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The wait continues, till at least next Tuesday, as the Blacksburg Zoning Board took no action at its meeting last night concerning the rezoning of a 40-acre tract along South Main Street.
In an appeal hearing, which lasted for four hours, the Blacksburg Zoning Board delayed its decision until next Tuesday. According to Chairman Wayne Hensley, the complexity of the case, and the need to file additional written support of each side’s position, made it necessary to delay a decision. Yesterday’s hearing was a result of Fairmont Properties appealing 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. While no citizen spoke in favor of the redevelopment at yesterday’s meeting, 15 people did speak against it. Most cited concerns over property values and traffic safety.
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