Continuing the thread from the previous post -- going further than talking about citizens' ongoing number one request, public safety, identifying and obtaining grants, making any progress on goals defined in Christiansburg's Comprehensive Plan and Vision 2020 documents -- look at the development process.
A developer identifies a piece of vacant land. A realtor approaches the property owner. An engineering firm creates plans which maximize profits (density) given topography and numerous other factors. All of this requires how to connect new streets to state road systems and public infrastructure (water and sewer).
This process may require rezoning from say Agriculture to Residential, or from Residential to Mixed Use. Each type of zoning has various subcategories (R-1, R-2, R-3 as examples) each having specific standards. Oftentimes, "variances" to these stated requirements come into play and may result in proffers (voluntary concessions made by the developer) or conditional use permits (special exceptions granted by local government authority, conditional upon what those officials direct).
These development standards may include traffic impact studies, erosion and sediment control, stormwater management and many other issues after zoning is addressed and a project moves into the "subdivision" phase. Due to financing, market demand, project scope or other reasons, a subdivision may be broken down into many, many phases. Total "build-out" may not occur for many, many years.
Subdivision plans (or who is developing it) in subsequent phases may change or evolve over time. New home buyers may be unaware their home on a cul-de-sac will later become a feeder road for hundreds of more cars. These consumers often don't look outside the lot they are considering, or the plat sheet, to find out what is situated just beyond the new neighborhood (or understand rights allowed by zoning for other nearby properties, such as Light- or General Industrial).
Construction activities may continue long after the first homes have been occupied. And as regular readers know, as long as "one nailed is hammered" once a year, such construction sites are considered active here in Christiansburg. This exempts activities from any loose "nuisance ordinances" or those relative to equipment storage.
Remember, all these ordinances and regulations are "police powers" granted to the controlling government. That power ultimately resides in the hands of Town Council members (with the Mayor voting only in the event of a tie) in Christiansburg. They can grant or deny applications or variances, push for higher and better green space features, or encourage other amenities such as sidewalks.
Does this increase the costs of "affordable" housing? Perhaps, yet a developer simply passes these along to consumers. A developer's profit margin is not something Council should concern itself with -- just as it has traditionally given little time discussing long term impacts on school enrollment or public safety costs (fire, rescue, police). Land, after all, is a finite asset. If one developer cannot make a project work financially due to their business model, the current market or proffers and conditions (Council's stated desires for application of their regulations), another one who can do so will certainly appear. As long as they offer a quality product, buyers will find them.
Depending on where this vacant piece of land is located, the zoning and land development requirements may be quite different (example: R-1 in Montgomery County does not mean the same thing in Christiansburg's ordinances). Another area Council does not regulate yet which sees enormous variances in quality, service and cost are property or home owner associations which are often established along with a development.
These associations define services or restrictions on how a buyer may use their property, sometimes including exterior maintenance provisions (types of landscaping, yard care or snow removal, community spaces, etc.). In Planned Urban Developments or conjoined developments (townhouses), these associations are common in Christiansburg and are an additional, perpetual expense buyers must factor into their costs.
It frequently appears that when a rezoning request conforms with the "Future Land Use Map" from the Comprehensive Plan, this is clearly stated in Planning Commission or Town Council agendas. When a request is not in conformance with that plan or map, citizens generally see this only because it is absent -- yet this indicates a more significant divergence from how Christiansburg's Comprehensive Plan or Code defines where and how growth should occur.
In Christiansburg, a frequent practice is to rezone (with or without proffers), apply for conditional use permits (with or without conditions), or seek variances to allow developers to reduce their costs. This may; however, have tremendous financial consequences for both town and county residents over time, which can define "quality of life" characteristics in our community.
Typically, proffers and conditions remain fluid throughout the process -- whether a project goes forward immediately or builds out over many years -- yet are rarely accessible to residents (and future consumers) nor stated verbally when Council votes a request up or down. Sometimes these proffers or conditions simply restate local, state or federal minimum standards which will be adhered to.
All of this begins with a developer eyeing a piece of property. Then a realtor contacting the landowner. A contract with a contingency for government approval may be executed. Then an application is made in the town's Planning Department and the request goes to the Planning Commission. A Joint Public Hearing is scheduled, advertised and held. Then a recommendation from the commission is made to Council. Then Council members vote. The official approval process can occur in less than a couple of months.
Next post: How this comes together --including whether or not increased usable green space and sidewalks in new developments appear -- between Planning Commission and Town Council meetings. Your homework, dear readers, is to research who sits on these public bodies (today and over the past 10-15 years).