rise" standard for floodplain elevation increases; FEMA allows minor increases. Staff would continue to review each project.
    • Commission Discussion: Commissioner Moneyhun moved to recommend denial, arguing the road project was tabled and there was no current need. Commissioner Langrehr expressed discomfort with deferring to FEMA standards. Commissioner Kassoff noted Blacksburg's hyper-conservative floodplain position. Commissioner Sutphin believed safeguards existed. Commissioner Colley stated he lacked sufficient information.
    • Vote: Motion to recommend denial to Town Council passed 4-2. Commissioners Colley, Jones, Langrehr, and Moneyhun voted yes; Kassoff and Sutphin voted no.

  • CUP19-0005 (Conditional Use Permit for Office on Ground Floor at 620 North Main Street, Suite 104)

    • Staff Presentation: Comprehensive Planner Maeve Gould detailed the request for a Virginia Tech Ombudsperson office to serve faculty and staff. The space (1,267 sq ft) has been vacant since June 2018. Currently, ground-floor offices comprise 43.5% of the block; approval would raise that to 51.5%. Staff noted a direct conflict with Zoning Ordinance Amendment #44 (recommended by the Planning Commission) which would prohibit university offices on the ground floor in the downtown commercial district. Staff recommended approval with two conditions: (1) substantial conformance to the application, and (2) the space limited to a Virginia Tech Ombudsperson office use.
    • Applicant Presentation: Bill Ellenbogen (Keith, LLC owner) explained the building's challenges: retail decline due to internet shopping, inability to accommodate a restaurant due to lack of a hood, and high vacancy. He argued the office would serve 14,000 university employees (part-time and full-time) and be similar to a lawyer's office. The Ombudsperson office would provide neutral dispute resolution off-campus.
    • Commission Discussion: Commissioner Moneyhun opposed because the office does not serve the general public. Commissioner Colley, whose office is in the same building, noted limited pedestrian traffic in that area. Commissioner Kassoff interpreted ZOA #44 as applying only to new buildings. The motion to approve with staff conditions was made by Commissioner Jones and seconded by Commissioner Colley.
    • Vote: Motion to recommend approval to Town Council passed 4-2. Commissioners Colley, Jones, Kassoff, and Langrehr voted yes; Moneyhun and Sutphin voted no.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously. Several public hearings were scheduled for October 1, 2019, and one was rescheduled for November 5, 2019.
  • ZOA #46 (Floodplain Overlay Amendment): Recommended denial to Town Council (4-2). The amendment would have allowed infrastructure projects on Virginia Tech's campus to seek FEMA map revisions for minor floodplain elevation increases.
  • CUP19-0005 (Office for VT Ombudsperson): Recommended approval to Town Council (4-2) with conditions limiting the use to a Virginia Tech Ombudsperson office and requiring substantial conformance to the application.
  • Town Council Report: Commissioner Sutphin noted that the old Blacksburg High School rezoning will be discussed further at the Planning Commission work session on September 17 and continued to a September 24 Town Council public hearing.
  • Other Reports: Chair Kassoff provided a report from the Montgomery County Planning Commission regarding a rezoning near the "bug shop" on Harding Avenue and updates on village planning efforts.

Meeting Transcript

meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission at September 3rd, 2019. Regular meetings are held here on the first Tuesday of each month at the Roger E. Hedgepath Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building on 300 South Main Street. Citizens may address the planning commission during specified times on the agenda and are requested to adhere to the following. Please speak at the podium, state your name and address. Please limit speaking time to a maximum of three minutes. Speak only once during a specific hearing or comment period. A wireless microphone is available to anyone requesting the assistance. Please silence your cell phones, show respect for all speakers, and allow all opinions to be expressed in the tolling atmosphere. With that we'll call the meeting to order could we have a roll call please? Mr. Collie? Here. Mr. Davis Mr. Jones Ms. Jones Ms. Cassard? Present. Mr. Langer? Present. Ms. Money Hans here? Mr. Steffi? Here. Yeah for them. So we'll start with the consent agenda. Based on the length of the consent agenda it's going to comprise about half this public hearing to read it. But I'll do so anyway. The first item on our consent agenda is approval of the Planning Commission minutes from August 6th, 2019. Second item is rezoning 19005 ordinance 1906 a request to rezone 2.869 acres of property at 900 and 1002 Glade Road from RR1 Rural Residential to PR Planned Residential for multifamily housing and townhouses by Craig Stipes of Broad Street Partners on behalf of Ruth Epperly Rica State and Kevin Gilbert. And the action is to schedule a public hearing for October 1st 2019. Third item is rezoning 19006 ordinance 1907 which is a request to rezone 0.9418 acres at 1401 Giles Road tax map from planned residential PR to planned residential PR for increased density and height by Steve Simonis of Balsam Associates for Justin Boyle of J3 Properties. From downtown commercial with conditions to downtown commercial with amended conditions by the Virginia Tech Foundation that's scheduled for a public hearing on October 1st the fourth item the fifth item is CEP 006 conditional use permit request at 211 prices fork road and 460 Turner Street in the North End Center located along Prices Fork Road and Turner Street and Gilbert Street to allow increase and increase in building height in the downtown commercial district for a new building on Gilbert Street up to 100 feet in height by the Virginia Tech Foundation. The action is to schedule a public hearing for October 1st. A request for a right-of-way vacation and adjustment along Gilbert Street in conjunction with rezoning 19007 by the Virginia Tech Foundation. The action is to schedule public hearing for October 1st. The ninth item is rezoning 19004 Ordnance 1904, a requester zone a total of 6.15 acres from general commercial to R5 Transitional Residential and R5 traditional transitional residential to PR Planned Residential at 1310 North Main Street for mixed-use commercial multi-residential development by Pat Bixler on behalf of CDE properties. And that action is to cancel the public hearing scheduled for tonight, September 3rd, and reschedule for November 5th, 2019. I move approval consented agenda. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Moving on, we'll open our public hearing. First item on our public hearing is a zoning ordinance amendment 46. A request to amend the town of Blacksburg zoning ordinance floodplain overlay district. We have a staff presentation by Coffee Howard. Thank you.

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