OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting - April 7, 2026

Planning Commission — Tuesday, April 7, 2026
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionPlanning Commission
DateTuesday, April 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 21:19

Transcript — Verbatim
0:34

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission, which is held on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.

0:41

here in the Roger E.

0:42

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

0:49

The public may address the planning commission during specified times on the agenda and are requested to hear to the following.

0:56

Speak at the podium, state your name and address.

0:59

Direct comments only to the to the commission.

1:02

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

1:08

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

1:16

So we'll call this meeting to order and start with a roll call.

1:19

Mr.

1:19

Britt.

1:20

Mr.

1:20

Ehrman.

1:21

Mr.

1:21

Ford.

1:22

Ms.

1:22

Jones.

1:23

Mr.

1:23

Cassie.

1:24

Here, Ms.

1:24

Reinhardt.

1:25

Ms.

1:25

Walker.

1:26

I'm here.

1:26

Madam Chair, we have a quorum.

1:28

Thank you.

1:30

Moving on to the consent agenda.

1:32

We shall consider the planning commission minutes of March 3rd.

1:37

And the action is to approve.

1:39

Do I have a motion?

1:40

I move approval of the consent agenda.

1:43

Second.

1:43

All those in favor, say aye.

1:45

Aye.

1:45

Aye.

1:46

All those opposed?

1:48

Public hearings, friends.

1:51

The first one is the special exception request for parking in the front of the building line for rugby lane hotel at 1315 rugby lane.

1:59

And we'll start with a staff presentation by Caroline Collins.

2:03

Good evening, Planning Commission.

2:05

This is a special exception request for parking in front of the front building line located at 1315 rugby lane on approximately 1.7 acres.

2:22

So this request is only looking at the parking and the proposed parking.

2:26

There are a hundred and total uh 102 total parking spaces with 85 in the rear and 17 in front of the front building line, which is where the special exception request is required.

2:37

And here you can see an aerial image of the lot.

2:41

Uh as you can see, it is an undeveloped flag lot with the narrow pole portion fronting on Country Club Drive, and this is necessary due to rugby lane being a private drive.

2:52

And all special exceptions are evaluated per section 1112 of the town zoning ordinance, and special exceptions also have their own set of criteria that they need to be evaluated against.

3:04

And the general criteria for evaluation includes unusual shape or topography of the lot, the location of existing structures, and whether or not mature trees can be preserved.

3:15

So this flaglock configuration does limit a typical site layout, especially with the narrow pole frontage on Country Club Drive, and it does constrain the development to that main portion of the site.

3:50

Since the planning commission work session, and it does show the hotel located in that central area fronting rugby lane, and it shows the 17 parking spaces highlighted in blue.

5:00

Um and there's no access provided from country club drive as well.

5:06

Vehicular access is provided solely through rugby lane, and that goes for pedestrian access as well.

5:12

And there's also pedestrian um connections from the primary parking areas to the hotel entrance.

5:20

Staff did decide that there were uh no significant safety concerns that were uh directly related to the parking in front of the front building line.

5:30

And lastly, there are four recommended staff conditions, and these have slightly changed since the planning commission work session, mainly due to the updated concept plan that was submitted on March 23rd with the first uh recommended condition pertaining to substantial conformance, and with the updated site plan, the applicant did identify uh some specific types of trees, so they would be held to that with this condition.

5:54

Um and the rest of the conditions are related towards uh preserving the existed vegetated area, uh maintaining the landscaped area as well as any tree plantings and limiting the number of parking spaces to 17 as shown on the concept line.

6:09

That concludes my presentation.

6:10

I'm happy to answer any questions you all have for staff.

6:14

Anyone have questions for staff?

6:16

All right, we'll move on to the applicant presentation.

6:20

Welcome, Jake.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Procedural██████████████████22%
Floodplain Management█████████████16%
Environmental Protection███████8%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting - April 7, 2026

The Blacksburg Planning Commission held its regular meeting on April 7, 2026, at 6:30 PM in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers. Commissioners present: Brian Britt, Tim Colley, Michael Ermann, Jerry Ford Jr., Mel Jones, Blaine Keesee, Susanna Rinehart, Latanya Walker. The meeting covered a consent agenda, two public hearings (a special exception for hotel parking and floodplain ordinance revisions), committee reports, and administrative updates.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the March 3, 2026 Planning Commission minutes by a vote of 8-0.

Public Hearings

EXP-26-1: Special Exception for Parking at Rugby Lane Hotel

  • Staff Presentation: Caroline Collins presented a request from applicant Jake Harding (Westwood Professional Services) to allow 17 of 102 parking spaces in front of the front building line at 1315 Rugby Lane. The parcel is a flag lot with frontage on Country Club Drive; all access will be from Rugby Lane. Staff recommended four conditions, including preserving the vegetated area along Country Club Drive, maintaining a landscaped planting area to screen parking, and limiting spaces to 17.
  • Applicant Presentation: Jake Harding explained the need to meet parking requirements and noted preservation of existing white pines. During Q&A, the Commission discussed replacing dead trees with evergreen species, and the motion incorporated a modification to require evergreen trees.
  • Public Comment: None.
  • Motion: Blaine Keesee moved to approve with staff conditions and the modification for evergreen tree replacement. Susanna Rinehart seconded. Vote: 7-1 (Michael Ermann dissented).

ORD #2085: Floodplain Overlay District Revisions

  • Staff Presentation: Carolyn Howard (Engineering and GIS Director) presented amendments to Sections 2103 and 5120, repeal of existing Article III Division 24, and adoption of new sections. Changes are required by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and to clarify floodplain permit submittal requirements. Key updates include: changing terminology (e.g., "100-year storm" to "1% annual chance storm"), allowing recreational vehicles up to 180 days, specifying minimum finished floor elevation of +1.5 feet above base flood elevation, and removing a commercial zoning exemption for local streams. A forthcoming watershed study will establish base flood elevations for downtown and provide town-wide drainage recommendations.
  • Public Comment: None.
  • Motion: Susanna Rinehart moved to approve the ordinance; Latanya Walker seconded. Vote: 8-0.

Unfinished Business

  • Zoning Ordinance Review Committee: Chair Jones reported the committee has not met.
  • Historic or Design Review Board: Michael Ermann had nothing to report.
  • Montgomery County Planning Commission: Tim Colley reported on discussions about a Bed and Breakfast, Mini-Storage use, and adoption of the Montgomery County Comprehensive Plan.

New Business

  • Chair's Report: None.
  • Planning Director's Report: Andrew Warren reminded commissioners of the upcoming Planning Commissioner Dinner and Training on April 22, 2026, at the Montgomery County Government Center.
  • Town Council Report: Jerry Ford noted the Town Council discussed the Town of Blacksburg budget at its last work session.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved consent agenda (8-0).
  • Approved special exception EXP-26-1 with modified condition (7-1).
  • Approved Ordinance #2085 for floodplain overlay district revisions (8-0).
  • No public comments received.
  • Meeting adjourned at 6:52 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission, which is held on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. here in the Roger E. Hedgepath Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 South Main Street, Blacksburg. The public may address the planning commission during specified times on the agenda and are requested to hear to the following. Speak at the podium, state your name and address. Direct comments only to the 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 all cell phones, show respect for all speakers, and allow opinions to be expressed in a tolerant atmosphere. So we'll call this meeting to order and start with a roll call. Mr. Britt. Mr. Ehrman. Mr. Ford. Ms. Jones. Mr. Cassie. Here, Ms. Reinhardt. Ms. Walker. I'm here. Madam Chair, we have a quorum. Thank you. Moving on to the consent agenda. We shall consider the planning commission minutes of March 3rd. And the action is to approve. Do I have a motion? I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Public hearings, friends. The first one is the special exception request for parking in the front of the building line for rugby lane hotel at 1315 rugby lane. And we'll start with a staff presentation by Caroline Collins. Good evening, Planning Commission. This is a special exception request for parking in front of the front building line located at 1315 rugby lane on approximately 1.7 acres. So this request is only looking at the parking and the proposed parking. There are a hundred and total uh 102 total parking spaces with 85 in the rear and 17 in front of the front building line, which is where the special exception request is required. And here you can see an aerial image of the lot. Uh as you can see, it is an undeveloped flag lot with the narrow pole portion fronting on Country Club Drive, and this is necessary due to rugby lane being a private drive. And all special exceptions are evaluated per section 1112 of the town zoning ordinance, and special exceptions also have their own set of criteria that they need to be evaluated against. And the general criteria for evaluation includes unusual shape or topography of the lot, the location of existing structures, and whether or not mature trees can be preserved. So this flaglock configuration does limit a typical site layout, especially with the narrow pole frontage on Country Club Drive, and it does constrain the development to that main portion of the site. Since the planning commission work session, and it does show the hotel located in that central area fronting rugby lane, and it shows the 17 parking spaces highlighted in blue. Um and there's no access provided from country club drive as well.

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