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Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting: Officer Elections and Reports – September 1, 2026

Planning Commission — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionPlanning Commission
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 9:14

Transcript — Verbatim
0:30

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission.

0:33

Um these are held every first two or for the first Tuesday of every month uh at 6 30 p.m.

0:40

in the Roger E.

0:40

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

0:46

The public, which is not in attendance tonight, may address the planning commission during specified times on the agenda.

0:52

Um were they here, they would speak once at the podium, state their name and address, direct comments only to the commission, and limit their speaking time to three minutes.

1:01

Speak only once during the public hearing period comment period.

1:05

Um so we'll begin by calling ourselves to order andrew will do a roll call for us.

1:13

Thank you.

1:14

Welcome.

1:15

Britt.

1:16

Here Herman.

1:17

Ford here.

1:19

Jones.

1:19

Here.

1:21

Reinhardt.

1:22

Here, Walker here.

1:23

We have a quorum.

1:24

Thank you.

1:25

Um our consent agenda includes only the uh planning commission minutes from August 4th.

1:32

Um do we have a motion?

1:34

I move approval of the consent agenda.

1:37

Okay.

1:38

All those in favor, please say aye.

1:40

Aye.

1:41

All those opposed, none.

1:43

We have no public hearings this evening, and as I mentioned, no public in attendance, so no public comment.

1:50

Um we will move right on to unfinished business.

1:53

Um we have um a slate of planning commission office well, we have our annual planning commission officer elections.

2:10

Um we have a chair, a vice chair, and a secretary.

2:14

Um we'll first hear from the nominating committee.

2:18

Madam Chair, the nominating committee, which consists of me and Jerry Ford, have uh uh put together a slate of nominees.

2:27

Um Melissa Jones for Chair, Susanna Reinhart for Vice Chair, and Blaine Keesey for Secretary.

2:35

Are there other nominations?

2:40

All right, just seeing none, we'll move to a vote.

2:43

Um all of those who are or do we need a motion on this one?

2:46

No, yes, or does his count as a motion?

2:49

Um I move we approve the slate of officers as presented by Mr.

2:54

Britt.

2:54

Ah, thank you.

2:55

Do we have second?

2:56

Thank you.

2:57

Okay, now we'll have a vote.

2:58

All those in favor of the slate say aye.

3:01

Aye.

3:02

All of those opposed, none.

3:05

All right.

3:05

Then we shall move on to committee reports.

3:08

Um zoning ordinance review committee has not met.

3:11

Um does the historic or design review board report.

3:15

Nothing to report.

3:16

Okay.

3:16

Um Mr.

3:17

Ford, I believe you have a report on the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

3:21

I do.

3:21

So the Planning Commission mate met on the 19th.

3:25

And as a spoiler alert, there were no public hearings.

3:29

What was interesting is the first thing is they had since they had time, the representative for the Virginia Cooperative Extension gave a very extensive presentation about their role in in the community as their communities everywhere.

3:44

Um I recommend everyone go back and look at that first 15 minutes because it was a very good presentation.

3:51

Um so there was that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████71%
Urban Planning██████████████████29%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting Summary – September 1, 2026

The Blacksburg Planning Commission met on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 S. Main St. Members present: Britt, Herman Ford, Jones, Reinhardt, and Walker; a quorum was established. No members of the public attended and no public hearings were scheduled.

Consent Calendar

  • The Planning Commission unanimously approved the consent agenda, consisting of the August 4, 2026 meeting minutes.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • None. No public comment period was held because no members of the public were in attendance.

Discussion Items

  • Annual Officer Elections: The nominating committee (Commissioners Britt and Ford) proposed Melissa Jones for Chair, Susanna Reinhart for Vice Chair, and Blaine Keesey for Secretary. No other nominations were offered. The slate was approved unanimously by voice vote.
  • Zoning Ordinance Review Committee: Reported as not met.
  • Historic or Design Review Board: Nothing to report.
  • Montgomery County Planning Commission Report (Commissioner Ford): The county commission met on August 19, 2026, with no public hearings. The Virginia Cooperative Extension gave a detailed presentation. A new county planning commission member was welcomed. In a work session, the county discussed a housing development in eastern Montgomery County near Eastern Montgomery School (with Steve Simonis present) and a request on Prices Fork Road toward Peppers Ferry Road to convert land for a wrestling training facility.
  • Chair’s Report: No report given.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the consent agenda and elected the 2026–2027 officers: Melissa Jones (Chair), Susanna Reinhart (Vice Chair), and Blaine Keesey (Secretary).
  • The Planning Director recommended canceling the September 15, 2026 work session because there were no pending public hearing items.
  • The Planning Director announced that the Recode Blacksburg consultant would be in town on October 6, 2026, and requested a work session that evening in addition to the regular meeting.
  • Commissioners were encouraged to review and share the conference plan update survey and suggest public engagement opportunities; staff is seeking community locations for outreach this fall and spring.
  • Town Council Report: Council’s work session included the final community branding presentation, an ARPA funding update, a child care workforce presentation by the Community Foundation of the NRV, and a Food Security Network update involving Live Worky Grow.

Adjournment

The regular meeting adjourned following these reports.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Blacksburg Planning Commission. Um these are held every first two or for the first Tuesday of every month uh at 6 30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepath Chambers of the Black Blacksburg Municipal Building at 300 South Main Street. The public, which is not in attendance tonight, may address the planning commission during specified times on the agenda. Um were they here, they would speak once at the podium, state their name and address, direct comments only to the commission, and limit their speaking time to three minutes. Speak only once during the public hearing period comment period. Um so we'll begin by calling ourselves to order andrew will do a roll call for us. Thank you. Welcome. Britt. Here Herman. Ford here. Jones. Here. Reinhardt. Here, Walker here. We have a quorum. Thank you. Um our consent agenda includes only the uh planning commission minutes from August 4th. Um do we have a motion? I move approval of the consent agenda. Okay. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, none. We have no public hearings this evening, and as I mentioned, no public in attendance, so no public comment. Um we will move right on to unfinished business. Um we have um a slate of planning commission office well, we have our annual planning commission officer elections. Um we have a chair, a vice chair, and a secretary. Um we'll first hear from the nominating committee. Madam Chair, the nominating committee, which consists of me and Jerry Ford, have uh uh put together a slate of nominees. Um Melissa Jones for Chair, Susanna Reinhart for Vice Chair, and Blaine Keesey for Secretary. Are there other nominations? All right, just seeing none, we'll move to a vote. Um all of those who are or do we need a motion on this one? No, yes, or does his count as a motion? Um I move we approve the slate of officers as presented by Mr. Britt. Ah, thank you. Do we have second? Thank you. Okay, now we'll have a vote. All those in favor of the slate say aye. Aye. All of those opposed, none. All right. Then we shall move on to committee reports. Um zoning ordinance review committee has not met. Um does the historic or design review board report.

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