Christiansburg's Town Council began on Dec. 1 with a Joint Public Hearing to rezone 3.75 acres from agricultural to multi-family residential. John Neel, an engineer with
Gay & Neel, provided council with a handout and stated he was working for developer/realtor
Bryan Rice and landowners Kenneth and Darlene Lancaster.
Neel stated the project included proffers which had been given to staff members, which included building 12 units as compared to the 17 units which a rezoning could allow. Each unit would be built as a single-family dwelling and construction would generally comply with a map dated Nov. 18 showing the layout. If approved by the
MCPS Board, a gated entrance to
CMS property would be installed and a Home Owners Association (HOA) would jointly manage the storm water retention area with the schools. The unpaved path (a 12' to 15' easement), in this area is to provide emergency vehicle access to the school.
To mitigate
erosion and construction dust, having a maximum of four building permits at a time was also proffered. Neel stated that while a full traffic study had not been conducted, his staff had counted vehicles traveling on the feeder road (which exits at Route 11/Radford Road) on two dates at two separate times each day. This access was stated as being the only practical means of developing the property due to the steep slopes or easements, and that they had not yet received official approval from the School Board.
Councilman Brad Stipes queried whether the town's minimum of 10% open space for storm water management was met by the proposed design presented to council, and told it was "close to it".
Rice then addressed council, stating he had spoken with a majority of the 38 residents of Windsong Heights (a development of established patio-style homes on Melody Drive). He stated that, if the rezoning were approved, the homes would be equivalent to existing homes and residents initially were supportive of his plans. The proffers were being offered in response to concerns and meeting zoning requirements relative to storm water management.
Vi Dupree, representing the Windsong Heights HOA, had approximately 50% of members stand in the audience. She indicated residents opposed the plan because Melody Drive would become a feeder street unsuitable for the traffic volume. It was also pointed out connecting access roads to an adjacent and much larger housing project (
Kensington Place) could allow even greater traffic movement between Mudpike and Radford Roads, and that neither Melody nor Underwood were suitable for this type of volume. It was noted the right-of-way for Underwood was already maximized and one vehicle must yield for another due to its width.
The next Joint Public Hearing addressed a conditional use permit for a communications tower at
1840 Palmer Street. Tony Harris, who lives adjacent to this property, asked why the town needed another cell tower and whether this served a public safety or commercial need. He had located and visited other cell towers and noted these are generally in less traveled areas with only the tip visually protruding over treetops. "
This one will stick out like a sore thumb," he said.
A representative from
AT&T was present and informed council the tower was needed due to capacity, noting more people are using wireless technology than ever before. The Mayor noted this request was exclusively for that company and not related to any planned Emergency or 911 service. Planning Director Randy Wingfield noted the Planning Commission would either need to revise related ordinances to accommodate this request, or have it referred to the Board of Zoning Appeals as it did not meet set-back requirements.
There were no speakers for the Citizen Hearings portion of the agenda, and council then accepted the resignation of Steve Simmons from the
Planning Commission. This was effective immediately. Simmons had served as an appointee on the PC since December 1999 and was also appointed by council to the Aquatic Advisory Board a year ago. Council will re-advertise for
interested persons to apply for the seat, with this term expiring August 31, 2010. The Mayor indicated the two or three people who had previously expressed an interest for serving on the Planning Commission would also be contacted.
The
Street Committee recommended waiving the
three-hour on-street parking limit on East Main from Franklin Street to Roanoke Road, and from the Town Square on Franklin between East Main and First Street. This was in response to construction of the
new county courthouse which is currently underway and impacting short term customer and employee parking for some area businesses. Council voted to make this adjustment for a limited time, with Councilman Mike Barber opposed.
The Street Committee also recommended, and council approved unanimously, a "boundary line relocation for RWW34, LLC creating two lots" on Roanoke Street. Although a specific street address, tax parcel or map was not publicly provided, the committee stated "
everyone is very familiar with where this property is located." County records indicate this was relative to
1275 and 1335 Roanoke Street, near the intersection with Depot Street.
The Town Manager received council's authorization to solicit bids for employee gift certificates in the amount of $50 each. He referenced packets of materials provided previously to council relative to
storm water regulations and indicated no action was required as this was done to
comply with education requirements on this subject by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
A presentation to council was made by various department leaders, highlighting how the new
Vision 2020 goals were to be addressed over the next one to three years. A working session of this group began with using the
Myers-Briggs tool to identify the various communication styles of this peer group, and was stated to represent significant knowledge and skills related to serving the town. The Town Manager stated that a lot of time and thought was put into how staff would implement council's vision, noting "
this change of focus has been fully accepted and embraced." It was also stressed that target dates were just that -- goals which will be modified due to shifting conditions, budget constraints or resources.
Councilman Ernie Wade asked whether council could meet and "kick around" this information and help prioritize to-do's or ask questions. As an example, he listed having
video recordings of public meetings and a sound system for council chambers targeted for Dec. 2010. The Mayor indicated this would require a special "
work session" and noted council had started with
25 goals which staff then added to. He also stated the
Vision 2020 document was now in its second printing.
The
Aquatic Center logo was presented to council, and incorporated several themes for multimedia use. Actually two logos, a symbolized swimmer doing the butterfly stroke sits above either a "splash" or "wave" and sports the local blue and gold color scheme used by
Christiansburg High School. It was also noted that gift certificates for six-month or annual
memberships would go on sale, becoming effective with the public opening.
Council noted it was pleased with the initial launch of
expanded public transportation services, noting that a crosswalk will be installed at Depot and Sheltman Street. Council noted educating the public about asking the driver to
stop directly at the library was an option, yet the bus would only stop to pick up passengers at designated locations.
Council's next regular meeting is scheduled for
Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 in Town Hall.