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The Roanoke Times
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/126409
Zoning board
overturns decision
The vote may clear
the way for a big-box store off South
Main Street in Blacksburg.
By Tonia Moxley
381-1676
BLACKSBURG -- The Blacksburg Board of Zoning Appeals dealt a
major blow Tuesday to the opponents of a big-box retail store, such as a
Wal-Mart, planned for a site off South
Main Street.
On a unanimous vote
the board reversed town zoning administrator Steve Hundley's earlier ruling
that the development would be subject to the recently adopted Ordinance 1450.
That ordinance requires a town council-approved special-use permit for retail
buildings larger than 80,000 square feet.
"The town
screwed up. The owners screwed up. And the citizens got screwed," zoning
board member Isabel Berney pronounced before voting to overturn Hundley's
ruling.
The board's decision
may clear the way for Fairmount Properties of Ohio
and local landowners Diversified Investors LLC and Llamas LLC to build a
186,000-square-foot retail store on land behind the Gables Shopping Center.
The proposed store is
widely thought to be a Wal-Mart
Supercenter.
Berney went on to
question the wisdom of the council's 2006 decision to rezone the site of the
proposed big-box store from residential to general commercial. She said that
decision left surrounding neighborhoods and the adjacent Margaret Beeks
Elementary School
unprotected.
Hundley had ruled in
June that the 2006 rezoning -- including proffers of a public trail and street
improvements coupled with nearly $1 million in engineering and other costs
already spent on the project -- did not "vest" the developers' rights
to build the project under state law.
The board, after
reading the pertinent state code section aloud several times, reversed
Hundley's decision.
Not only were the
developers' rights vested, the board ruled, the state code also bars the
council from applying retroactive zoning ordinances to Fairmount's project.
The board is a legal
entity, appointed by the circuit court, and its decisions bear the weight of
law.
"We're obviously
disappointed," said Daniel Breslau, steering committee chairman for Blacksburg United for
Responsible Growth, a grass-roots citizen advocacy group known as BURG.
BURG members worked
for months gathering signatures and holding public demonstrations to persuade
the council to approve Ordinance 1450, which the council did unanimously in
May. BURG strongly opposes any big-box store on the South
Main site.
During the board's
deliberations, BURG member Meredith Hampton could be heard discussing the
possibility of the group filing an appeal.
Breslau said later that BURG would consult with
its Richmond-based attorney to decide on its next step.
Jim Cowan, an
attorney for Fairmount, said he does not believe BURG has legal standing to
file a court appeal. He also said Fairmount and partners "look forward to
bringing what we think is a great project to Blacksburg."
The council, however,
does have standing to appeal to the Montgomery
County Circuit Court
within 30 days. Town Attorney Larry Spencer said he would confer with the
council about its options.
Blacksburg Mayor Ron
Rordam could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
The ruling does not,
however, strike down Ordinance 1450, Spencer said.
Future developments
will be subject to the ordinance as long as it remains part of the town code.
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