OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting – May 2, 2023

Planning Commission — Tuesday, May 2, 2023
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionPlanning Commission
DateTuesday, May 2, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 23:58

Transcript — Verbatim
0:44

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission, which are held here on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 at the Roger E.

0:54

Hedge Path Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 South Main Street.

0:59

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

1:05

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

1:11

Please limit speaking time to a maximum of three minutes.

1:14

Speak only once during a specific hearing or come up period.

1:18

A wireless microphone is available to anyone requesting the assistance.

1:23

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

1:32

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

1:34

May we have a roll call, please?

1:35

Mr.

1:36

Ford.

1:36

Present.

1:37

Mr.

1:37

Herbine.

1:37

Here.

1:38

Ms.

1:38

Jones.

1:39

Mr.

1:39

Cassoff.

1:40

Present Ms.

1:40

Reinhardt.

1:41

Here.

1:41

Ms.

1:42

Walker.

1:42

Mr.

1:43

Watson.

1:44

Here we have a coin.

1:45

Thank you.

1:47

Tonight we have four items on our consent agenda.

1:51

The first being the approval of the planning commission minutes from February 7th.

1:55

The action is February 7th, March 7th, and April 4th.

2:00

And the action is to approve.

2:02

The second 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 Balzern Associates.

2:19

And the action there is to cancel the May 2nd 2023 public hearing and reschedule for June 6, 2023.

2:27

The third item on the consent agenda is rezoning 2301 ordinance 2014, a request rezone 0.186 acres from downtown commercial to planned residential at 208 Turner Street, Northwest by Steve Simonis and Balser Associates, the applicant for 208 Turner, the owner.

2:49

And the action there is to cancel the June 6, 2023 public hearing and reschedule for July 6, 2023, which is uh a Thursday meeting.

3:01

Uh the public hearing uh July will be held on the first Thursday or July 6th due to the uh July 4th holiday.

3:10

And uh the fourth item is CEP 2303, a conditional use permit request for hotel use and additional height in the downtown commercial zoning district at 501 South Main Street for midtown redevelopment partners.

3:25

And the action there is to cancel the May 2nd, 2023 public hearing and reschedule again for Thursday, July 6, 2023.

3:35

Do we have a motion?

3:36

I move approval of the consent agenda as listed in the agenda.

3:41

Second.

3:42

All those in favor?

3:43

Aye.

3:45

Great.

3:46

Move on to our public hearing.

3:48

We have one public hearing uh tonight, and that's EXP 2301, a special exception request for parking in front of the front building line at 128-4 North Main Street for the Islamic Society of New River Valley, the owner.

4:06

And we have a staff presentation.

4:09

Thank you.

4:10

This is special exception 23-0001.

4:14

The location is 1284 North Main Street.

4:17

The applicant is John Neal of Foresight Design Services for the property owner at the Islamic Society of the New River Valley.

4:34

A little bit of background about this um location.

4:37

The ISNRB has been at its current location in Blacksburg since the early 1990s, and they have purchased an adjacent 2.26-acre vacant parcel from the Virginia Tech Foundation for expansion of their building and their parking and other uses on the site.

5:00

For the proposed expansion, it's likely to be completed in several phases, but it does include a new multipurpose building as well as a connector to the existing building, in addition to the existing building, and additional parking areas on the site.

5:09

Phase one would consist of constructing new parking, phase two would be the new multi-purpose building, the third portion would be the breezeway, and then the fourth would include addition to the original building, expansion of the breezeway, and parking reconfiguration.

5:27

In phase four, we would end up with 107 total parking spaces with 28 of them in the front.

5:35

I mentioned that because in phase one, there would be 35 spaces in the front prior to the reconfiguration, and I'll show you some graphics that uh include that later as well.

5:44

And the fine um in the beginning, the there would be 80 spaces in the rear, and in phase four, when everything is complete, 79 spaces in the rear.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parking█████████████████████████████████████████████48%
Procedural███████████████████████24%
Zoning Ordinance████████████████████21%
Urban Planning███████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting (May 2, 2023)

The Blacksburg Planning Commission met on May 2, 2023 at 6:30 PM in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers of the Municipal Building. The meeting included a consent agenda, one public hearing, and reports from commissioners and staff. All votes were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from February 7, March 7, and April 4, 2023.
  • Cancelled the public hearing for SUB 23-0001 (Northside Park preliminary plat, 51 lots on 36 acres) and rescheduled it to June 6, 2023.
  • Cancelled the public hearing for RZN 23-0001 (rezoning 0.816 acres at 208 Turner St. from DC Downtown Commercial to PR Planned Residential) and rescheduled it from June 6 to July 6, 2023.
  • Cancelled the public hearing for CUP 23-0003 (conditional use permit for hotel use and additional height at 501 S. Main St.) and rescheduled it from May 2 to July 6, 2023.
  • Note: The agenda lists the rezoning as item III-C and the CUP as III-D, while the minutes reverse the order. The actions for both items are identical.
  • Motion to approve the consent agenda passed 6-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the citizen comment period.

Discussion Items

  • Special Exception EXP 23-0001 – Islamic Society of New River Valley (1284 N. Main St.): The applicant requested parking in front of the front building line for a religious assembly expansion. The site includes a 2.26-acre adjacent parcel with a 30-foot elevation change. The final phase would provide 107 total parking spaces, with 28 in front (35 in phase 1, decreasing to 28 in phase 4). Staff recommended three conditions: substantial conformance with the revised parking plan, evergreen shrubs along North Main Street to screen the parking, and a limit of 35 spaces in front. The applicant revised the layout to address safety concerns (eliminating dead-end aisles and moving parking spaces away from the entrance throat). The commission voted 6-0 to approve with the staff conditions.
  • Montgomery County Planning Commission Report: Commissioner Ford reported on the April meeting, which included a special use permit for athletic field lights at Auburn Park, work on updating bylaws (dating to 1976), and a work program to address solar farms after a withdrawn application.
  • Town Council Report: Commissioner Ford noted that Town Council held final work sessions on the Glade Spring Crossing rezoning and the accessory dwelling ordinance (ZOA #47).
  • Planning Director’s Report: The July public hearing will be held on Thursday, July 6, 2023 instead of Tuesday, July 4 due to the Independence Day holiday.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the consent agenda (minutes, rescheduling of three hearings) – vote 6-0.
  • Approved EXP 23-0001 with staff conditions – vote 6-0.
  • No other actions or votes were taken.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission, which are held here on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 at the Roger E. Hedge Path Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 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, direct comments only to the commission. Please limit speaking time to a maximum of three minutes. Speak only once during a specific hearing or come up 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 a tolerant atmosphere. And with that, we'll call the meeting to order. May we have a roll call, please? Mr. Ford. Present. Mr. Herbine. Here. Ms. Jones. Mr. Cassoff. Present Ms. Reinhardt. Here. Ms. Walker. Mr. Watson. Here we have a coin. Thank you. Tonight we have four items on our consent agenda. The first being the approval of the planning commission minutes from February 7th. The action is February 7th, March 7th, and April 4th. And the action is to approve. The second 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 Balzern Associates. And the action there is to cancel the May 2nd 2023 public hearing and reschedule for June 6, 2023. The third item on the consent agenda is rezoning 2301 ordinance 2014, a request rezone 0.186 acres from downtown commercial to planned residential at 208 Turner Street, Northwest by Steve Simonis and Balser Associates, the applicant for 208 Turner, the owner. And the action there is to cancel the June 6, 2023 public hearing and reschedule for July 6, 2023, which is uh a Thursday meeting. Uh the public hearing uh July will be held on the first Thursday or July 6th due to the uh July 4th holiday. And uh the fourth item is CEP 2303, a conditional use permit request for hotel use and additional height in the downtown commercial zoning district at 501 South Main Street for midtown redevelopment partners. And the action there is to cancel the May 2nd, 2023 public hearing and reschedule again for Thursday, July 6, 2023. Do we have a motion? I move approval of the consent agenda as listed in the agenda. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Great. Move on to our public hearing. We have one public hearing uh tonight, and that's EXP 2301, a special exception request for parking in front of the front building line at 128-4 North Main Street for the Islamic Society of New River Valley, the owner. And we have a staff presentation. Thank you.

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