On Tuesday, August 3, 2010, there will be Planning Commission and Town Council Meetings with a break long enough between the two for you to grab a quick bite to eat. Both agendas can be found on the town’s website at www.christiansburg.org. There are a lot of things going on!
The Planning Commission Meeting begins at 3pm rather than the normal 4pm giving an indication that there will be a lot to discuss:
- The Sage Lane issue is up for a vote by the Planning Commission so that they can present their recommendations to the Town Council at the following Town Council Meeting
- Main St. Baptist Church comes back for a repeat performance of the Conditional Use Permit that they are requesting be renewed. This is for the industrialized building units they have been using for offices and classrooms at 106 W. Main St. for several years now. There will be a vote to determine a recommendation to present to Town Council.
- Another Conditional Use Permit concerns a request for a game room to be added to the businesses at 1225 Roanoke Street. There will be a vote to determine a recommendation to present to Town Council.
- A rezoning request will be discussed for property on the southern side of Radford St. west of Melody Drive where it is requested that the zoning be changed from Agricultural to Single-Family Residential. This is a 8.25 acre plot and the public hearing on this matter will be held on the same night at the Town Council meeting.
- A Conditional Use Permit for a commercial garage at 1020 Radford St. will be discussed with a public hearing to be held at the following Town Council Meeting.
- A review of a Conditional use Permit at 155 Howery St. for a major home occupation will be done to insure compliance with the conditions.
A few hours later, at 7:30pm, Christiansburg Town Council will meet.
There are 2 Joint Public Hearings: 1) the Rezoning request noted in #4 above, and 2) the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) noted in #5 above. Joint Public Hearings are the time where citizens have the opportunity to address issues and bring forth information that the Town Council may find useful in making decisions on the issues.
There is a PUBLIC HEARING concerning the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) – Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan. This involves federal grant money that can be used for specific types of projects. The intended projects are required to address the issues and needs most relevant to low and moderate income citizens. The proposals found in the links I have provided show the intention of adding additional sidewalks in some areas of town. You might want to set aside some time to at least scan these documents to see what is being discussed.
Then we get to the Regular Meeting where the Planning Commission will provide their recommendations to Town Council on a) the CUP for Main St. Baptist Church (see above #2), b) the CUP for the game room at 1225 Roanoke ST (see above #3), and last but certainly not least — c) the rezoning of the Albert Land, LP property that includes the Sage Lane issues.
Following that will be a presentation from Ms. Rebecca Martin concerning the Christiansburg Bus System. This is where citizens may get an idea of any changes to bus routes that are being considered, or even if the bus service might be discontinued.
Next on the agenda is a open forum where any citizen may address Council on any issue, concern, kudos, etc.
Once all of that is out of the way, we move into part III of the agenda. This is the section where the public is silent and the Council makes their decisions known. They will be voting on: a) the CUP for Main St. Baptist Church (see above #2), b) the CUP for the game room at 1225 Roanoke ST (see above #3), and last but certainly not least — c) the rezoning of the Albert Land, LP property that includes the Sage Lane issues.
Potential budget cuts are again on the agenda for discussion. This is followed by a “Memorandum of Understanding — Sustainable Communities Consortium.” (The link is to a Roanoke Times article discussing this project. I was unable to find any information on the Town’s website.)
Next to last for the evening is the report of the Street Committee. Although the Town has many different committees, this is the only one that routinely provides reports to the Town Council. On this evening, they will primarily work on subdivision plat changes and lot line adjustments.
Finally, the last item of the agenda is the Town Manager’s Report where the Town Manager will provide the monthly bills to be paid and progress reports on various projects in the works.
Now, if you didn’t get much of a chance to grab a bite between the two meetings, after adjournment, you might want to wander over to Macados’ or over to Sonic for a bit of a snack or hmm…maybe an ice cream sundae.
Please try to come. Every decision made by Town Council has the potential of having a positive or negative impact upon every citizen. Just because it is not happening in ‘your backyard’ doesn’t mean that it will not affect you in the long run. Listening, asking questions, and talking with other citizens is the best way to keep yourself informed. Who knows, you may have the perfect answer to some problem that arises. Hope to see you there.
