Blacksburg Town Council Meeting: Proclamation and Citizen Comments on Small-Lot Zoning - May 26, 2026
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Blacksburg Town Council Meeting: Proclamation and Citizen Comments on Small-Lot Zoning - May 26, 2026
The Blacksburg Town Council met on May 26, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers. The meeting began with a proclamation declaring June 5, 2026 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day, presented by Mayor Michael Sutphin to representatives from Moms Demand Action. The council then approved the consent agenda unanimously. A single citizen comment raised concerns about the unintended consequences of the small-lot development ordinance.
Consent Calendar
- Town Council Minutes from May 12, 2026, approved.
- Resolution 5-C-26: Transfer of $105,000 between CIP Fund Projects, approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Detrick Linde (504 Allegany Street) expressed concerns about the small-lot residential zoning ordinance (likely Ordinance 3043/3433). He stated that a property on Piedmont Street comprising four lots (two existing homes and several acres) is being advertised to investors. Under the by-right development allowed by the ordinance, a developer could combine the lots to meet the two-acre threshold, demolish the existing houses and woods, and build a high-density development. Linde argued this contradicts the ordinance's goal of increasing affordable housing, as the existing homes are priced around $300,000 and would be replaced by more expensive units. He noted that the process does not require public hearings or council approval, leaving residents powerless. He asked the council to review the ordinance and sought advice on how to intervene. Councilmember Jerry Ford responded that the two-acre threshold was intended to prevent such lot scraping, and expressed surprise at this case, offering to connect Linde with town staff for further discussion.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda approved unanimously (all present members voted yes, with Councilmember Lauren Colliver absent).
- No other votes or decisions were taken. The citizen comment was acknowledged without action, but the council directed the speaker to staff for further assistance.
Meeting Transcript
Will the council come to order and will the clerk please call the roll? Anderson, present. Campbell? Present. Oliver's absent. Ford? Here. Good hard. Present. Cassol? Sutfin. Here. We will begin tonight before we go to the consent agenda with a proclamation for National Gun Violence Awareness Day. And I'll come down. We have some folks from uh moms demand action with us tonight for this proclamation presentation. Yeah. Yeah, what we can do. Okay. I'll so I'm just gonna go ahead and read this proclamation here. So whereas every day nearly a hundred and thirty people in the United States are killed by gun violence and more than two hundred are shot and wounded, with an average of more than nineteen hundred gun homicides every year. And whereas people in the United States are twenty-six times more likely to die by gun homicide than people in other high-income areas, countries. And whereas support for the second amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes hand in hand with keeping guns away from those who are a danger to themselves or others, and whereas in January 2013, Haida Pendleton was tragically shot and killed at age 15, and on June 5th, 2026 to recognize the 29th birthday of Hadiah Pendleton, uh born June 2nd, 1997. People across the United States will recognize gun violence awareness day and wear orange in tribute to Hadiah Pendleton and other victims of gun violence and the loved ones of those victims. And whereas the idea was inspired by a group of Hadia's friends who asked their classmates to commemorate her life by wearing orange. They chose this color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods, and orange is the color that symbolizes the value of human life. Whereas anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear orange on June 5th, the first Friday in June 2026 to help raise awareness about gun violence. And whereas we renew our commitment to reduce gun violence and pledge to do all we can to keep firearms out of the hands of people who should not have access to them and encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our families and communities safe. Therefore, be it resolved that I'm Michael Sutfin, mayor of the town of Blacksburg, Virginia, declare the first Friday of June, June 5th, 2026, to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day. So thank you all for being with us today. And I think we're gonna get a few photos here. Thank you so much. What is the council's pleasure on the consent agenda? I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. Which one was it? Do we need to record? I was a little bit further from the mic. Okay, we'll go with uh second. So we've got a motion and a second. Any discussion on the consent agenda? Um seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll? Aye. Ford. Aye. Goodhart. Aye. Cass off. All right. Sutfin. Anderson.
openpublica.com