OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting - April 2, 2024

Planning Commission — Tuesday, April 2, 2024
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionPlanning Commission
DateTuesday, April 2, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 24:19

Transcript — Verbatim
0:45

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

0:52

Heads Bath Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 South Main Street.

0:57

Citizens may address the Planning Commission during specified times on the agenda and a request to do adhere to the following.

1:03

Please speak at the podium.

1:05

State your name and address, direct comments only to the commission.

1:09

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

1:15

A wireless microphone is available to anyone requesting assistance.

1:20

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

1:29

With that, we'll call the meeting to order.

1:31

May we have a roll call, please.

1:32

Mr.

1:32

Britt?

1:33

Here, Ms.

1:33

Herman, Mr.

1:34

Ford, Turbine, Ms.

1:36

Jones.

1:37

Mr.

1:37

Castle.

1:38

Ms.

1:38

Reinheim.

1:39

Ms.

1:39

Walker.

1:41

I am here.

1:41

We have a quorum.

1:43

Excellent.

1:44

First item on is our consent agenda.

1:47

We have three items on our consent agenda.

1:49

The first item is approval of the Planning Commission minutes from March 5th, 2024.

1:55

The action is to approve.

1:57

Second is AFD 241 ordinance 2052, which is a request to withdraw 3.03 acres from the agricultural and forestal district on 701 Bishop Road for Jim and Carol Berger.

2:12

The action there is to schedule a public hearing for May 7th.

2:16

And the third is zoning ordinance amendment ZOA, an amendment to the town of Blacksburg zoning ordinance to create a new small lot option in the R4 load density residential zoning district to allow smaller lot sizes.

2:30

And the action there is to cancel tonight's public hearing, April 2nd public hearing, and reschedule for May 7, 2024.

2:41

I move approval of the consent agenda.

2:43

Second.

2:44

All those in favor?

2:45

Aye.

2:48

Moving on to our public hearings tonight, the single public hearing that we were to have was uh plat 2320 Glade Spring Crossing Major Subdivision Preliminary Platte review for 176 lots on 45 acres at 1006 Gladespring Road.

3:09

And we have a staff presentation by Kenji O'Shea.

3:13

Thank you.

4:02

For orientation, Glade Road is on the left-hand side of the screen, and U.S.

4:05

460 bypass is at the bottom of the screen.

4:11

The state uses subdivisions as by right uses of land, provided that all of a locality's regulations and standards are met.

4:22

However, any variance requests are discretionary decisions.

4:56

The first variance request pertains to landings at intersections for bike trails.

5:01

In order for the bike trail that connects Gladespring Crossing Gladespring Drive with Village Way South to have an overall grade of less than 15%, which is the town standard, the landings at the top and the bottom of the slope where the trail intersects with Gladespring Drive at the cul-de-sac and village way south must be greater than 2%, which is the town standard.

5:22

The applicant proposes that the landings are would be no greater than 5% at these two intersections shown in red on the screen.

5:32

The second variance pertains to the water and sewer standard specifications and the subdivision standard for providing public utility easements.

5:39

The applicant stated in their justification that a low retaining wall up to two and a half feet in height is necessary for the rear yards of several lots to be graded to be graded to be usable and to reduce erosion.

5:52

The location of the wall intersects the side public utility easements as seen in this slide in the red.

5:58

The applicant has indicated that conduit for utilities would be provided in these locations to allow for utilities to cross the wall if needed in future.

6:05

Staff further notes that the wall should be maintained by the homeowners association and not individual homeowners or the town.

6:13

In summary, planning commission is asked to review the preliminary plat for its adherence to standards in the zoning and subdivision ordinances.

6:20

Planning commission is also asked to evaluate the two variance requests.

6:23

That concludes my presentation.

6:25

I'd be happy to take any questions that you have of staff.

6:29

Questions for Kinsey.

6:33

So where did it fall out with respect to the uh homeowners association?

6:43

The homeowners association will be in in charge of maintaining the wall.

6:47

That will be a condition of the of the variance approval.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement███████████████████████████27%
Urban Planning███████████████████████23%
Procedural█████████████████17%
Zoning Ordinance█████████████████17%
Affordable Housing████████████12%
Transportation Safety████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting - April 2, 2024

The Blacksburg Planning Commission held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 S. Main St. The meeting was called to order by Chair Andy Kassoff and adjourned at 6:53 p.m. All eight attending commissioners voted unanimously on every motion. Commissioner S. Rinehart was absent.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes (March 5, 2024): Approved unanimously (8-0).
  • AFD 24-1/ORD 2052 – Agricultural and Forestal District Withdrawal: Scheduled public hearing for May 7, 2024, for the request to withdraw 3.036 acres at 701 Bishop Road (Jim and Carol Burger, owners).
  • Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOA) #61 – Small Lot Development Option: Cancelled the April 2 public hearing and rescheduled it for May 7, 2024.

Public Hearing: Glade Spring Crossing Preliminary Plat (PLAT-23-20)

  • Project: Preliminary plat review for 176 lots on 45 acres at 1006 Glade Road (Tax Map Nos. 225-(A)-3, 4 & 224-(A)-57), owned by Glade Spring Crossing, LLC. The property was rezoned to Planned Residential in 2023.
  • Staff Presentation (Kinsey O’Shea): The site has frontage on Glade Road and secondary frontage on Shadowlake Road and Village Way South. The 2023 rezoning approved 176 mixed-income units (single-family, townhouse, and duplex). The applicant requested two variances to the Subdivision Ordinance: (1) Bikeways variance to allow landings of no greater than 5% grade (instead of 2%) on the emergency access connection from Glade Spring Drive to Village Way South; (2) Public Utility Easement (PUE) variance to allow a retaining wall (up to 2.5 feet high) on Lots 169-175 within the PUE for grading and erosion control. The HOA would maintain the wall.
  • Applicant Presentation (Michael Formica, WK Dickson): 44 units in the North Development Area and 132 in the South Development Area. Ten income-restricted units in the South will be completed in Phase 1; remaining income-restricted units in Phase 2. Glade Spring Drive will be built in Phase 1, other streets in Phase 2. The PUE variance involves a 2.5-foot wall along Lots 169-175, with conduit for utilities. The wall is located outside the rear setback and will not impact access to STEP/STEG systems. The applicant stated that wet utilities are not involved.
  • Public Comments:
    • Kacie Hodges (1223 Village Way South): Opposed the variance, noting the applicant had already received 14 variances during rezoning. She argued the retaining wall is unnecessary, costly for the HOA, and would hinder access to pump stations and town utilities. She contended the request does not meet the town’s variance definition and asked the Commission to deny it.
    • Chris Bundren (1219 Village Way South): Opposed the wall, concerned about maintenance, HOA costs, stormwater flowing over the wall onto his property, and emergencies requiring town access to septic systems. He suggested a vegetative buffer instead and requested denial.
  • Applicant Rebuttal: Formica explained that grade variations make this the best wall location. The wall is in a cut condition, so water will not be sent back toward Village Way South; storm drains will pick up runoff. The wall is outside the rear setback and not near access paths to STEP/STEG systems. He stated the wall actually improves access by expanding the PUE.
  • Commission Discussion: Commissioner Mel Jones asked for clarification on the PUE variance; staff clarified the wall crosses side PUEs on the development side, not affecting Village Way South properties. No wet utility access is required through that area.
  • Motion and Vote: Joel Herbein moved to approve PLAT-23-20 with both variances (referencing Subdivision Ordinance sections 5-503E and 5-901). Mel Jones seconded. The motion passed unanimously (8-0).

Citizen Comment

  • None.

Unfinished Business

  • Zoning Ordinance Review Committee: Chair Kassoff reported the committee had not met.
  • Historic or Design Review Board: Michael Ermann reported nothing to report.
  • Montgomery County Planning Commission: Ermann reported on the March meeting, noting a new comprehensive plan is being developed over the next 12 months with a focus on the next 20 years.

New Business

  • Chair’s Report: None.
  • Planning Director’s Report: Kali Casper reminded commissioners of the dinner and training opportunity on April 17, 2024, and asked them to RSVP by April 10.
  • Town Council Report: None.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved consent agenda items unanimously (8-0), including rescheduling ZOA #61 to May 7.
  • Approved the Glade Spring Crossing preliminary plat (176 lots) with both variances, at 6:53 p.m., by an 8-0 vote. The retaining wall on Lots 169-175 will be maintained by the HOA as a condition of approval.
  • Scheduled the AFD withdrawal public hearing for May 7, 2024.
  • No other formal actions 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 the Roger E. Heads Bath Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 South Main Street. Citizens may address the Planning Commission during specified times on the agenda and a request to do 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. A wireless microphone is available to anyone requesting assistance. Please silence all cell phones, show respect for all speakers, and allow all opinions to be expressed in the tolerant atmosphere. With that, we'll call the meeting to order. May we have a roll call, please. Mr. Britt? Here, Ms. Herman, Mr. Ford, Turbine, Ms. Jones. Mr. Castle. Ms. Reinheim. Ms. Walker. I am here. We have a quorum. Excellent. First item on is our consent agenda. We have three items on our consent agenda. The first item is approval of the Planning Commission minutes from March 5th, 2024. The action is to approve. Second is AFD 241 ordinance 2052, which is a request to withdraw 3.03 acres from the agricultural and forestal district on 701 Bishop Road for Jim and Carol Berger. The action there is to schedule a public hearing for May 7th. And the third is zoning ordinance amendment ZOA, an amendment to the town of Blacksburg zoning ordinance to create a new small lot option in the R4 load density residential zoning district to allow smaller lot sizes. And the action there is to cancel tonight's public hearing, April 2nd public hearing, and reschedule for May 7, 2024. I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Moving on to our public hearings tonight, the single public hearing that we were to have was uh plat 2320 Glade Spring Crossing Major Subdivision Preliminary Platte review for 176 lots on 45 acres at 1006 Gladespring Road. And we have a staff presentation by Kenji O'Shea. Thank you. For orientation, Glade Road is on the left-hand side of the screen, and U.S. 460 bypass is at the bottom of the screen. The state uses subdivisions as by right uses of land, provided that all of a locality's regulations and standards are met. However, any variance requests are discretionary decisions. The first variance request pertains to landings at intersections for bike trails. In order for the bike trail that connects Gladespring Crossing Gladespring Drive with Village Way South to have an overall grade of less than 15%, which is the town standard, the landings at the top and the bottom of the slope where the trail intersects with Gladespring Drive at the cul-de-sac and village way south must be greater than 2%, which is the town standard. The applicant proposes that the landings are would be no greater than 5% at these two intersections shown in red on the screen. The second variance pertains to the water and sewer standard specifications and the subdivision standard for providing public utility easements. The applicant stated in their justification that a low retaining wall up to two and a half feet in height is necessary for the rear yards of several lots to be graded to be graded to be usable and to reduce erosion. The location of the wall intersects the side public utility easements as seen in this slide in the red.

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