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A large crowd is expected to turn out this afternoon (Wednesday) as the Blacksburg Board of Zoning Appeals will hold a public hearing concerning the controversial South Main Street redevelopment plan.
The public hearing, which will start at 4:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, will review the decision of town Zoning Administrator Steve Hundley concerning his decision involving the South Main Street redevelopment. Hundley ruled that developer Fairmont Properties of Ohio must seek special approval from the Blacksburg Town Council for a retail store the company hopes to build as part of the 40-acre project. Although the name of the new “big-box” retailer has never been officially named, many believe it will be a Wal-Mart Supercenter store. Town council members, last year, approved the rezoning request for the South Main Street project. However, after the developers submitted site plans showing a big-box retail store, Councilman Don Langrehr proposed Ordinance 1450, which was a governmental move which limits the size of retail buildings in the town of Blacksburg to 80,000 square feet. Anything larger could be built only with the council’s approval of a special-use permit. Representatives with Fairmont Properties say that the new ordinance unfairly targets their project and violates their right to develop the property. The company did file a suit in Montgomery County Circuit Court back in May asking that they be protected and to issue a writ of mandamus. In July, Circuit Court Judge Bobby Turk ruled that Fairmont Poperties, Llamas and Diversified Investors must appeal Hundley’s decision to the town’s board of zoning appeals before continuing with the lawsuit. Judge Turk ordered last week that the town review the project’s final site plans within 15 working days from the date the plans are submitted. Wednesday meeting is expected to turn out a large crowd for and against the project.
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