Staff Analysis is a written document prepared by members of a Planning Dept. to help Planning Commissioners and Town Council members understand all of the issues related to any change in zoning status of a parcel of land (zoning, rezoning, conditional use permit, etc.) These are documents routinely provided to the Planning Commission in every jurisdiction that I have been able to contact within the State of Virginia, except the Town of Christiansburg. (Let it be know that these documents were, in the past, prepared by the Planning Dept. of the Town of Christiansburg but staff was told to stop producing them.
Please note that this document is part of the official record and as such should be included in any minutes of the Town Council where decisions were made. Hmmmm….I’ve got about $1,200.00 worth of documents from the Town thus far. Guess what I don’t have? You got it. There is not one copy of a Staff Analysis in all of those Meeting Minutes, Ordinances, etc.
So, my questions now become: (1) “If those documents were prepared, who were they provided to? (2) If they were provided to anyone, did they ever get into the hands of the decision-makers (Town Council)? (3) If they were provided to those decision-makers, why were they NOT included in the official documents? (4) Did Town Council make the decision to stop having those documents provided? (5) If the answer to (4) is no, then WHO did? (5) Why was the practice discontinued?
At the July 21 Town Council Meeting, the topic of staff analysis reports was brought up yet again. Henry Showalter, supported by Ann Carter, Michael Barber, and Jim Vanhoozier, noted that such a report would be very helpful in enabling them to make the best possible decisions for citizens.
While it may be brought up again, the door was all but slammed in their faces when the Mayor essentially turned the matter of deciding over to the Town Manager based upon whether the Town has enough staff to do the job!
Hello! If the Town does not have enough staff to do the jobs they should be doing, then just what the heck is going on???? AND, what is being done about it!!!! Trying to save people a few bucks of tax money when you are costing them a heck of a lot more in decreased property values, decreased quality of life, and increased insurance (just to name a few)…..we should thank you for this?????? Do you really think citizens are that stupid???? Well guess what, we’re not. We can see the $$$$ on the wall!!!!
We apparently do not have enough staff to do inspections concerning erosion and sediment control (even at our own Aquatic Center). We don’t have enough staff for the Planning Department to do what they use to do but stopped doing? We do not have enough staff to insure that elected and appointed officials are provided with all appropriate information necessary to make important decisions?
Mr. Mayor, perhaps in education you found it appropriate to just stop having math or science taught because you didn’t have enough staff? I’ll just bet the parents and School Board would love that approach! Or maybe you’d decide not to send an ambulance out to a vehicle accident because there might be too much work to do? Or, perhaps you would tell the Police Chief not to send an officer out to work an intersection where a traffic light was out because there just aren’t enough officers?????
I doubt it! I think you would take those things pretty seriously and deal with the issues as needed. Well, the issue of landuse is pretty darned serious. The issue of stormwater is pretty darned serious. There issue of codes enforcement is pretty darned serious.
Mr. Mayor, I think it is time to get serious about your responsibilities to the Town. It is not the Town Manager people are coming to with issues. It is not the Town Manager that people elected to represent them. It is not the Town Manager who decides the menu at those Town Council meetings. Let’s start dealing with issues rather than ducking them.
Is it time to change or is it time for change? Guess you are the decider on that part of the equation. Of course, you can sit back, do nothing, be non-commital, pass the buck, and wait for election time to come around. Maybe citizens are already looking around for your replacement since rumor has it you won’t run again. Is that why you don’t seem to care any more?
For more reading on the staff analysis debate:
Christiansburg, VA Comprehensive Plan and Stormwater/Flooding….Interesting Reading
Why is a Staff Analaysis a good thing for Planning Commission and Town Council to have?
Town of Christiansburg Finance Committee Meeting: 1st Budget Discussion.
Christiansburg VA Town Council Meeting Full of Surprises
INFORMATION NEEDED! Where are the staff reports for land use issues?
Comprehensive Plan vs Comprehensive Plan Map, Reading Between the Lines
A good use of property but a very bad way to allow it to happen. Rezoning from R-2 to B-3
