A great achievement - a long road ahead

Ordinance 1450 is a “legacy project.” It is your gift to the town's future. Blacksburg will grow. Its commercial areas and retail will grow. With the help of the Planning Commission and Town Council, we have put in place a key provision, to help assure that growth will not compromise the town's character and quality of life. We are confident that with our continued efforts, the South Main project will not go forward as currently planned. But regardless of what happens on that site, the residents of Blacksburg have taken a big step in deciding what kind of town we want.

Please stay tuned. Our focus is shifting from the town council chambers to the county courthouse, from protecting the entire town with a great ordinance to a more focused fight to stop a bad project. We need to channel the same energy that got 1450 passed into these new challenges. We will soon be calling the entire community to join us in a strategy session.

Thank you.

BURG proudly presents:

At the Lyric Theatre, Sunday, June 24, at 3 PM. The film will be followed by a conversation with special guest Jenny Mayher, who is featured in the film, and is co-founder of Our Town Damariscotta. See the trailer.

The South Main litigation - Blacksburg residents need a seat at the table

While we were celebrating the passage of Ordinance 1450, the Town of Blacksburg filed its response to the lawsuit from Fairmount Properties, Llamas, and Diversified Investments. Legal experts we have spoken with say the town has a very strong case. A preliminary hearing will be held on Tuesday, May 5, at 2:15 PM, in the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Christiansburg. As you may have heard, BURG has consulted an attorney to determine how best to insure that the interests of the town's residents will be represented in the proceedings. A separate communication on our plans, and how you can help, will be sent out after our steering committee meeting this week.

A letter from Concerned Parents for Responsible Growth

Dear BURG Members,

We want to bring you up to date on what our group, Concerned Parents for Responsible Growth, is doing and ask for your assistance.

We have applied for a permit to demonstrate with our children outside of the courthouse on Tuesday, June 5th, beginning at 1:30pm. We will know by tomorrow if we receive the permit. Any families are welcome to join us.

Neither the Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent, Dr. Tiffany Anderson, nor the Montgomery County school board has taken a public stand on the development next to Margaret Beeks. We are asking that you email Tiffany Anderson and the members of the school board and ask them to take a stand against the big box store and ensure the safety of the students at Margaret Beeks Elementary School. Here is their contact information. After you email, please make a follow-up call!

The school board's "Mission, Vision, and Priority Goals," include a commitment to the health and safety of Margaret Beeks students. Last year, Tiffany Anderson expressed concerns regarding a paintball field near an elementary school in Christiansburg. She wrote, "Safety is always our priority and anything that appears to compromise student safety is a concern to the division."(Roanoke Times, October 12, 2006) When you contact her and the board members, please highlight
the dangers a big box store and its traffic pose to our children!

Also, the school board is having a meeting on June 5, 2007 at 7:30pm. If you would like to speak to board members in person, please join us.

Thank you for your assistance and all the work you have done in the face of this issue!

Concerned Parents for Responsible Growth
Contact: parents123@earthlink.net .