The Christiansburg Town Council will meet on Tuesday, March 17th at 7:30 pm, and as usual the agenda includes rezoning requests. You buy a house, you expect it to remain a house. You expect neighboring houses to be homes, not businesses. Someone buys hillside acreage, and they want to put in residential units rather than sell lots, maximizing profits.
Who pays in the long run for additional schools, widened roads or water and sewage treatment upgrades?
Tuesday's agenda doesn't denote the acreage involved for 500 Roanoke Street, or which type of residential zoning is being sought where one older home already is located -- therefore the allowed housing density is unknown, but if allowed would shift this property from commercial uses along a primary business corridor.
Council is also expected to hear the Planning Commission's recommendation for a rezoning request at 2880 Roanoke Road. When the Public Hearing for that was held, neighboring property owners expressed concerns about stormwater issues. Another property owner is seeking a conditional use permit to allow residential uses in a two-story building on First Street, with the second floor currently providing rental units.
There are several other items of note on Tuesday's agenda, and council may even share their thoughts about the Aquatic Center's business plan they received just before adjourning at their March 3rd meeting. The big issue on that subject will be whether the facility can cover operating costs, limiting taxpayer contributions to about a half million per year after buying a membership.
The town's budget for fiscal year 2009-2010 hasn't been discussed in public at all yet either, so perhaps council is hoping a Leprechaun will deliver a pot o'gold at Tuesday's meeting since current tax revenues won't cover the growth in expenses.