Planning meeting rescheduled to June 23 at 3:00pm
As graciously pointed out by one of the Planning Commission (PC) members, a meeting previously scheduled for Monday, June 16th was moved to the following week. This decision was made at the PC meeting held on June 9 to accommodate the schedule of the Department of Historic Resources (DHR).
The DHR was asked to come and make a presentation to the PC as regards economic benefits of historic overlay districts, and the different levels of control such guidelines may specify. Incentives are often used as an effective tool and can utilize federal, state and local matching funds. This is in response to concerns expressed in March as regards maintaining the integrity of Christiansburg's three designated historic districts. The town has an even larger inventory of structures that could qualify as historic buildings, and should lead efforts for preservation and addressing associated costs as one means of increasing real property values. The presentation will be open to the public and is expected to be approximately 2 hours, in addition to any other business matters on the PC's agenda that day. Similar programs have been successfully implemented in surrounding areas, including Blacksburg, Pearisburg, Pulaski, Radford and Floyd.
Note also that while the Town Council (TC) typically establishes a schedule at its annual organizational meeting each September, the PC meeting schedule is more fluid in that there is little to control when or what types of applications are being received in Town Hall which require review before sending these items to the TC for action and votes.
The Town Council will meet for a regular meeting on Tuesday, June 17th at 7:30 pm in Town Hall. That agenda has not yet been made public.