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Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Approves Rezonings, Speed Limit Reduction, and Lease on July 8, 2025

Town Council — Tuesday, July 8, 2025
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, July 8, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:01:00

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:45

Please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll.

0:50

Anderson present.

0:52

Oliver?

0:53

Here.

0:53

Board?

0:54

Present.

0:54

Egar Smith.

0:55

Here.

0:56

Matting Lee's absent.

0:57

Sutfin?

0:58

Here.

0:58

Watson.

0:59

President.

1:01

Thank you.

1:02

And we'll begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:04

Will the Vice Mayor lead us?

1:08

Pledge allegiance to the United States in America.

1:13

And Chief of the Republic.

1:25

We'll begin this evening with our consent agenda.

1:28

And the first uh item there is approval of town council minutes for June 3, 10, and 17.

1:36

We have a resolution 7A25 setting the regular meeting dates for Blacksburg Town Council in the year to come.

1:43

We have a resolution 7B 25 referring proposed subdivision and zoning ordinance amendments to the planning commission for review.

1:53

We have a CUP, a conditional use permit 25-1, a request for an outdoor educational and recreational camp at 2190 Merrimack Road.

2:05

And our action there will be to schedule that public hearing for August 12.

2:10

Uh and that is the next time that we will be in these chambers.

2:15

Ordinance 2078, an ordinance to amend town council, town code sections 16-11, 16-200, 16-203, 16-204, 16-207, and 16-506, and to add a new section 16-123 to update the town procurement code and incorporate provisions from the Virginia Public Procurement Act.

2:49

Wait, wait, wait.

2:52

Okay.

2:52

What is council's approval?

2:54

Um what is council's um wish on the consent agenda?

2:59

I move approval of the consent agenda.

3:01

Second.

3:02

We have a motion and a second.

3:03

Will the clerk please call the roll?

3:05

Oliver, aye.

3:06

Or aye.

3:07

Eager Smith.

3:08

Aye.

3:09

Sutfin?

3:09

Aye.

3:10

Watson.

3:11

Aye.

3:11

Anderson.

3:12

Aye.

3:13

Moving on now to the public hearings, and we're gonna take them a bit out of order.

3:18

Uh so we'll begin with item C, and that is ordinance twenty seventy-nine.

3:25

Rezoning point six fifty-five acres of land at one oh three Jefferson Street and East Roanoke Street from R5 Transitional Residential to Planned Residential District zoning.

3:38

And Matthew Sampa has the staff report.

4:04

The request has been brought to the brought by the applicant, Ballzer and Associates on behalf of the owner, Shaw Development LLC.

4:16

Development highlighted in blue is located near the corner of Jefferson Street and East Roadmouth Street across from Westview Cemetery.

4:27

It includes uh 10 detached single-family homes with uh 20 bedrooms total and parking for 20 vehicles off of Jefferson Street and six bicycles within the open space.

4:40

It is primarily surrounded by residential uses, including single-family, two-family, and multifamily dwellings.

5:00

Rezoning requests are evaluated for their conformity to the copyright plan, the relationship of the proposal to the general planning program of the town, and whether or not the change furthers the purpose of the zoning ordinance and the community, the need and justification for the change, which is the applicant's burden approved, and the effect of the proposed change on the surrounding neighborhood and public facilities.

5:15

The site's future land use designation is medium density residential.

5:19

It's also an in an urban and walkable neighborhood, and Roanoke Street is planned for future sidewalk and bike lane improvements per the past to the future plan.

5:33

The PR zoning district allows flexibility in meeting the district's purpose, enabling applicants to propose standards suited to their development.

5:41

In return, the some uh submitted plan application and proffers are binding, and any major changes require a public hearing and amendment to the PRD.

5:51

In the zoning ordinance, there are three types of regulations that govern new development.

5:55

The planned residential district allows an applicant to propose most of the district standards, but use and design standards and development standards still apply unless modifications are specifically requested.

6:09

The subject area is currently zoned and surrounded by R5 transitional residential, except for the cemetery, which is zoned R4 low density residential.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Ordinance█████████████████████████████████████████████48%
Procedural██████████████████19%
Urban Planning█████████████14%
Affordable Housing████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████6%
Transportation Safety█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Approves Rezonings, Speed Limit Reduction, and Lease on July 8, 2025

Blacksburg Town Council met at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers, 300 South Main Street, for a regular meeting. Council took action on six public hearings, approved all consent agenda items, and announced upcoming community events. Council member Mattingly was absent; all other members participated.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from June 3, June 10, and June 17, 2025.
  • Adopted Resolution 7-A-25, setting regular Town Council meeting dates.
  • Adopted Resolution 7-B-25, referring proposed subdivision and zoning ordinance amendments to the Planning Commission.
  • Scheduled a public hearing for August 12, 2025, on conditional use permit CUP-25-1 for an outdoor educational and recreational camp at 2190 Merrimac Road.
  • Introduced Ordinance 2078 and scheduled a public hearing for August 12, 2025, to update Town procurement code with provisions from the Virginia Public Procurement Act.

All consent items were approved unanimously by roll call.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public offered comments during any of the public hearings; the citizen comments portion was skipped.

Public Hearings & Discussion

  • Ordinance 2079 – Clydesview rezoning: Council approved the request by Balzar and Associates on behalf of Shaw Development LLC to rezone 0.655± acres at 103 Jefferson Street and East Roanoke Street from R-5 Transitional Residential to Planned Residential District. The project would create 10 detached single-family homes with 20 bedrooms, 20 parking spaces, 6 bicycle spaces, and 13% open space. Applicant Steve Simonis described it as a "front porch community" of modestly sized, attainable for-sale homes. Planning Commission had recommended approval 7–0. Council members praised it as a proof of concept for small-lot infill development.
  • Ordinances 2080 and 2081 – North Main Street amendment and alley vacation: Council considered a joint request by LV Collective to vacate approximately 2,981 square feet of town-owned alley right-of-way and to amend the previously approved planned residential development at 801 North Main Street by adding the former Speedway parcel. The amendment includes approximately 103 additional beds, 45 units, 96 residential parking stalls, 3,200 square feet of retail, 135 linear feet of Main Street commercial frontage, 18 retail parking stalls, and 12,200 square feet of additional open space. The applicant stated the affordable housing contribution would increase by $161,000 to a total of $1.3 million. Planning Commission had recommended approval 7–0. Council member Anderson voted no, citing excess density and an inadequate parking ratio; several other members said the amendment improves the previously approved plan.
  • Ordinance 2086 – 411 Draper Road encroachment: Council approved an encroachment for a delivery ramp, walkway, handrail, and wall in town right-of-way at 411 Draper Road. The encroachment is approximately 1,200 square feet and will serve the proposed Library Cafe and Draper Road Provisions. Applicant John Neal of Foresight Design said a site plan would be submitted within the next week and a half.
  • Ordinance 2087 – Prices Fork Road speed limit: Council lowered the speed limit on Prices Fork Road from Old Glade Road to Main Street from 35 mph to 25 mph. Staff cited a 75% increase in pedestrian crossings of Prices Fork Road since 2019, more than 5,000 pedestrians per day crossing at Tom's Creek Road, and anticipated redevelopment in the corridor. Council members expressed support for improving safety for vulnerable road users.
  • Ordinance 2088 – 104 Draper Road lease: Council approved authorizing the lease of one office in the Thomas Connor House annex to Live Work Eco (L-Weg), an organization that manages four community gardens. The previous Virginia Tech lease ended December 31, 2024, and generated approximately $80,000 per year.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved consent agenda unanimously (6–0).
  • Approved Ordinance 2079 unanimously (6–0).
  • Approved Ordinance 2080 by a 6–1 vote, with Council member Anderson dissenting.
  • Approved Ordinance 2081 unanimously (6–0).
  • Approved Ordinance 2086 unanimously (6–0).
  • Approved Ordinance 2087 unanimously (6–0).
  • Approved Ordinance 2088 unanimously (6–0).
  • Upcoming meetings: July 15 work session and July 22 regular meeting are cancelled; next work session is August 5 at Blacksburg Motor Company, and next regular meeting is August 12 in chambers.

Meeting Transcript

Please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll. Anderson present. Oliver? Here. Board? Present. Egar Smith. Here. Matting Lee's absent. Sutfin? Here. Watson. President. Thank you. And we'll begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. Will the Vice Mayor lead us? Pledge allegiance to the United States in America. And Chief of the Republic. We'll begin this evening with our consent agenda. And the first uh item there is approval of town council minutes for June 3, 10, and 17. We have a resolution 7A25 setting the regular meeting dates for Blacksburg Town Council in the year to come. We have a resolution 7B 25 referring proposed subdivision and zoning ordinance amendments to the planning commission for review. We have a CUP, a conditional use permit 25-1, a request for an outdoor educational and recreational camp at 2190 Merrimack Road. And our action there will be to schedule that public hearing for August 12. Uh and that is the next time that we will be in these chambers. Ordinance 2078, an ordinance to amend town council, town code sections 16-11, 16-200, 16-203, 16-204, 16-207, and 16-506, and to add a new section 16-123 to update the town procurement code and incorporate provisions from the Virginia Public Procurement Act. Wait, wait, wait. Okay. What is council's approval? Um what is council's um wish on the consent agenda? I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. We have a motion and a second. Will the clerk please call the roll? Oliver, aye. Or aye. Eager Smith. Aye. Sutfin? Aye. Watson. Aye. Anderson. Aye. Moving on now to the public hearings, and we're gonna take them a bit out of order. Uh so we'll begin with item C, and that is ordinance twenty seventy-nine. Rezoning point six fifty-five acres of land at one oh three Jefferson Street and East Roanoke Street from R5 Transitional Residential to Planned Residential District zoning. And Matthew Sampa has the staff report. The request has been brought to the brought by the applicant, Ballzer and Associates on behalf of the owner, Shaw Development LLC. Development highlighted in blue is located near the corner of Jefferson Street and East Roadmouth Street across from Westview Cemetery.

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