Two years ago, some good citizens of the Town of Christiansburg approached council about a
noise ordinance.
Council deferred this to their appointed
Planning Commission, and ultimately -- after tossing the hot potato around for almost five months -- both groups
did nothing.
Nothing excludes derogatory comments made about the issue by elected or appointed or otherwise employed town personnel.
Nothing ignores the
award Christiansburg received in response to this inaction.
Nothing includes the
selective memory of some involved.
After a recent
Virginia Supreme Court decision, many localities are pulling out their noise (not nuisance) ordinances and reviewing them to ensure these are not too vague.
Christiansburg's is
so vague as to be non-existent. In Blacksburg, over 1,500 complaints were recorded for 2007 and again in 2008. There are nearly 1,000 received so far for this year, showing a trend triple that last "reported" in this neighboring 'burg.
In Christiansburg, what can you complain about? A
nuisance may be even more vague than defining
excessive noise that disturbs the quiet convenience of enjoying one's home. This isn't restricted to renters or college students either (Blacksburg records show these complaints are not isolated around campus housing).
Does Christiansburg have similar records of like complaints, or are maintaining these another nuisance? Consider this simple question when thinking about living and investing in Christiansburg, or when trying to be an
informed voter. And wonder if this town's nuisance (not noise) ordinance remains too vague to be enforced.
Update: See related
Roanoke Times editorial discussing Christiansburg's "pathetic excuse" of an ordinance and "wait and see" inaction (yet again).