Blacksburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting - December 5, 2023
Blacksburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting - December 5, 2023
The regular meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission was called to order at 6:30 PM in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers. A quorum was present (Commissioners Britt, Ehrman, Ford, Jones, Kassal, President, Reinhardt; absent: Irvine, Walker). The meeting proceeded with a consent agenda, cancellation of a public hearing, reports from committees, and a citizen comment at the end.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The Planning Commission minutes from November 9, 2023, were approved unanimously.
- CUP 23-4 Cancellation and Rescheduling: The public hearing for the Conditional Use Permit (CUP 23-4) for multi-family residential use on the ground floor in the GC-General Commercial zoning district on 3.94 acres of an 8.44 acre parcel at 203 Country Club Drive SW was canceled and rescheduled from December 5, 2023, to January 2, 2024. The motion passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Initial Citizen Comment: No citizens addressed the Commission during the designated period.
- Later Citizen Comment: Near the end of the meeting, Sharon Tomere (608 Rose Avenue) spoke. She stated she is a neighbor of the proposed Rugby field senior housing project. She expressed full support for senior housing at that location but raised concerns about the previous application (before it became senior housing) that included removing all trees between the trail and the path, replacing them with evergreens, and moving the path closer to Margaret Beaks. She argued this would result in a loss of biodiversity and create a sharp curve on a steep slope, posing a safety hazard for bicyclists, particularly children. She urged the Commission to keep the path in its current location and preserve all existing trees.
Discussion Items
- Montgomery County Planning Commission Report: Chairperson reported on the recent Montgomery County Planning Commission meeting. Key items:
- A preschool (operating under a CUP previously granted) purchased a property near Thomas Lane and Old Fort Road and was seeking permission to move. The CUP passed, though not unanimously.
- A special use permit for a rubble landfill also passed.
- A proposed ordinance revision for commercial and industrial solar facilities was postponed due to a public notice mix-up; only an informational meeting was held.
- Montgomery County is expected to begin televising/streaming its planning commission public hearings by January 2024.
- Commissioner Observation on Parking: A commissioner (likely Mr. Ford) noted that the preschool site had 21 parking spaces, but the applicant indicated only 3-4 were needed. When the county staff stated the parking was required, the commission accepted it without questioning the requirement. The commissioner suggested that Blacksburg should be more critical of parking minimums in the future.
- Planning Director’s Report: The Director noted that the applicant for the canceled public hearing (CUP 23-4) has been contacted and that the most up-to-date information on meeting dates will be posted on the town website under the public hearings tab.
- Town Council Report: A commissioner provided a report on the Town Council work session held earlier that day (December 5, 2023). The Council had a robust discussion on the downtown Northwest (NW) ordinance, which had been sent forward with caveats from the Planning Commission, particularly regarding building height. The Council indicated comfort with an L-shaped setback along Main Street and Turner Street: within that setback, the maximum height would be 75 feet; in the core interior beyond the setback, the maximum height would be 100 feet (down from a previously considered 125 feet). Visualizations relative to the Moss Art Center were used. The Council also had a generalized discussion about height in the downtown area. The ordinance will return to the Planning Commission for review.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda Approved: November 9, 2023, minutes approved; CUP 23-4 public hearing canceled and rescheduled to January 2, 2024.
- No Public Hearing Held: The sole public hearing was canceled via the consent agenda.
- Upcoming Meetings: A work session is scheduled for December 19, 2023, at 5:00 PM (to discuss the Capital Improvement Plan and small lots, not the Rugby applicant). The next regular meeting is January 2, 2024, which will likely be a consent-only agenda. The Rugby applicant revisions are expected to be heard at a January work session, pending resubmission.
- Citizen Input Noted: The Commission acknowledged Sharon Tomere’s comments on the Rugby field project, though no formal action was taken.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to the uh regular planning commission meeting. Um regular meetings for the planning commission are held here on the first Tuesday of each month at uh the Rogery Head Pass Chambers um at 6 30. I will skip the citizens' comments since we have no citizens today. Uh we will call this meeting to order. May we have a roll call, please. Mr. Britt, Mr. Ehrman, Mr. Ford, here, Mr. Irvine's absent, Ms. Jones, Ms. Cassall, President, Ms. Reinhardt here, Ms. Walker is absent. We had a quorum. Wonderful. Uh the first element on our agenda is the consent agenda. We have two items. One is what the is the approval of the planning commission minutes from November 9th. And the second, the action is to approve. And the second is CUP 234, conditional use permit for multi-family residential use on the ground floor in the G uh GC General Commercial Zoning District on 3.94 acres of an 8.44 acre parcel at 203 Country Club Drive by Balzar and Associates for the diversified investors. And the action there is to cancel the December 5th, 2000 uh 2023 public hearing and reschedule for January 2nd. Do we have a motion? Second. All those in favor? Move on to public hearings. The uh public hearing tonight is CUP 234, which is conditional use permit for multifamily residential use on the ground floor, general commercial zoning district, uh of three point nine four acres of an eight point four four acre parcel at 203 country club drive. And that public hearing is canceled and was addressed in the consent agenda. With that, we'll move on to citizen comment. Seeing no citizens, we'll move on. Um we have not uh met recently. No. Uh historic or design review board. Um nothing to report. Planning commission, uh Montgomery County Planning Commission. Um I attended the meeting. We we several years ago granted them a CUP to operate in the friends meeting house on on um uh Mount Tabor. Uh they had arrived there because their their facility out in Newport was threatened by the pipeline and they didn't feel safe, so they they came to Blacksburg. They were able to purchase a piece of property out uh near Thomas Lane and Old Fort Road, so they were trying um were uh going through the process to get permission to move out there and have their property. So it did pass the um planning commission. Uh not unanimously, but it did pass, and it'll move on. Then there were two um uh or there was another SUP about uh a rubble uh uh inner rubble landfill which passed. And then the big the big main event there was supposed to be both a um redoing of the uh uh Montgomery County ordinance uh in regarding uh uh solar uh uh both commercial and industrial. Um there was a mix-up on the public notice uh postings and so uh they weren't able to hold the hearing, they just had another informational meeting, provided information and took public input. And that's all that in Charlesville? Is that the one in Charlottesville? Um you know I haven't I haven't followed it close enough to but I assume so. I think there's only one currently um so and then the other big news item is that it appears that very soon Montgomery County will start uh televising streaming their uh public hearing or their planning commission public hearings so um in the future by January 2024. Hopefully. Just hopefully, I almost felt like it might be December the way they spoke.
openpublica.com