ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 1996 TAG: 9606060050
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
The town Planning Commission gave its unanimous stamp of approval Tuesday to Blacksburg's proposed comprehensive plan that took more than two years to put together and involved hundreds of hours of meetings.
The plan and the commission's favorable recommendation now will be forwarded to Town Council for a June 25 vote.
Carol Bousquet, the town's comprehensive planner, said the input of more than 1,450 residents made the plan representative of the community's vision for the town 50 years into the future.
Bousquet presented a brief overview of the process used to create the comprehensive plan to the commission. She said public input was a key ingredient; in the last year alone there were more than 40 meetings with citizens to discuss the plan.
Adele Schirmer, planning and engineering director, said the total number of meetings with the public was more than 80.
The comprehensive plan is a fairly massive document that details everything from the town's mission, background and community values to future planning goals and needs. Housing, transportation, utility services, public safety and information technology are just some of the issues tackled in this latest plan.
The plan was created with the expectation that the town's population will grow by 40 percent, to 50,000 people in the next 50 years, Bousquet said.
In other action, the commission:
Voted unanimously to recommend approval of a town law that will give officials a new negotiation tool for obtaining land for public use. Schirmer said the "density transfer" law will mean the town can allow a landowner to retain the development potential of a property even after a piece of that property is dedicated to the town.
As an example, if a landowner has 10 acres of land and the zoning law allows four houses per acre to be built on that land, then that would mean a total of 40 houses could be built. If the town needed an acre of that property for a road, the landowner could give the land to the town in exchange for retaining the right to develop 40 houses on the remaining nine acres.
Voted 4-1, with two members abstaining, to recommend Town Council approve a request to rezone 5.42 acres at the 1000 block of Harding Avenue for a 24-unit, luxury town-home neighborhood called Vista Pointe. The land is vacant and next to a similar development called The Vistas. About 18 residents of The Vistas and nearby streets came to the meeting to voice their concerns about stormwater runoff and parking. Engineering staff from the town and the developer met with residents twice before Tuesday and modified the plan's design to address neighbor's concerns.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB