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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting – August 4, 2020

Planning Commission — Tuesday, August 4, 2020

BodyBlacksburg, Virginia

SessionPlanning Commission

DateTuesday, August 4, 2020

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:06:21

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

1:44

Meeting of the Planning Commission.

1:46

Regular meetings in the Blacksburg Planning Commission are held here in the Hedgebath Chambers on the first Tuesday of the month at as of today, 6 30 p.m.

1:59

Due to COVID-19 health concerns, seating at the council chambers will be limited.

2:05

Citizens are encouraged, but not required to submit comments to the planning commission by email.

2:12

Or view the hearing online or on local television, W TOB channel two.

2:19

The meeting will be live streamed from WWW Blacksburg.gov and recorded.

2:27

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

2:35

Please speak at the podium.

2:37

State your name and address.

2:43

Please limit speaking time to a maximum of three minutes.

2:47

And speak only once during a specific hearing or comment period.

2:51

And with that, we'll call the meeting to order.

2:53

May we have a roll call, please.

2:55

Uh Mr.

2:56

Davis.

2:57

Mr.

2:58

Ford?

2:58

Here.

2:59

Ms.

3:00

Jones?

3:01

Mr.

3:01

Cassall?

3:02

Present.

3:02

Mr.

3:03

Hermione?

3:04

Here.

3:04

Ms.

3:04

Reinhardt.

3:05

Here.

3:05

Mr.

3:06

Collie is here.

3:08

All right.

3:09

So we have a quote.

3:10

Excellent.

3:12

First item on our agenda is consent agenda.

3:15

We only have one item on the consent agenda this week.

3:18

And that's rezoning 2000 five ordinance 1941, which is a request to rezone 40.34 acres from R1 rural residential zoning district to planned residential PR zoning district.

3:37

At 1900, Tom Tom's Creek Road by Meredith Jones of EM Associates.

4:42

At 135 College Avenue.

4:50

And we have a staff presentation by Emma Martin.

4:58

The applicant, right?

5:00

The applicant, Greg Boatright is requesting a special signage district for the Lyric Theater of 135 College Avenue.

5:05

Special signage districts are processed like the rezoning, and there is currently no existing special signage district for the Lyric Theater.

5:12

Some other locations of special signage districts in town are shown on the screen and include University City Boulevard, First and Maine Commercial Center, North End, and the Lewis Gale Hospital.

5:24

This aerial shows the location of the Lyric Theater outlined in blue, which is adjacent to College Avenue.

5:32

Business signage in the downtown commercial zoning district for multi-establishment building would typically be limited to 15 square feet per business with a maximum of two signs.

5:41

These standards apply primarily to mix use buildings with retail and restaurant tenants.

5:46

However, theater is a qualitatively different type of use than most downtown uses, and the existing signage provides significantly more square footage per signage than the downtown commercial zoning district permits.

6:02

The existing signage is non-conforming in size, type, and number of signs.

6:06

The zoning ordinance allows for the designation of a signage district and provides for changes in standards to the base zoning district sign regulations.

6:14

The applicant proposes the standards for the signage district, and sizes, types, designs, and location are approved through the approval of a special signage district.

6:24

The proposed signage district elements include two marquee LED screens and red LED tube lighting in the inscribed space filling lyric.

6:33

There are some existing signage elements that will remain in the signage district, which include the metal poster cases, the yellow illuminated lyric letters, the comedy and tragedy masks, and the bulb lighting under the marquee.

6:45

While not considered signage, the window grills were a part of the historic review since they do contribute to a change in the facade and are included in the application.

6:57

The signage is focused on road frontage of College Avenue.

7:01

This graphic was provided in the application and shows the locations of the proposed new digital marquees, which will go right here.

7:09

The LED tube lighting, which will go up here, the window grills shown here, and the locations of the existing yellow illuminated lyric letters shown here and the comedy and tragedy masks.

7:21

Elements not shown in this graphic include the existing bulb lighting under the marquees and the metal poster cases in the alcove.

7:30

This slide shows the location of the existing marquees, bulb lights, comedy and tragedy masks, poster cases, and windows for which the grills will be fabricated.

7:41

The applicant is proposing two new LED panels located on the front of the building with one angle to face the southwest and one angle to face the northeast.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Urban Planning█████████████████████████████████████████████46%

Zoning Ordinance███████████████████████23%

Public Engagement███████7%

Public Transportation███████7%

Historic Preservation████4%

Procedural███3%

Parking███3%

Affordable Housing██2%

Transportation Safety█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting – August 4, 2020

The Blacksburg Planning Commission held a regular meeting on August 4, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers, with social distancing measures due to COVID-19. The meeting was live-streamed and recorded. The Commission considered several rezoning requests, a conditional use permit, a zoning ordinance amendment, and a bylaw amendment, all of which were recommended for approval to Town Council.

Consent Calendar

RZN 20-0005/ORD 1941: Request to rezone 40.34 acres at 1900 Toms Creek Road from RR-1 (Rural Residential-1) to PR (Planned Residential). The Commission scheduled a public hearing for September 1, 2020.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public spoke during any of the public hearings or the citizen comment period.

Discussion Items

RZN 20-0001/ORD 1932 – Lyric Theatre Special Signage District: Staff presented the request for a special signage district at 135 College Avenue to allow two LED marquee screens, red LED tube lighting in the inscribed “Lyric” letters, and replication of original window grills. The Historic or Design Review Board recommended approval (5–0). The applicant clarified that the marquee will imitate black text on white background, with no animation or video. The Commission voted to recommend approval with the condition that the applicant’s July 8, 2020, email clarifying the marquee style be included.
RZN 20-0004/ORD 1936 – 1709 Whipple Drive Rezoning: Request to rezone 0.293 acres from R-5 (Transitional Residential) to RM-48 (Medium Density Multi-Unit Residential) to match the adjacent 1711 Whipple property. The site currently has a single-family home; maximum density would increase from 5 to 14 bedrooms. The applicant proffered a trail connection, increased bike parking (25% over minimum, 50% covered), and a bike repair station. Traffic impact analysis showed a significant increase (from ~10–20 trips/day to 56 trips/day) but no substantial network impact. The Commission discussed concerns about unknown future uses and the bike parking wording but voted to recommend approval with the July 31, 2020, proffer statement.
Zoning Ordinance Amendment #51/ORD 1940 – Ground Floor Residential in DC District: Proposed amendment to allow residential uses on the ground floor in the Downtown Commercial (DC) district under limited circumstances: parcels over 10 acres, mixed-use development, units without street frontage, and shared common entry. The Commission discussed safety concerns and the original intent of the DC district but voted to recommend approval.
CUP 20-0003 – Additional Height at Midtown DC5: Request for a conditional use permit to exceed the 60-foot height limit in the DC district for parcel DC5 (401 Church St SE) of the Midtown development, proposing a 70-foot mixed-use building. The building includes ground-floor retail and upper-floor residential, with parking underneath. The Commission discussed the vegetated bank along Clay Street, retaining wall design, and landscaping to soften the visual impact. The applicant adjusted grading to reduce wall height. The Commission voted to recommend approval with conditions.
RZN 20-0002/ORD 1933 – Midtown Rezoning Amendment: Amendment to the previously approved rezoning of the former Blacksburg Middle School site (22.96 acres) to modify the pattern book and proffers. Changes included: new definition for stacked townhouses (two-over-two), a surface parking lot on parcel DC4 with a landscaping exception (reducing required landscaped area from 2,360 to 1,951 sq ft), reduction in open space from 35% to 30% (still exceeding the 20% minimum), revised pedestrian connectivity, and changes to building materials (reduced masonry from 50% to 37.5% in DC parcels, and elimination of masonry category in PRD parcels). The Commission expressed concerns about material definitions and the need for further refinement but voted to recommend approval with the parking lot landscaping exception, noting that the applicant will continue to work on language before Town Council.
Amendment to Planning Commission Bylaws: The Commission approved an amendment to the bylaws to change the meeting time and allow the chair to grant leaves of absence.

Key Outcomes

RZN 20-0005: Scheduled public hearing for September 1, 2020 (consent agenda).
RZN 20-0001 (Lyric Theatre): Recommended approval (unanimous) with condition incorporating July 8 email.
RZN 20-0004 (Whipple Drive): Recommended approval (unanimous) with July 31 proffer statement.
Zoning Ordinance Amendment #51: Recommended approval (unanimous).
CUP 20-0003 (Height at Midtown DC5): Recommended approval (unanimous) with conditions.
RZN 20-0002 (Midtown Amendment): Recommended approval (unanimous) with parking lot landscaping exception.
Bylaws Amendment: Approved (unanimous).

Meeting Transcript

Meeting of the Planning Commission. Regular meetings in the Blacksburg Planning Commission are held here in the Hedgebath Chambers on the first Tuesday of the month at as of today, 6 30 p.m. Due to COVID-19 health concerns, seating at the council chambers will be limited. Citizens are encouraged, but not required to submit comments to the planning commission by email. Or view the hearing online or on local television, W TOB channel two. The meeting will be live streamed from WWW Blacksburg.gov and recorded. 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. And speak only once during a specific hearing or comment period. And with that, we'll call the meeting to order. May we have a roll call, please. Uh Mr. Davis. Mr. Ford? Here. Ms. Jones? Mr. Cassall? Present. Mr. Hermione? Here. Ms. Reinhardt. Here. Mr. Collie is here. All right. So we have a quote. Excellent. First item on our agenda is consent agenda. We only have one item on the consent agenda this week. And that's rezoning 2000 five ordinance 1941, which is a request to rezone 40.34 acres from R1 rural residential zoning district to planned residential PR zoning district. At 1900, Tom Tom's Creek Road by Meredith Jones of EM Associates. At 135 College Avenue. And we have a staff presentation by Emma Martin. The applicant, right? The applicant, Greg Boatright is requesting a special signage district for the Lyric Theater of 135 College Avenue. Special signage districts are processed like the rezoning, and there is currently no existing special signage district for the Lyric Theater. Some other locations of special signage districts in town are shown on the screen and include University City Boulevard, First and Maine Commercial Center, North End, and the Lewis Gale Hospital. This aerial shows the location of the Lyric Theater outlined in blue, which is adjacent to College Avenue. Business signage in the downtown commercial zoning district for multi-establishment building would typically be limited to 15 square feet per business with a maximum of two signs. These standards apply primarily to mix use buildings with retail and restaurant tenants. However, theater is a qualitatively different type of use than most downtown uses, and the existing signage provides significantly more square footage per signage than the downtown commercial zoning district permits. The existing signage is non-conforming in size, type, and number of signs. The zoning ordinance allows for the designation of a signage district and provides for changes in standards to the base zoning district sign regulations.

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