BURG Newsletter No. 2, May 14, 2007

BURG Community Meeting, Sunday, May 20
Our second public meeting will be held this Sunday, May 20, at 7 PM, at the Blacksburg Public Library. The Planning Commission and Town Council joint session and vote on Ordinance 1450 is coming up, and this will be the time to mobilize our final push. The agenda will be:

  • Steering committee report and update
  • Q&A Session
  • Action plan in advance of the May 29 vote on Ordinance 1450
  • Input from BURG members

Please come, and bring anyone who is interested in working with us. We'll have a new batch of BURG T-shirts on sale!

The Town of Blacksburg is sued; BURG responds
On May 10, the landowners and developers of the South Main development filed a complaint against the Town of Blacksburg, its Town Council, and its Zoning Administrator. While the immediate purpose of the lawsuit is to avoid the implications of Ordinance 1450, its broader consequences are even more disturbing.

From the BURG statement on the complaint: “This lawsuit is not a strictly local matter.  If successful, it would have far-reaching consequences for the regulation of land use throughout Virginia.  That is because the heart of this suit is an attack on the ability of local jurisdictions to amend their zoning laws.” Read the entire statement here.

The petition drive sweeps up
If you weren't able to take petitions around over the weekend, you can assuage your guilt by taking part in our sweeps of some key remaining neighborhoods this week. We'll be hitting the following places:

  • Tuesday (5/15): Hethwood. Meet in front of the Food Lion at Hethwood and Prices Fork Rd., 5:00-5:30 PM.
  • Thursday: Meet in the parking lot of Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Eakin and Hemlock, 5:00-5:30 PM.
  • Friday: Highland Circle area. Meet at the corner of Country Club and Palmer, 5:00-5:30 PM

We will provide you with clipboards, petition blanks, and flyers to hand out. Contact Meredith Hampton for more information.

To discuss anything related to our issues, trya the optional BURG google group.

BURG steering committee chair, Daniel Breslau, will be the featured guest on Peter French's Coffee & Quaaludes show on WUVT 90.7, this Saturday, May 19, between 8 and 9 AM.

Click here to remove yourself from the BURG list.