In rezoning land, proffers may be made by the developer, buyer or property owner. This is meant to make the application more attractive or align to future zoning expectations of a locality. A locality cannot place conditions upon the applicant in this type of situation, and proffers are to be made voluntarily. There are other procedures relative to these applications and what a locality may require defined in state and local code.
For example, the Christiansburg Town Code allows Town Council to require the building of sidewalks or small parks in new subdivisions, as well as street lights. Although these types of amenities are often later requested by residents, council is uncertain how to fund these improvements equitably without showing favor for one neighborhood over another. Council has not exercised its ability to have these features included when approving rezonings or subdivision plats.
At tonight's Town Council meeting (beginning at 7:30 pm), three rezoning applications are expected to be voted up or down. All three have received affirmative recommendations by the council appointed Planning Commission.
Today's Roanoke Times Current indicates "The town's planning commission approved a proffer-heavy proposal on Ivy Ridge" and quotes one member as saying "I don't know what else we could ask from the developer."
These statements may give the appearance of proffers being a burden. What was proffered? According to information available by video recording of this meeting, these include: (1) only single family detached homes will be built, (2) only four homes per acre, (3) proposed walking trails will be paved with asphalt, (4) no more than 20 homes to be constructed until a main connector to Route 114, via Albert Lane or Belmont Christian Church, is established, (5 & 6) the development's main entrance and signage will not be Sage Lane nor roads supporting 189 existing homes in New River Village, (7) construction traffic to the new subdivision shall be prohibited via any New River Village roads, (8) no construction shall begin until Phase I of the Route 114/Peppers Ferry Road widening is finished.
According to the Christiansburg Town Code, Chapter 30, section 31 already defines R-1 for single family residential and section 32 requires a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet (slightly less than 1/4 acre). Proffering to meet the zoning requirements should not be construed as placing a burden on anyone. One could consider product marketing as the basis for signage and a main entrance, as well as being responsive to community concerns. Having a temporary construction easement allows a courtesy of not having heavy equipment barreling through established neighborhoods to be offered.
Phase I of the Route 114 widening is expected to be completed by October 2011, yet is reportedly ahead of schedule as of now. When finished, residents living in any of these neighborhoods wishing to head towards Route 460 will be crossing five lanes of 45-55 mph traffic which will almost immediately narrow back down to two lanes. Proffering to gain future access to Route 114 on property outside the ownership and control of the applicant is problematic, as well.
Seeing the planning commission try to get their bearings on the "pedigree" of all these parcels being considered for rezoning, understanding what is to be built or developed where, how it affects adjacent properties was a larger concern. As an example, the plat sheet most commissioners were looking at for this development did not show the location of the walking trails. Once that document was located and reviewed, there was no discussion about when this feature would be constructed nor how it would be maintained in perpetuity.
There was mention that VDOT standards only required 24' streets when the average daily traffic count was less than 4000 trips, noting roads were being built at 30' wide (while omitting mention of on-street parking, topography, set-back variances or 50' right-of-ways). There was some discussion about why a 20 or 25' set back excluded two specific lots in an existing neighborhood, relating back to some other past subdivision or plat decision without specific documentation being available to the commissioners.
There did not appear to be a clerk recording the proceedings of this meeting, and comments made by commissioners are difficult to hear because there are no microphones provided to these public officials. Some comments that were recorded seemed to indicate a general displeasure with information (or opinion) being available to citizens, while others seemed to support that whatever was available to the commission was also made visible to the public.
This is a difficult decision for Town Council, which must try to balance competing needs while defining the town's future -- what are citizens expectations? How does council interpret its code and Comprehensive Plan? Who monitors proffers or conditions and sees these are fully honored, and what costs may result for additional services or maintenance in the future?
Read the articles, view the recordings and guiding documents of the town (Comprehensive Plan, Town Charter and Town Code), and come to the meetings. Then you will be able to form your own opinion and decide for yourself whether proffers are reasonable, or if there is anything else council might indicate as being desirable for Christiansburg's future.