OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting – November 5, 2024

Planning Commission — Tuesday, November 5, 2024
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionPlanning Commission
DateTuesday, November 5, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 8:02

Transcript — Verbatim
0:47

Welcome to the regular meeting of Boxburg Planning Commission.

0:51

Regular meetings of the Boxburg Planning Commissioner held here at the Roger Hedge Path Chambers on the first Tuesday of each month at 6 30 PM.

1:02

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

1:08

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

1:15

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

1:23

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

1:31

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

1:34

May we have a roll call, please.

1:35

Mr.

1:35

Britt?

1:36

Mr.

1:36

Erman?

1:37

Mr.

1:37

Ford, here.

1:38

Ms.

1:38

Jones.

1:39

Mr.

1:39

Cassoff.

1:40

Present.

1:40

Mr.

1:40

Cathy?

1:41

Here?

1:41

Ms.

1:41

Reinhardt?

1:42

Here.

1:42

Miss Walger.

1:44

Absent.

1:44

And I am here.

1:45

We have a quorum.

1:47

Great.

1:48

On tonight's consent agenda, we have four items.

1:52

The first item is the approval of the Planning Commission minutes from October 1st, and the action is to approve.

1:59

Second item is rezoning 243 Clay Street Apartments PRD request from R5 transition transitional residential to PR Planned Residential at 402 Clay Street.

2:12

And the action there is to schedule a public hearing for December 3rd, 2024.

2:18

The third item is zoning ordinance amendment ZOA 60 ordinance 2001, an amendment to amend the text of the town zoning ordinance to create a new downtown Northwest zoning district for the area bounded by North Main Street, Turner Street, and Prices Fork Road.

2:37

And the action is to schedule a public hearing for December third, 2024.

2:57

Rezoning 242 rezoning requests from General Commercial to R5 Transitional Residential to PR Planned Residential to permit the construction of an eight-story multifamily building with commercial on the ground floor and town homes.

3:17

Right of way 242, which is a companion request to vacate a town-owned alley right-of-way of approximately 2,000 square feet.

3:50

Move approval of the consent agenda.

3:53

Second.

3:53

All those in favor?

3:55

Aye.

3:57

Moving on to public hearings.

3:59

The only public hearing tonight was 801 North Main Street, but as we just mentioned in the consent agenda, uh that public hearing has been canceled and uh rescheduled for December third, 2024.

4:14

With that, we will open up citizen comment.

4:16

Do we have any citizens that would like to address the commission at this time?

4:28

What up, planning commission?

4:29

My name is Ice.

4:30

I live at 1711 Whipple Drive.

4:32

I start this by thanking all of you civil servants who maintain this beautiful town on this special day.

4:40

Thank you.

4:41

In lieu of the election, I was thinking that the best and only way to bring people together when they're separated by numerous divisive issues is to have an old-fashioned political marriage and consummation.

5:00

Just like lords and ladies and kings and queens and princes and princesses and even lucky knights, brave knights used to do during feudal developments in history.

5:08

In this age of techno feudalism, we could build a moment of unity for the future of America.

5:16

Imagine the most focal and important leaders elected by our vote, bridging gaps by leading by example.

5:27

Jesus said, love your enemy, the stranger and the neighbor.

5:33

So what does it mean to truly love someone?

5:37

How can or should one express their love?

5:41

Now that I think about it.

5:44

Why stop at the presidential election?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████████████████43%
Miscellaneous████████████████████████████████████████40%
Urban Planning█████████████████17%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting – November 5, 2024

The Blacksburg Planning Commission held a regular meeting on November 5, 2024, at 6:30 PM in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers. Vice Chair Mel Jones presided. The meeting lasted approximately 8 minutes, with a consent agenda, one citizen comment, and brief reports. No public hearings were held as the sole scheduled hearing was canceled and rescheduled.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the October 1, 2024, meeting were approved unanimously.
  • Clay Street Apartments PRD (RZN-24-3): A rezoning request from R-5 Transitional Residential to PR Planned Residential at 402 Clay Street SE. The public hearing was scheduled for December 3, 2024.
  • Zoning Ordinance Amendment #60 (ORD #2001): An amendment to create a new Downtown Northwest zoning district (bounded by North Main Street, Turner Street, and Prices Fork Road). The public hearing was scheduled for December 3, 2024.
  • 801 North Main Street PRD Development (RZN-24-2, ROW-24-2, CUP-24-3): A rezoning, alley vacation, and conditional use permit request for an 8-story mixed-use building and townhomes. The November 5, 2024, public hearing was canceled and rescheduled for December 3, 2024.
  • Vote: All consent items were approved 7-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Zachery Weiss of 1711 Whipple Drive thanked the Planning Commission for their service and urged building a “bridge of unity” through divisive issues, referencing the election and proposing a metaphorical political marriage to foster unity.

Discussion Items

No substantive discussion items were deliberated beyond the consent agenda and reports.

Reports

  • Zoning Ordinance Review Committee: Had not met.
  • Historic or Design Review Board: Nothing to report.
  • Montgomery County Planning Commission: Commissioner Michael Ermann noted he was the intended October attendee but did not attend; he will review recordings online.
  • Planning Director’s Report: Andrew Warren announced a walking tour of the Downtown Northwest area will be organized as a public meeting, with potential coordination with the Virginia Tech Foundation to access the top of the Gilbert Street building for better views. Staff will reach out to commissioners to finalize a date.
  • Town Council Report: None.

Key Outcomes

  • All four consent agenda items were approved (7-0 vote).
  • The public hearing for 801 North Main Street PRD was canceled and rescheduled for December 3, 2024.
  • Public hearings for Clay Street Apartments PRD and ZOA #60 were scheduled for December 3, 2024.
  • The meeting adjourned at 6:38 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the regular meeting of Boxburg Planning Commission. Regular meetings of the Boxburg Planning Commissioner held here at the Roger Hedge Path Chambers on the first Tuesday of each month at 6 30 PM. 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, and speak only once during a specific hearing or comment period. Please silence cell phones, show respect for all speakers, and allow all opinions to be expressed in a tolerant atmosphere. With that, we'll call this meeting to order. May we have a roll call, please. Mr. Britt? Mr. Erman? Mr. Ford, here. Ms. Jones. Mr. Cassoff. Present. Mr. Cathy? Here? Ms. Reinhardt? Here. Miss Walger. Absent. And I am here. We have a quorum. Great. On tonight's consent agenda, we have four items. The first item is the approval of the Planning Commission minutes from October 1st, and the action is to approve. Second item is rezoning 243 Clay Street Apartments PRD request from R5 transition transitional residential to PR Planned Residential at 402 Clay Street. And the action there is to schedule a public hearing for December 3rd, 2024. The third item is zoning ordinance amendment ZOA 60 ordinance 2001, an amendment to amend the text of the town zoning ordinance to create a new downtown Northwest zoning district for the area bounded by North Main Street, Turner Street, and Prices Fork Road. And the action is to schedule a public hearing for December third, 2024. Rezoning 242 rezoning requests from General Commercial to R5 Transitional Residential to PR Planned Residential to permit the construction of an eight-story multifamily building with commercial on the ground floor and town homes. Right of way 242, which is a companion request to vacate a town-owned alley right-of-way of approximately 2,000 square feet. Move approval of the consent agenda. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Moving on to public hearings. The only public hearing tonight was 801 North Main Street, but as we just mentioned in the consent agenda, uh that public hearing has been canceled and uh rescheduled for December third, 2024. With that, we will open up citizen comment. Do we have any citizens that would like to address the commission at this time? What up, planning commission? My name is Ice. I live at 1711 Whipple Drive. I start this by thanking all of you civil servants who maintain this beautiful town on this special day.

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