Well, this blog has taken a bit longer to accomplish than I thought it would. I had originally planned on simply reviewing the original Chapter 29 of the Christiansburg Town Code and briefly note some of the changes that Town Council recently approved. Because these changes were so small and insignificant, it was deemed unnecessary to hold a Public Hearing.
Once I started I began to notice a few issues that I had not thought about such as what appear to be errors in the numbering system and a sense that most of the changes appeared to be ‘cut-and-paste’ from the documents of other jurisdictions rather than being looked at as they specifically apply to the Town of Christiansburg.
It is already a relatively well known fact that the ‘cut-and-paste’ approach to revising codes is pretty much standard (so long as those codes are not cut and past from Blacksburg Code because we are not Blacksburg after all). What this means is that Christiansburg citizens are provided with codes ‘borrowed’ from other jurisdictions that may or may not be of a similar size, that may or may not have similar topography, that may or may not have similar patterns of growth, etc…etc…ad nauseum.
What I found is that if you are going to cut and paste, it might be a good idea to check the numbering system to be sure it is consistent with the one you are already using:) And, if you are going to make changes and you make them above that little line which denotes previous code changes, maybe you should clarify when the changes were made. It gives the appearance that things just recently changed were a function of an ordinance change that occurred several years ago.
All of this adds to a certain level of confusion to someone who may be trying to research their rights! Obscurity is nothing new to the Town of Christiansburg! There are a lot of ways that government can strive to keep people in the dark about what is going on.
Perhaps the best example of this can be found by reviewing all of those supporting documents that I posted online at MyVAResources.com (look towards the bottom of the page for the 2001 thru 2008 documents). Take a look at the few ordinance changes that occur there that involve the Codes. You will find only a printed format with nothing to indicate what was changed. My FOIA request for these documents was a request for all documents provided to the Town Council.
Now, take a look at the sample document I have set up based upon recent changes to Chapter 29 of the Christiansburg Town Code. It is the first link on the Special Projects page:
Sample Code Update/Revision (Using Chap.29 of Christiansburg Town Code – Water & Sewer and a recent Revision that did not require a Public Hearing)
Note that no public hearing was deemed necessary in this because the changes were so small as to be insignificant. It took a while to set up because I ended up taking my original copy and converting it into a form that would allow me to set it up the way most code changes are prepared for elected officials and the public before the changes are made official. The parts with a line through them are those which have been deleted from the original document, the underlined sections are those which have been added.
If the only thing the Council members see is the modified copy, how in the world can they make an informed and educated decision on whether to vote for or against the change? If citizens not provided with a copy that allows them to see what is being changed, how can they effectively communicate their concerns to elected officials?
Is this the right way to conduct Town business? Personally, I think it is a blatant disregard for the rights of citizens to be active participants in government and to be able to hold elected officials accountable.
Gotta go…lots more chapters to finish!:)
