OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting Summary – August 4, 2026

Planning Commission — Tuesday, August 4, 2026
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionPlanning Commission
DateTuesday, August 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:09:58

Transcript — Verbatim
0:51

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission.

0:55

These are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.

0:59

in the Roger E.

1:00

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

1:05

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

1:11

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

1:16

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

1:24

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

1:31

So I'll call us to order and could we have a roll call.

1:36

Cassie.

1:37

Here.

1:39

Jones.

1:40

Here, Reinhardt.

1:41

Here.

1:41

Herman.

1:44

Here.

1:50

So our first item is the consent agenda approval of the planning commission minutes from July 7th, 2026.

1:57

Do you have a motion?

1:59

I move approval.

2:00

Second.

2:01

All those in favor say aye.

2:03

Aye.

2:04

All those opposed, none.

2:06

We shall move on to public hearing.

2:08

First, we have CUP 26-1, a financial institution with a drive-through window at 1800 Prices Fork Road.

2:16

We'll begin with a staff presentation from Nicholas Baker.

2:21

Good evening, everybody.

3:45

Surrounding zoning districts include PC Planned Commercial, PR Plan Ridential, and Office.

4:36

However, the specific use and site layout were not known at the time of approval in 2023.

4:44

So as a condition of the original approval, the property owner was required to amend the conditional use permit prior to the development of the parcel to establish the proposed use and site layout.

4:56

So this request tonight does satisfy that requirement.

5:08

Just wanted to give you all a recap because we have been at this for uh most of the summer.

5:14

Um couple things.

5:16

So the parking space quantity, uh the applicants were originally requesting 13 spaces, which was more than the maximum allowed amount by the zoning ordinance.

5:28

Um they have updated that to 11 spaces, which does meet uh zoning ordinance requirements, so a variance uh uh or a waiver is no longer required.

5:41

Uh additionally, uh those spaces were also proposed to be in front of uh the building line, which would have also required a waiver.

5:50

Uh, the applicants have also moved all parking behind the front building line so a waiver is no longer required.

5:59

Um open space was was talked about quite a bit, just sort of the overall use of the site, um, getting a clearer idea of that.

6:07

Um you'll see in the next slide.

6:09

Um, the applicant has revised the open space and has clarified that it will be 25% in total, which does exceed the 21% minimum requirement, which was originally approved as part of that uh CUP and rezoning from 2023.

6:26

And uh the open space will primarily be used for a variety of new tree plantings.

6:32

Uh the main uh the big ticket item that we had talked about, the main thing was the cross access and vehicle uh entrance location.

6:42

Um the applicant is still requesting a waiver uh to the cross access requirements found in section 3164 and proffered as a part of that CEP and rezoning.

6:53

Um if approved, this exception request would be codified as part of the CEP resolution based on the revised information and updated variance request letter that was sent out to you all on Friday.

7:08

Um town staff are now recommending approval of this VDAT uh access management variance request, um, again as presented and shown in the package that you received on Friday.

7:19

Uh the variants would allow the financial institution's entrance to be placed on plantation road as shown on this concept plan, which is the latest submittal uh from the applicant, and here is the proposed entrance on plantation road.

7:40

A few other items about the concept plan.

7:43

Um the bank still does propose to use a one-story brick exterior, and um the financial institution itself is proposed to be 2,560 square feet.

7:54

Uh total lock coverage of the project area will be of approximately 1900 square feet, which is an impervious surface percentage of 39%.

8:03

Uh the drive-thru is proposed to be located on the uh side of the building, primarily facing the northern boundary, and the drive-thru is proposed to consist of one teller window lane, one outer lane, and a bypass lane with an ATM shown a little bit uh beyond the windows and where my cursor is here.

8:28

Uh site parking, as I mentioned earlier, does now include 11 spaces total, uh, six stacking spaces for the drive-through and five bicycle parking spaces.

8:39

Um item of note that I briefly spoke on in the uh work session that it has not changed with the slated submittal is where my cursor is here.

8:49

You will notice the placement of a parallel space located at the uh southeastern boundary of the site, located directly beside a standard 90-degree uh perpendicular parking space.

9:02

Um staff do not support the location of this parallel parking space.

9:07

Um, so just would like to note that.

9:09

A couple other things, uh, there is an existing multi-use trail fronting prices for road along here, um, and the applicants have amended the concept plan to uh provide direct access into the site from that trail.

9:28

Would also just like to note here uh you will see a little bit of this existing uh uh open space will be vacated to accommodate to this request, and if this conditional use permit is approved, um the new open space and the old uh vacated open space will be required uh uh to be completed via a plat, which will run in conjunction with the site plan.

10:00

Um there is a monument sign proposed here at the intersection of uh Prices Fork Road and Plantation Road, and the applicant has um widened uh the planting strip to allow the uh for the required street plantings um along Prices Fork uh road as well.

10:22

The applicant has uh submitted um elevations.

10:27

The this so this just shows the latest uh layout of the site.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Procedural████████████17%
Community Engagement███████10%
Water And Wastewater Management█████7%
Affordable Housing███4%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Regular Meeting – August 4, 2026

The Blacksburg Planning Commission met at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers at the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 S. Main St. The Commission approved the consent agenda, held public hearings on two conditional use permit requests, and received reports on county and town matters.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the July 7, 2026 Planning Commission minutes unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No oral public comments were made during either public hearing or during the general public comment period.
  • For CUP-26-2, staff reported receiving one written comment from a nearby property owner who expressed concern about converting existing residential properties to commercial use and requested preservation of existing trees and replacement landscaping to screen light and traffic noise.

Public Hearing: CUP-26-1 – Financial Institution with Drive-Through Window, 1800 Prices Fork Road

  • Staff planner Nicholas Baker presented the request by applicant John Neel of Foresight Design Services on behalf of First Community Bank. The site is zoned PC Planned Commercial and was previously approved in 2023; the current request satisfies a condition to establish the use and site layout before development.
  • The applicant revised the plan to reduce parking from 13 to 11 spaces, meeting the zoning maximum and eliminating the need for a parking waiver; all parking was moved behind the front building line. Open space was set at 25%, exceeding the 21% minimum. The bank building is proposed at 2,560 square feet with a one-story brick exterior; total lot coverage is approximately 1,900 square feet, or 39% impervious surface. The drive-through includes one teller window lane, one outer lane, a bypass lane, and an ATM.
  • The applicant is still requesting a waiver from cross-access requirements and a VDOT access management variance to allow the entrance on Plantation Road. Town staff recommended approval of the variance, with a noted concern that the northbound stopping sight distance is 22 feet less than VDOT requires; staff recommended restricting left-turn movements from the site to mitigate this. Staff also did not support the proposed parallel parking space at the southeastern boundary.
  • Staff recommended two conditions: substantial conformance with the July 30, 2026 concept plan, and use of the property only as a financial institution with a drive-through to limit trip generation.
  • During discussion, commissioners asked about the awkward parallel space, street tree compliance, and what left-turning drivers would do if left turns are restricted. The applicant said the parallel space issue may be revisited at site plan stage and that drivers wanting to go left could exit right and re-enter via a nearby driveway.
  • The Commission approved CUP-26-1 unanimously with the two staff conditions.

Public Hearing: CUP-26-2 – General Office, Medical Office, or Fine Arts Studio, 700 and 706 S. Main St. and 105 Eakin St. SW

  • A commissioner disqualified themselves from this item under the Virginia State and Local Government Conflict of Interest Act to avoid any appearance of impropriety and left the dais.
  • Staff planner Nicholas Baker presented the proposal by the applicant/owners (listed as Gary and Janet Buss on the agenda; transcript audio renders the surname as 'Bliss'). The property is zoned R-5 Transitional Residential, covers approximately 32,000 square feet, and currently contains three residential structures and two brick garages. The proposal would remove the garages, convert the residences to office/medical office/fine arts studio use, and add a new one-story office building behind 706 S. Main Street.
  • Staff's written materials described the new building as 12,000 square feet, but the applicant corrected this during the meeting, stating the new building is actually 1,200 square feet. Total building footprint is approximately 5,314 square feet. The plan includes a two-way access drive off Eakin Street SW and 21 shared parking spaces, plus a stormwater bioretention area.
  • The project affects private sewer laterals from Draper Road that cross the applicant's property; the applicant agreed to work with the town to reroute and establish easements connecting to a new public sewer in the Eakin Street alley. Town staff were satisfied with the approach.
  • Regarding sidewalks, staff noted Section 5120 requires sidewalks for developments requiring site plans. There is no existing or proposed sidewalk along Eakin Street. Following the July 21, 2026 work session, staff added Condition 6 requiring construction of at least a four-foot sidewalk along Eakin Street during site plan review, with an exception from the usual four-foot buffer and a reduction from the standard five-foot width; the engineering director would determine feasibility based on site conditions.
  • A neighborhood meeting was held July 1, 2026, with no concerns raised. One written citizen comment expressed concerns about residential-to-commercial conversion and requested tree preservation and screening.
  • During discussion, commissioners confirmed that approving the CUP would not prevent the property from reverting to residential use in the future, subject to R-5 occupancy requirements. The applicant cited previous successful rehabilitation of nearby properties and expressed concern about sidewalk construction potentially narrowing the street and displacing utilities or on-street parking.
  • The Commission approved CUP-26-2 unanimously with the staff-recommended conditions, including sidewalk Condition 6.

Unfinished Business

  • The Zoning Ordinance Review Committee had not met.
  • The Historic or Design Review Board representative was not present.
  • The Montgomery County Planning Commission representative reported on the county's July 15, 2026 meeting, which included approval of two cell towers, one near Carilion Hospital and one in the Pallet area adjacent to the Floyd County line; a new application process incorporating a staff review matrix and additional time for external agency reviews; upcoming zoning text amendments related to state code changes; and recognition of Bob Miller for 20 years of service on the county commission.

New Business

  • Chair's report: A nomination committee was formed for the September Planning Commission officer elections. Mr. Ford and Mr. Britt volunteered to serve; the positions are chair, vice chair, and secretary.
  • Planning Director's report: The Planning Commission retreat is scheduled for Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., with commission consensus to allow a 5:00 p.m. start; agenda topics will include the comprehensive plan update and Recode Blacksburg. The regular work session was cancelled due to no public hearing items.
  • Town Council report: At a work session earlier that day, Town Council discussed wastewater system updates, including a capacity study of the Blacksburg-VPI Sanitation Authority plant. Overall capacity is adequate with administrative re-rating, though one interceptor section may need updating by 2040. Staff will revise sanitary sewer standards and specifications, and Tom's Creek Basin sewer service and future costs were also discussed.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • CUP-26-1 approved unanimously with two staff conditions (substantial conformance with July 30, 2026 plan; use limited to financial institution with drive-through).
  • CUP-26-2 approved unanimously with staff-recommended conditions, including the Eakin Street sidewalk condition.
  • Nomination committee appointed for September officer elections.
  • Retreat confirmed for August 18, 2026, with a possible 5:00 p.m. start.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission. These are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedge Path Chambers at the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 South Main Street. The public may address the planning commission during specified times on the agenda and are requested to hear adhere to the following. Speak at the podium, state your name and address, direct comments only to the commission. Please limit your speaking time to a maximum of three minutes and speak only once during a specific public hearing or comment period. Please silence your cell phones, show respect for all speakers, and allow all opinions to be expressed in a tolerant atmosphere. So I'll call us to order and could we have a roll call. Cassie. Here. Jones. Here, Reinhardt. Here. Herman. Here. So our first item is the consent agenda approval of the planning commission minutes from July 7th, 2026. Do you have a motion? I move approval. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, none. We shall move on to public hearing. First, we have CUP 26-1, a financial institution with a drive-through window at 1800 Prices Fork Road. We'll begin with a staff presentation from Nicholas Baker. Good evening, everybody. Surrounding zoning districts include PC Planned Commercial, PR Plan Ridential, and Office. However, the specific use and site layout were not known at the time of approval in 2023. So as a condition of the original approval, the property owner was required to amend the conditional use permit prior to the development of the parcel to establish the proposed use and site layout. So this request tonight does satisfy that requirement. Just wanted to give you all a recap because we have been at this for uh most of the summer. Um couple things. So the parking space quantity, uh the applicants were originally requesting 13 spaces, which was more than the maximum allowed amount by the zoning ordinance. Um they have updated that to 11 spaces, which does meet uh zoning ordinance requirements, so a variance uh uh or a waiver is no longer required. Uh additionally, uh those spaces were also proposed to be in front of uh the building line, which would have also required a waiver. Uh, the applicants have also moved all parking behind the front building line so a waiver is no longer required. Um open space was was talked about quite a bit, just sort of the overall use of the site, um, getting a clearer idea of that. Um you'll see in the next slide. Um, the applicant has revised the open space and has clarified that it will be 25% in total, which does exceed the 21% minimum requirement, which was originally approved as part of that uh CUP and rezoning from 2023. And uh the open space will primarily be used for a variety of new tree plantings. Uh the main uh the big ticket item that we had talked about, the main thing was the cross access and vehicle uh entrance location. Um the applicant is still requesting a waiver uh to the cross access requirements found in section 3164 and proffered as a part of that CEP and rezoning. Um if approved, this exception request would be codified as part of the CEP resolution based on the revised information and updated variance request letter that was sent out to you all on Friday. Um town staff are now recommending approval of this VDAT uh access management variance request, um, again as presented and shown in the package that you received on Friday. Uh the variants would allow the financial institution's entrance to be placed on plantation road as shown on this concept plan, which is the latest submittal uh from the applicant, and here is the proposed entrance on plantation road. A few other items about the concept plan. Um the bank still does propose to use a one-story brick exterior, and um the financial institution itself is proposed to be 2,560 square feet. Uh total lock coverage of the project area will be of approximately 1900 square feet, which is an impervious surface percentage of 39%. Uh the drive-thru is proposed to be located on the uh side of the building, primarily facing the northern boundary, and the drive-thru is proposed to consist of one teller window lane, one outer lane, and a bypass lane with an ATM shown a little bit uh beyond the windows and where my cursor is here.

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