The Christiansburg Town Council meeting began with the presentation of a
Resolution of Appreciation to two local Boy Scouts of America troops. This national organization is celebrating its 100th anniversary and the award was made by Councilmen Brad Stipes and D. Michael Barber, both of whom were themselves Eagle Scouts.
It was noted that Council member Ann Carter was absent due to the fact she was being treated for pneumonia.
A Joint Public Hearing and conditional use permit (CUP) made by Community Housing Partners for 446 and 448 Depot Street for professional offices garnered support from Meghan Dorsett, a neighboring Cambria business owner.
Another CUP for a planned housing development at the end of Melody Drive was presented by John Neel of Gay & Neel on behalf of developer and realtor Bryan Rice. Several council members had questions regarding zoning requirements and the conditions being offered, indicating concerns or reservations about stormwater and greenspace requirements on what is being referred to as Phase Two of the Windsong Heights subdivision.
Council is expected to receive the Planning Commission's recommendation on these three items at their Feb. 16 meeting, and vote on the requests at that time.
During the Citizen Hearings portion of the meeting, two citizens expressed strong opinions about the town's response to clearing streets after the most recent snow event.
The Mayor pointed out the Recreation Center is the town's largest building and is equipped with a generator that will provide power to the entire facility. In the event citizens need to evacuate their homes, it becomes a public shelter and therefore the adjacent parking lots are immediately cleared. The Town Manager reminded citizens the Governor of Virginia had declared a State of Emergency and confirmed the town had 22 vehicles equipped with snow blades out working around the clock on approximately 220 miles of community roadways.
Council unanimously voted to reappoint Kevin Conner to the Planning Commission. Conner had been appointed to complete a term vacated by Dan Canada last September and is employed by Gay & Neel, where he has been instrumental in providing landscaping design work for both the downtown street projects and aquatic center.
Council was updated on the continuing difficulties for the
NRV Competitive Center restructuring debt. Council had previously approved a "
moral obligation" for this regional business incubator, located in Fairlawn, and now expects a formal letter requesting financial support from the town's 2010-2011 budget.
Councilman Henry Showalter had asked that sidewalk and greenspace/ recreation space requirements be added to the agenda for discussion. It was noted that in order to obtain State funds for maintenance of new streets, 50 foot wide right-of-ways needed to be part of new subdivision plans.
To hold down construction and maintenance costs, and alleviate stormwater run off issues, streets are now typically only paved 26 feet wide. Showalter indicated this left nearly half of the right of ways unused, while forcing citizens onto streets or into neighbors yards.
The Town Manager indicated commercial developments have been required to install sidewalks, or where this is not feasible money is instead put into an escrow account. That account could provide for constructing limited sidewalks in existing residential developments, possibly supplemented by grant funding.
Council indicated the number one complaint from residents was about not having sidewalks in their neighborhoods. Another complaint was that existing sidewalks were not connecting neighborhoods, requiring people to get into a car or "
look death in the eye" to get anywhere. This discussion also addressed minimum
greenspace requirements often being included as part of stormwater retention ponds, rather than providing usable community space.
The Mayor stated this would increase costs for developers. Three council members indicated it was their preference these expenses be included in the purchase price of homes in new subdivisions rather than having a buyer expectation the town might come in and provide desired features at some later point in time.
Council directed that the Planning Commission review changes to Zoning Ordinances, with recommendations due back to Council within 90 days, giving consideration to minimum sizes of developments these may apply to as well as the minimum percent of open space Council would like to see in subdivision plans. Currently, Council cannot require developers to set aside more than 10% of the total space without providing developers due compensation. Greenspace, however; is often less than 1% in plans brought before Council.
The Town Manager's progress report included news about an award for a bio-mass energy grant which will enable the town to convert gas bi-products generated during waste water treatment processes. This will allow the town to reduce its carbon footprint and offset some costs relative to operating and heating this facility. Council was also provided with draft Request for Proposal documents relative to soliciting bids to update the Town Code. The 2009-2010 budget included $50,000 for "recodification" to align this document to the superior State Code requirements.
Council was also informed that the newly created Public Information Officer position received at least 77 applications. The Town Manager indicated applicant experience ranged from "
cashiers to PhD's" and that a hiring decision was targeted for the end of February.
Council's next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on
Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 pm in the municipal building.