Blacksburg Town Council Meeting – October 14, 2025: Rezoning, Subdivision Code Updates, and Life Saving Awards
Blacksburg Town Council Meeting – October 14, 2025
The Blacksburg Town Council held a regular meeting on October 14, 2025, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The agenda included a police life saving awards ceremony, approval of a consent agenda with several items, public hearings on a rezoning and right-of-way vacation at Holiday Lane, and adoption of three ordinances to modernize subdivision and zoning regulations. Council also heard citizen comments regarding a police incident. All votes were unanimous.
Awards and Recognition
- Police Chief John Clair presented Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police Life Saving Awards to officers who rescued a person from the New River on September 25, 2024. Officers jumped into the river with full equipment to save the unconscious individual.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes: Approved the September 16 and September 23, 2025 Town Council minutes.
- Resolution 10‑B‑25: Amended the regular meeting schedule to add a meeting on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 (rescheduled due to Veterans Day).
- Boundary Adjustment Agreement: Scheduled a public hearing for October 28, 2025.
- Ordinance 2095: Introduced a rezoning of ±2.7 acres at 1709 and 1711 Whipple Drive from Planned Residential to Medium Density Multiunit Residential (RM‑48) and scheduled a public hearing for November 12, 2025.
- Ordinance 2097: Introduced a lease of space on the North Main Street water tank to New River Valley Unwired Ventures, LLC and New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC; public hearing November 12, 2025.
- Ordinance 2098: Introduced an amendment to Town Code §1‑113 to increase the bad check fee; public hearing November 12, 2025.
- Ordinance 2099: Introduced an amendment to Town Code §11‑200 regarding business license requirements; public hearing November 12, 2025.
- Ordinance 2101: Introduced amendments to Town Code §§6‑200 and 6‑203 to update building code references and establish civil penalties for property maintenance violations; public hearing November 12, 2025.
- CUP 25‑2: Scheduled a public hearing for an automobile dealership in General Commercial zoning for November 12, 2025.
- CUP 25‑3: Scheduled a public hearing for a dance hall use in Downtown Commercial zoning for November 12, 2025.
The consent agenda was approved unanimously on a roll‑call vote (Anderson, Colliver, Ford, Hager‑Smith, Mattingly, Sutphin, Watson all yes).
Public Hearings
Ordinance 2075 – Rezoning 3503 Holiday Lane (9.722 acres) from General Commercial and Office to Planned Residential
- Staff Presentation: Senior Town Planner Caroline Collins explained the applicant, T.P.B. Enterprises LLC, proposes to rezone the property to allow five four‑story apartment buildings with up to 480 bedrooms (1‑ and 2‑bedroom units), 28% open space (including clubhouse, pool, dog park, trail), and 455 parking spaces (0.94 spaces per bedroom). The project also requests vacation of ±34,872 square feet of right‑of‑way along Holiday Lane to build a 10‑foot multi‑use trail.
- Planning Commission Recommendation: Recommended approval 6‑2 (one absent).
- Applicant Statement: Steve Semones of Balzer & Associates stated the project targets young professionals, with market‑rate units rented by the unit (not by the bed). Features include rideshare pickup, EV and e‑bike charging, and internal shuttles if needed. A traffic study found no negative impacts.
- Public Comment: Steve Gillespie (201 Fairfax Road) expressed concerns that the project is not affordable, lacks transit access, and will negatively impact traffic in south Blacksburg. He urged council to negotiate improvements.
- Applicant Rebuttal: Semones reiterated the traffic study showed no warranted improvements and noted the previous commercial proposal would have generated more traffic.
- Council Discussion: Councilmembers noted the property has been vacant for five years and the proposed housing type (1‑ and 2‑bedroom, non‑student) meets a community need. They acknowledged the site’s auto‑oriented location but cited potential future Blacksburg Transit connections. The occupancy restriction (family plus one unrelated or no more than two unrelated) aligns with the small lot ordinance.
- Action: Motion to approve Ordinance 2075 passed unanimously (Ford, Hager‑Smith, Mattingly, Sutphin, Watson, Anderson, Colliver all yes).
Ordinance 2091 – Vacation of a Portion of Public Right‑of‑Way at Holiday Lane
- Action: Motion to approve Ordinance 2091 (the related right‑of‑way vacation) passed unanimously (Hager‑Smith, Mattingly, Sutphin, Watson, Anderson, Colliver, Ford all yes).
Ordinances 2082, 2083, 2084 – Subdivision and Zoning Ordinance Amendments
- Staff Presentation: Town Planner Kali Casper summarized three ordinances based on feedback from a stakeholder group (Sept 2023 – April 2024) and new state laws (HB 2660, SB 974). Changes address street design (allow roll‑top curbing in single‑family districts, require sidewalks on both sides in denser areas), street construction sequencing flexibility, infrastructure timing and bonding, subdivision design (flag lot standards, cul‑de‑sac length, driveway placement), and process improvements (removing Planning Commission from preliminary plat review, shortening plan review timelines).
- Planning Commission Recommendation: Unanimous recommendation of approval (8‑0) for all three ordinances.
- Public Comment: None.
- Council Discussion: Councilmembers thanked staff for the comprehensive update but Councilmember Hager‑Smith noted the process took over three years and initially requests were for only three simple fixes. She stressed the need for continued conversation to address housing and infrastructure needs efficiently.
- Action: Motion to approve Ordinances 2082, 2083, and 2084 passed unanimously (Mattingly, Sutphin, Watson, Anderson, Colliver, Ford, Hager‑Smith all yes).
Citizen Comments
- James Earthman (Giles County) described a December 2024 road rage incident where he was assaulted and criticized the Blacksburg Police Department’s initial inaction and subsequent handling, alleging corruption and false charges. He urged council to address the matter.
Council Announcements
- Councilmember Anderson reported on the Virginia Municipal League annual conference, noting workshops and networking.
- Councilmember Colliver reminded citizens that early voting is underway (weekdays and two Saturdays at the Rec Center).
- Councilmember Watson noted the November 4 work session is cancelled for Election Day, and the next regular meeting is Wednesday, November 12, 2025 (rescheduled due to Veterans Day).
- Councilmember Ford shared that a VML presentation on the national economy emphasized “uncertainty” and urged local government to provide stability and certainty for the community.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous approvals: Consent agenda, Ordinance 2075 (Holiday Lane rezoning), Ordinance 2091 (right‑of‑way vacation), and Ordinances 2082‑2084 (subdivision and zoning code updates).
- Public hearings scheduled: Several items were introduced and set for a combined public hearing on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 (see Consent Calendar).
- Meeting adjourned: 7:32 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Will council please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll. Anderson. Present. Oliver? Here. Here. Heger Smith. Here. Mattingley? Here. Set Finn? Here. Watson. Present. Will the Vice Mayor please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Pledge of allegiance. To the flag. And to public. One nation. Under God. Indivisible. We're going to begin our activities this evening with a presentation. So I'd like to call Chief Claire up. And this is for the Virginia Association of Chiefs. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor and Council, for having us uh this evening. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to just read one of these uh citations and then and then present it to our officers. And uh this is especially an honor for me being the president of the Chiefs Association this year to come back and be able to present these. So these citations say that on September the twenty-fifth, twenty twenty four, members of the Blacksburg Police Department SWAT team were participating in training in Radford, Virginia. While transitioning between training sites, officers observed a person in mental health crisis leap from the memorial bridge in Radford into the new river. Officers immediately stopped and observed this the lifeless subject in the water, communicated with the communications center, and called for local resources, but our officers immediately responded into the water, swimming towards the unconscious individual, while other SWAT members were gathering supplies for the rescue. This person was more than halfway across the river floating downstream. These officers are jumping in with all their equipment on. We're going to introduce that this evening, and the public hearing will be on November 12th. Ordinance 2097, authorizing the lease of space on the North Main Street water tank to New River Valley Unwired Ventures LLC, a new singular wire wireless PCS LLC. Again, our action tonight will be to introduce that and schedule the public hearing for November 12th. We have an ordinance 2098 to amend town council section 1113 to increase the bad check fee. We'll talk about that on November 12th at greater length during a public hearing. Ordinance 2099, an ordinance to amend town code of section 11-200 regarding business license requirements. We're introducing that and scheduling the public hearing for November 12th. We have an ordinance 2101 to amend town code sections 6-200 and 6-203 to reflect recent building code regulation changes and to establish civil penalties for property maintenance code violations. The public hearing is scheduled for November 12th. We have a CUP 25-2, an automobile dealership and general commercial that'll also be heard on November 12th. And we have a CUP 25-3, dance hall use in the downtown downtown commercial district. So if you want to get real bang for your buck, come back on November 12th. I just thought of this, I hate to interrupt, but you don't want to tell the audience that November 12th is a Wednesday night. Oh, because November 11th was holidays. Yes. Thank you.
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