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Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting - February 7, 2023

Planning Commission — Tuesday, February 7, 2023
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionPlanning Commission
DateTuesday, February 7, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:51

Welcome to the regular planning commission meeting.

0:55

Uh it's Tuesday, February 7th, 2023.

0:59

Regular meetings of the Blacksburg Planning Commission are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 in the Roger Eadpath Hedge Path Chambers here in the Blacksburg Municipal Building at 300 South Main Street.

1:13

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

1:20

Please speak at the podium, state your name and address, direct comments only to the commission.

1:27

Please limit speaking time to a maximum of three minutes, and speak only once during a specific hearing or comment period.

1:35

Wireless microphone is available to anyone requesting the assistance.

1:38

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

1:47

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

1:49

May we have a roll call, please.

1:50

Mr.

1:51

Ford, President.

1:52

Mr.

1:52

Herbine, here, Ms.

1:54

Jones, Mr.

1:55

Cassoff.

1:56

Present.

1:56

Ms.

1:56

Reinhardt here.

1:57

Ms.

1:57

Walker.

1:58

Here.

1:58

Mr.

1:58

Watson.

1:59

President.

2:00

And I am here.

2:01

We have a quorum.

2:02

Wonderful.

2:03

Our first item on the agenda is the consent agenda.

2:07

And the first item on the consent agenda is approval of planning commission minutes of from November 1st, 2022 through December 6, 2022 and January 3rd, 2023.

2:19

And the action is to approve.

2:23

The second item is SUB 2301, a major subdivision preliminary plat review for 51 lots on 36 acres at 2150 Progress Street Northwest for North Side Park revised section 12 by Balsa and Associates.

2:42

And the action there is to schedule a public hearing for March 7, 2023.

2:48

The third item is rezoning 23001 ordinance 2014, which is a request to rezone 0.816 acres of land from DC Downtown Commercial to PR Planned Residential at 2020 Turner Street, Northwest by Steve Simonis of Balzer Associates, the applicant for 208 Turner LLC, the owner.

3:15

And the action is to schedule a public hearing for March 7th, 2023.

3:20

Fourth item on the consent agenda is CUP 23001, which is a conditional use permit request for medium industrial use in the industrial zoning district at 3210 Commerce Street by Larry Bullock of Boxley Ready Mix, the applicant for Henry and Susan Henderson, the owners, and the action is to schedule a public hearing for March 7th, 2023.

4:28

With that, do we have a motion?

4:37

Second.

4:39

All those in favor?

4:43

Wonderful.

4:44

Moving on to public hearings for the evening.

4:46

Our first public hearing is conditional use permit 22007.

5:00

Conditional use permit request for personal improvement services in the office zoning district at 2200 South Main Street by stall fitness LLC, the applicant for AWA 2200 Holdings LLC, the owner.

5:12

And we have a staff presentation.

5:17

As Andy mentioned, this is CUP 220007 for personal improvement services in the Office Zoning District at 2200 South Main Street.

5:27

The acreage is 0.1 acres as part of the building, but a 2.886 acre total site.

5:34

The current use is office for TRC companies.

5:37

The current zoning is office, and the proposed use is personal improvement services for Fitbody Boot Camp.

5:45

This is an aerial showing the parcel outlined in blue.

5:49

South Main Street runs along the frontage of the parcel, and you can also see the bus stop locations on this image.

5:57

In terms of existing conditions, the building itself is about 20,000 square feet.

6:02

It's a multi-tenant building and it's currently undergoing renovations.

6:06

It was previously occupied uh occupied by MOG Components.

6:10

TRC currently occupies about 16,000 square feet for the office use, and Fitbody Bootcamp is proposing to operate in the remaining 4,000 square feet.

6:22

This is an image just showing the outside of the site from the front of the building.

6:28

As I mentioned, the request is for personal improvement services.

6:32

The business itself has been operating in Blacksburg since 2017 and has outgrown the current location at Tech Village Center along Prices Fork Road.

6:41

Office is a by-right use, but personal improvement services are allowed by CUP in the office district.

6:48

And no additional exterior improvements are proposed with the application.

6:53

This was included in your staff report and just uh includes the zoning definitions for both general office, which is part of the use for the building, and then the proposed personal improvement services.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Ordinance█████████████████████████████████████████41%
Procedural█████████████13%
Transportation Safety█████████████13%
Urban Planning███████████11%
Community Engagement██████6%
Environmental Protection██████6%
Active Transportation████4%
Affordable Housing████4%
Housing██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting - February 7, 2023

The Blacksburg Planning Commission met on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at 6:30 PM in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers. Chair Andy Kassoff called the meeting to order with a quorum present. The meeting included approval of a consent agenda, two public hearings, extensive citizen comments on a postponed rezoning, and committee reports.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from November 1, 2022, December 6, 2022, and January 3, 2023.
  • Scheduled public hearings for March 7, 2023 for: SUB 23-0001 (51-lot subdivision at 2150 Progress Street NW), RZN 23-0001 (rezone 0.816 acres at 208 Turner Street NW), CUP 23-0001 (medium industrial use at 3210 Commerce Street), and RZN 22-0004 (Glade Spring Crossing, postponed from Feb 7).
  • All consent items passed 7-0.

Public Hearings

CUP 22-0007 – Fit Body Boot Camp at 2200 South Main Street

  • Staff Presentation: Kali Casper described the request for personal improvement services in the Office Zoning District. The use would occupy 4,000 sq ft in a multi-tenant building with no exterior changes. Parking is adequate. The applicant is working with an acoustic consultant to mitigate noise. Staff recommended one condition: conformance with the application.
  • Applicant Presentation: Steve Semones reported changes since the work session: signage revised, additional bike parking, and an acoustic engineer contacted to measure decibel levels.
  • Public Comment: Jim Henegar of TRC Engineers expressed strong concerns that noise from the fitness use would disrupt office work, stating the two uses appear incompatible.
  • Motion and Discussion: Joel Herbein moved to approve with the staff condition. Commissioners agreed noise is a landlord-tenant issue, not a land use matter. Tim Colley opposed additional conditions. Motion passed 6-0, with L. Walker abstaining.

RZN 22-0003 & CUP 22-0006 – 1055 Plantation Road (Mini-Warehouse)

  • Combined Staff Presentation: Kali Casper covered both the rezoning (amending the Planned Commercial district) and the conditional use permit for a mini-warehouse (100,000 sq ft, 820 units). Variances requested for sewer and bike lane. Staff did not support the bike lane variance, recommending its reconfiguration to extend the lane to the intersection with Plantation Road.
  • Applicant Presentation: Craig Stipes argued the bike lane variance is justified due to existing fiber optic infrastructure, and they are providing a paved bike path along the frontage. He noted the development would include a retaining wall and substantial landscaping to screen views from the adjacent hotel.
  • Public Comment: Josh Rigsby read a letter from hotel owner Dennis Dowdy opposing both applications. Dowdy expressed concern about visual integrity, traffic, and the impact on hotel guests.
  • Motion for Rezoning: Herbein moved to approve RZN 22-0003 with sewer variances but without the bike lane variance. Passed 7-0.
  • Motion for CUP: Herbein moved to approve CUP 22-0006 with all requested variances (unit doors, parking above maximum, sewer) and staff conditions, but without the bike lane variance. Passed 6-1, with Walker voting no.

Citizen Comment (on postponed RZN 22-0004 – Glade Spring Crossing)

Over a dozen residents from the Village of Toms Creek spoke, many wearing green to show unity. Tombo Jones of the Toms Creek Sustainability Coalition stated the coalition gathered 223 signatures opposing the proposed rezoning due to high density and safety concerns. Multiple speakers expressed support for affordable housing but argued the current proposal is too dense, requires 13 variances, and poses serious environmental and safety risks. Key concerns included: stormwater and flooding impacts on Toms Creek (a thermally impaired stream), loss of tree canopy, traffic increases on Village Way South, lack of sidewalks, and dangerous intersections. Many requested that the connecting road between Glade Spring Crossing and Village of Toms Creek be limited to pedestrian and emergency access only. Specific questions were raised about the affordable housing plan, ARPA funding, and developer compliance. No applicant rebuttal was given.

Key Outcomes

  • CUP 22-0007 (Fit Body Boot Camp) – Approved 6-0 (Walker abstained).
  • RZN 22-0003 (Rezoning at 1055 Plantation Road) – Approved 7-0, excluding the bike lane variance.
  • CUP 22-0006 (Mini-Warehouse) – Approved 6-1 (Walker opposed), excluding the bike lane variance.
  • RZN 22-0004 (Glade Spring Crossing) – Public hearing cancelled; rescheduled for March 7, 2023.
  • Other: Chair reported the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee plans to meet in March. Commissioner Ford noted Town Council is initiating a small lot development study.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the regular planning commission meeting. Uh it's Tuesday, February 7th, 2023. Regular meetings of the Blacksburg Planning Commission are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 in the Roger Eadpath Hedge Path Chambers here in the Blacksburg Municipal Building at 300 South Main Street. Citizens may address the 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, direct comments only to the commission. Please limit speaking time to a maximum of three minutes, and speak only once during a specific hearing or comment period. Wireless microphone is available to anyone requesting the assistance. Please silence cell phones, show respect for all speakers, and allow all opinions to be expressed in the tolerant atmosphere. And with that, we'll call the meeting to order. May we have a roll call, please. Mr. Ford, President. Mr. Herbine, here, Ms. Jones, Mr. Cassoff. Present. Ms. Reinhardt here. Ms. Walker. Here. Mr. Watson. President. And I am here. We have a quorum. Wonderful. Our first item on the agenda is the consent agenda. And the first item on the consent agenda is approval of planning commission minutes of from November 1st, 2022 through December 6, 2022 and January 3rd, 2023. And the action is to approve. The second item is SUB 2301, a major subdivision preliminary plat review for 51 lots on 36 acres at 2150 Progress Street Northwest for North Side Park revised section 12 by Balsa and Associates. And the action there is to schedule a public hearing for March 7, 2023. The third item is rezoning 23001 ordinance 2014, which is a request to rezone 0.816 acres of land from DC Downtown Commercial to PR Planned Residential at 2020 Turner Street, Northwest by Steve Simonis of Balzer Associates, the applicant for 208 Turner LLC, the owner. And the action is to schedule a public hearing for March 7th, 2023. Fourth item on the consent agenda is CUP 23001, which is a conditional use permit request for medium industrial use in the industrial zoning district at 3210 Commerce Street by Larry Bullock of Boxley Ready Mix, the applicant for Henry and Susan Henderson, the owners, and the action is to schedule a public hearing for March 7th, 2023. With that, do we have a motion? Second. All those in favor? Wonderful. Moving on to public hearings for the evening. Our first public hearing is conditional use permit 22007. Conditional use permit request for personal improvement services in the office zoning district at 2200 South Main Street by stall fitness LLC, the applicant for AWA 2200 Holdings LLC, the owner. And we have a staff presentation. As Andy mentioned, this is CUP 220007 for personal improvement services in the Office Zoning District at 2200 South Main Street. The acreage is 0.1 acres as part of the building, but a 2.886 acre total site. The current use is office for TRC companies. The current zoning is office, and the proposed use is personal improvement services for Fitbody Boot Camp. This is an aerial showing the parcel outlined in blue. South Main Street runs along the frontage of the parcel, and you can also see the bus stop locations on this image.

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