overview - blacksburg

2 0 1 4 P l a n n i n g C o m m i s s i o n A n n u a l R e p o r t P a g e | 1

Overview

The Blacksburg Planning Commission is composed of between five and fifteen citizens appointed by the Town Council. There were eight Planning Commissioners at the end of this reporting period. The Commission fulfills the role identified in Section 15.2-2210 of the Code of Virginia. The Planning Commission is the official planning body for review of the future growth and development of the Town of Blacksburg pursuant to the adopted Comprehensive Plan and Town Ordinances. A number of Town Departments support the work of the Planning Commission by providing planning guidance and technical review. The Town Clerk of Council records minutes of the monthly Planning Commission meetings. The Town Attorney serves a valuable role in advising staff and the Planning Commission on land use matters. Town citizens also contribute through their service on Planning Commission subcommittees and their attendance at neighborhood meetings, public input sessions, and public hearings. In September 2014, the Planning Commission held its annual retreat to foster camaraderie within the group, to discuss membership expectations and to consider how the Planning Commission might assist Town Council in its goals. In particular, some of the discussion topics included, green building and sustainable development practices, the role of the commissioners and comprehensive plan implementation, as well as the planning commission goals for 2015. We have held an annual retreat since 2009 and have found that it serves the Commission well to evaluate where we are as a Commission and where we would like to go in the future. This Annual Report covers the work of the Planning Commission from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2014. We have provided a summary of our membership, committees, meeting dates, and activities, as well as more detailed information on the development applications reviewed by the Planning Commission.


Blacksburg Planning Commission Members and Terms

January 1, 2014- December 31, 2014 Andrew Kassoff, Vice Chair June 2, 2010 – June 30, 2018 Wendell Hensley August 8, 2006 – June 30, 2017 J. B. Jones, Jr. June 14, 1998 – June 30, 2018 Melissa “Mel” Jones, Secretary June 25, 2013 – June 30, 2017 Paul Lancaster, Chair November 14, 2000 – June 30, 2016 Don Langrehr June 26, 2012 – June 30, 2016 Elizabeth “Gregg” Moneyhun, Chairman June 24, 2008 – June 30, 2016 Cecile Newcomb January 10, 2012 – January 12, 2016

Planning Commission Subcommittees

(As of December 2014)

Environmental Quality and Land Use Tim Colley

Andy Kassoff Meredith Jones Don Langrehr

Gregg Moneyhun Cecile Newcomb

Georgia Anne Snyder-Falkinham Greg Tew

Long Range Planning

Wendell Hensley Mel Jones J.B. Jones

Paul Lancaster Mike Lawless Alan Raflo


Planning and Building Department Anne McClung, AICP

Planning and Building Director

Planning Division Karen Drake, AICP & Kali Casper, AICP Kinsey O’Shea Andrew Warren, AICP, CZA

Comprehensive Planner Development Administrator Zoning Administrator

Kasey Thomsen Office Manager

Carrie Cross Administrative Assistant

Lisa Browning, CZA

Zoning Inspector

Planning Interns Sara Morgan

Building Division

Cathy Cook, CBO, PMO Sam Sapienza, CBO, CRCI Will Yager, CRI Building Official Building Inspector Building Inspector

Greg Dudash, PMO, CZO

Mary Elmore

Trish Basham

Property Maintenance Official Building Permit Technician Building Permit Technician

Assistance also provided by:

Engineering & GIS Department

Adele Schirmer, PE Engineering & GIS Director

Town Clerk Donna Boone-Caldwell, MMC

Town Attorney Lawrence Spencer

Linda Burnsed, Paralegal


Blacksburg Planning Commission Meeting Dates Public Hearing Dates Work Session Dates

January 7, 2014 January 15, 2014*

February 4, 2014 January 21, 2014

March 4, 2014 February 18, 2014

April 1, 2014 March 18, 2014

May 6, 2014 March 25, 2014

June 3, 2014 April 15, 2014

July 1, 2014 May 20, 2014

August 5, 2014 June 17, 2014

September 2, 2014 July 15, 2014

October 7, 2014 August 19, 2014

November 4, 2014 September 16, 2014

December 2, 2014 September 30, 2014**

October 21, 2014

November 18, 2014

December 16, 2014

* Joint Work Session with the Montgomery County Planning Commissions **Planning Commission Annual Retreat


ACTIVITIES Blacksburg Planning Commission Regional Coordination The Blacksburg Planning Commission and the Montgomery County Planning Commission continue to share information on their respective activities through member liaisons. Typically, the County Planning Commission assigns an individual each year to keep track of the development activities within the Town. For the Town, Blacksburg Planning Commissioners rotate service as a liaison to the Montgomery County Planning Commission meetings each month. The Commissioner liaison for a particular month provides a brief report of the activities at the Montgomery County meeting at each Planning Commission meeting. In January 2014, the Planning Commission also participated in a Town of Blacksburg and Montgomery County Joint Planning Commission meeting. This meeting allowed for two Planning Commissions to get to know one another and explore common issues. Agenda topics included a discussion on each jurisdiction's land use as well as transportation with a focus on Prices Fork Road where the Town and the County share a common boundary. The Commissioners attended the New River Valley Planning Commissioners’ Annual Spring Training on May 28, 2014 and covered the topic of “Aging in Place.” Speakers from the New River Valley Planning District Commission gave an overview presentation on the topic. Additionally a panel presented on Lifespan Friendly Housing which included discussions about Home Modifications, Zoning Ordinance Provisions, and New Construction Features in regards to aging in place.


Comprehensive Plan Blacksburg 2046, the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, was written in 1996, and establishes a fifty-year vision for how Blacksburg should grow and develop. In accordance with Virginia State Code, review of comprehensive plans is required by a locality every five years. The Blacksburg 2006-2046 Comprehensive Plan was last updated on December 11, 2012. Additionally, the plan has been reviewed annually with amendments adopted in the years 2009, 2010, and 2011. On October 14, 2014, Town Council adopted the new update for the town’s Comprehensive Plan, which replaced previously adopted versions. Blacksburg 2046 is available at www.blacksburg.gov, with hard copies at the Blacksburg Planning Department. The Long Range Planning Committee played a major role in this five year plan update. Long Range Planning Committee The Long Range Planning Committee, comprised of Planning Commissioners and citizens, reviews and makes recommendations to the full Planning Commission on potential changes to the Comprehensive Plan. In the 2014 annual review process for Comprehensive Plan Amendments, the following private applications were filed, CPA 14-0001, CPA 14-0002, and CPA 14-0003. The Long Range Planning Committee met from March to July of 2014 to review these three Comprehensive Plan Amendments and staff recommended edits and made a recommendation to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission reviewed Comprehensive Plan Amendments CPA #14-0001, CPA 14-0002, and CPA 14-0003 in September of 2014 through the public hearing process and made a recommendation to Town Council. Environmental Quality and Land Use Committee The Environmental Quality and Land Use Committee (EQ) reviews and makes recommendations to the full Planning Commission on all potential changes to the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances. This year the EQ committee worked on four Zoning Ordinance Amendments. The first amendment—Ordinance #1722--was to amend zoning ordinance sections regarding the establishment and operation of farmers markets. This amendment helped specify the location and parameters governing farmers markets, in which the Environmental Quality and Land Use committee drafted recommendations that specifically defined and discussed the use of public and private farmers markets in the zoning ordinance. The second amendment—Ordinance#1724-- Amended zoning ordinance sections 1103, 1150, 1162, 2103, 3111, 3113, 3151, 3215, 4509, 5120, and 5531 and repealed section 5562 for updates/corrections. This was referred to as the “housekeeping” ordinance and combined a number of minor zoning ordinance text amendments. Such updates/corrections proposed consisted of increasing the internal consistency of the zoning ordinance which included fixing cross references, moving uses under the appropriate use type, and eliminating duplicative terms. The third amendment--Ordinance# 1743-- was to change the Town’s authority from the State of Virginia to accept proffers in conditional rezoning from Virginia Code Section 15.2 2298 to Virginia Code Section 15.2 2303.The Environmental Quality and Land Use Committee were asked to make a recommendation to Planning Commission on whether the Town should adopt the new enabling authority, however this amendment was later withdrawn. The fourth amendment--Ordinance# 1744—was to change the Town’s requirements for preliminary plats to reflect a State of Virginia code change. The changes addressed a state legislation that went into law that required localities to increase the threshold for reviewing preliminary plats for subdivisions from 6 lots to 50 lots.

http://www.blacksburg.gov/


Review of Development Applications and Ordinance Amendments The Planning Commission reviewed a number of different development applications during the calendar year 2014, many of which were very complex and controversial such as the rezoning for the Retreat student housing development, the Fieldstone affordable housing development, and the Eheart Street multi-family development. The requests reviewed included six Conditional Use Permits; eight Rezoning requests; two Right-of-Way vacations; one Major Subdivision; one Special Exception request; and four Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments. In most cases, the Planning Commission serves as a recommending body, making recommendations to Town Council with Town Council taking final action. In some instances, however, the Planning Commission takes final action, such as in the review of Major Subdivisions. Planning Commission also reviews requests to amend the Agriculture and Forestal District (AFD), and applications to enter or withdraw from the AFD. However in 2014, no actions were taken as there were no requests for addition to, or withdrawal from the AFD. A summary of the development applications reviewed is provided on the following pages.


Planning Commission Actions: 2014 Special Exception Requests

EXP Number Applicant Request Location

Planning Commission

Recommendation

Town Council Action

EXP 14-0001

Chrysolite Management

Group

Special Exception to Zoning Ordinance Sections 4553 (b) and 4559 ( c) for parking in

front of the building line of a Retail Sales Use and Fast Food

Restaurant Use in a General Commercial (GC) Zoning

District

1500 South Main Street

Approval 01/06/15

Approved 01/27/15

(Please see map next page)


Planning Commission Actions: 2014 Major Subdivisions

SUB Number Applicant Request Location Planning

Commission Recommendation

SUB14-0018 Kipps Farm, LLC

60 lot major subdivision in the RR-1 Rural Residential 1

Zoning District

2240 Merrimac

Road

Approval 12/02/14



Planning Commission Actions: 2014 Conditional Use Permit Applications

CUP Number Applicant Request Location

Planning Commission

Recommendation

Town Council Action

CUP 14-0001

St. Michael Lutheran Church

Day care center in Rural Residential-1 zoning district

2308 Merrimac Road, Tax

Parcel #283-A15

Approval 06/03/14

Approved 07/08/14

CUP 14-0002

Michael Toothaker and Mark LeCraw

Starbucks restaurant drive through with external speaker in general commercial district

880 University City Boulevard

Approval 06/03/14

Approved 06/10/14

CUP 14-0003

Town of Blacksburg

Amend resolution 7-D-11 for a cultural services use for the

Alexander Black House

204 Draper Road

Approval 07/01/14

Approved 08/12/14

CUP 14-0004

Virginia Tech Real Estate Foundation

General office use on the ground floor in the DC zoning

district

314 Turner Street, NW

Approval 07/01/14

Approved 07/08/14

CUP 14-0006

Shelter Alternatives

General office use in R-5 Transitional Residential

District

701 Progress Street

Approval 10/07/14

Approved 11/11/14

CUP 14-0007


9,253 square foot Research and Development use at the

North End development located in the Downtown

Commercial Zoning District

460 Turner Street, Suite

303

Approval 10/07/14

Approved 10/14/14



Planning Commission Actions: 2014 Comprehensive Plan Amendments

EXP Number Applicant Request Location

Planning Commission

Recommendation

Town Council Action

CPA 14-0001

Whipple South, LLC

Request to change the Future Land Use

1505 & 1601 Whipple Drive Approval 9/2/14

Approved 10/14/14

CPA 14-0002

Whipple North, LLC

Request to change Future Land Use from medium high

residential to high density residential

1711 Whipple Drive Approval 9/2/14 Approved

10/14/14

CPA 14-0003

Oaknoll Farm, LLC

Request to change the Future Land Use on 131 acres on the north side of Prices Fork from High Impact Commercial, Low

Density Residential, and Mixed Use Area A to High Impact Commercial, Low

Density Residential, Limited-High Density Residential, Park Land and Very Low Residential

2010 Prices Fork Road Approval 9/2/14 Approved

10/14/14



Planning Commission Actions: 2014

Rezoning and Right-of-Way Vacation Applications

Rezone/ Ordinance Number

Applicant Request Location Planning

Commission Recommendation

Town Council Action

ORD 1734 RZN 14-

0001


North End signage district

Prices Fork Road and Turner Street

Approval 07/01/14

Approved 08/12/14

ORD 1735 RZN 14-

0002

Slack Investments, LLC on behalf

of Cook & Eaton

Enterprises LLC

Rezone 0.939 acres of GC and R-5 Transitional

Residential to PRD for the development

of 13 townhome units/39 bedrooms

908 Progress Street Approval 08/05/14

Withdrawn by

Applicant 08/14/14

ORD 1747 RZN 14-

0003

Whipple South, LLC

Rezone 3.087 acres of R-5 Transitional

Residential to PR for development of 30 units of multifamily

townhome dwellings

1509 Whipple Drive Approval 12/02/14

Approved 01/13/15

ORD 1739 RZN 14-

0004 Gregory Tew

Rezone 0.571 acres of R-5 Transitional

Residential to PR for development of 27 units of multifamily

condos

100 Eheart Street SE No

Recommendation 09/02/14

Approved 10/14/14

ORD 1746 RZN 14-

0005

Blacksburg APF Partners LLC and The Boatwright

Family Limited

Partnership

Establish a special signage district at

First and Main commercial center

on South Main Street

1440-1614 South Main Street

Denied 10/07/14

Approved 12/09/14

ORD 1752 RZN 14-

0006

American Campus

Communities

4.32 acres Planned Residential and RM

27, Low Density Multi-unit Residential

to Planned Residential

500 block of Green and Warren Streets Pending Pending


ORD 1758 RZN 14-

0007

Bluestone Land, LLC

10.97 acres to Planned Residential

District (PRD) for age income restricted

multifamily residential dwellings

401 Givens Lane Approval 01/06/15

Approved 02/10/15

ORD 1760 RZN 14-

0008

The Retreat at Blacksburg,

LLC

41.722 acres from Rural Residential 1 to Planned Residential

for multifamily dwellings

2010 Prices Fork Road

Approval 02/03/15

Approved 03/10/15

ORD 1717 ROW 14-

0001

Turner Street Project, LLC

Vacation of a 0.063 portion of Barger

Street Barger Street Approval

03/04/14 Approved 04/08/14

ORD 1753 ROW 14-

0002

American Campus

Communities

Vacation of portions of Warren Street and alleyways associated

with RZN 14-0006

Warren Street Pending Pending



Planning Commission Actions: 2014

Ordinance Amendments

ORD Number Applicant Request Location

Planning Commission

Recommendation

Town Council Action

ORD 1722 ZOA 23

Town of Blacksburg

Amend zoning ordinance sections regarding the

establishment and operation of farmers markets

Town of Blacksburg

Approval 04/01/14

Approved 05/13/14

ORD 1724 ZOA 26

Town of Blacksburg

Amend zoning ordinance sections 1103, 1150, 1162,

2103, 3111, 3113, 3151, 3215, 4509, 5120, and 5531 and repeal section 5562 for

updates/corrections

Town of Blacksburg

Approval 05/06/14

Approved 06/10/14

ORD 1743 ZOA 30

Town of Blacksburg

Changing the Town’s authority from the State of

VA to accept proffers in conditional rezoning from VA Code Section 15.2 2298

to VA Code Section 15.2 2303

Town of Blacksburg

Withdrawn 11/04/14 -

ORD 1744 ZOA 29

Town of Blacksburg

Town’s requirements for preliminary plats to reflect a

State of VA code change

Town of Blacksburg

Approval 11/04/14

Approved 12/09/14


2015 Planning Commission Goals

1. Continue Zoning Ordinance Amendments in 2015 to include: a. Completion of amendments related to Mobile Food Trucks, and Agro-Business/Agro-

Tourism uses; b. Completion of amendments intended to protect neighborhood character including

amendment to the R-5 district regarding duplexes, amendment to the Use and Design Standards for duplexes, and amendments to address parking issues in residential areas townwide and impacts specifically within the Historic District; and

c. Completion of amendment to incorporate work on design standards for urban infill including review of front yard setbacks.

2. Participate in any implementation of the Old Blacksburg Middle School Master Plan with a focus

on future development that will fully maintain the integrity of the OBMS Master Plan.

3. Support participation in sustainability initiatives that reflect the sustainability intentions and commitments in the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission will draft a set of suggested guidelines for sustainable development that includes examples of sustainable development practices. The guidelines will be referred to Town Council and shared with the development community.

4. Request annual meeting with Town Council. Meet with Town committees and other regional

committees as opportunities arise. Continue cooperation with the NRV Planning District Commission as well as with other jurisdictions in development review and reporting such as the ongoing coordination with the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

5. Continue to offer new Planning Commissioners training through PlanVirginia and annual training

through the NRVPDC. Continue to explore opportunities for mini-training sessions at Planning Commission Work Sessions and Planning Commission Subcommittee meetings.

6. Conduct an annual Planning Commission Retreat Meeting that includes a discussion of

a. Land use issues and trends; and b. Other items as determined by the Commission.

7. Post the 2014 Planning Commission Annual Report to the Town’s website.

overview - blacksburg

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