I was pretty much stunned last night when the Town Council voted against the Planning Commission recommendation to allow storage buildings in an area where residents are already having problems with stormwater. (
You can see the video of the 3/17/09 Town Council meeting and form your own opinion.) This was a major win for citizens in my book. Town Council members seemed to have really done their homework.
In trying to come to some reasonable solution, the Town asked the Town Manager if they had the legal right to impose any types of conditions pertaining to Stormwater. The Town Manager said no...that the state laws had to be adhered to on the matter. It would have been nice if the Town Manager had perhaps read my last blog and identified the possibility that the Town has the legal right to EXCEED the state standards for stormwater and the process could have begun which would change the ordinance and prevent this from happening in the future. (If they are going to revise the town code, maybe they should look at some issues like this at the same time.)
While I do not know that it happened in this specific case, I do know that it is common practice for an individual or group to establish developments/projects in small pieces that allow them to be able to avoid the state mandates for traffic studies, stormwater studies, etc., in situations where, if they had done all of the small pieces as one package, those studies would have been required. It's not unlike the practice of 'mentioning something in the comprehensive plan', like a huge aquatic center, and because it is mentioned in the comprehensive plan (without any clearly identifying parameters as to size, shape, location, etc.) those studies are not required for that project either. There are a lot of ways to sidestep the law.....unless there are staff members who have the latitude to keep Town Council fully informed.
I am not saying that anyone is doing anything intentionally to undermine the safety, wellbeing, and health of residents. It is more likely that there are just too many things to be considered with too few people to fully research the issues and that, because of this, Town Council does not always have the information it needs to make fully informed decisions.
For instance, if you wanted to point a finger at the Town Manager on this, you would need to take into consideration that he is essentially in-charge of all departments within the Town. He's the Chief of the Chief of Police, the Chief Engineer of the Engineers, the person who has sole responsibility in all decisions pertaining to signs, the Subdivision Agent (person who is authorized by the jurisdiction to approve subdivision plats, work with developers to establish plans for the development that meet the expectations of the town). He is also the purchasing agent for the town and is responsible for bids on projects and RFP collection and selection. He is responsible for preparing and managing the budget for the town. He pretty much designates who can do what and when they can do it throughout the town. Every department head reports to him and then he conveys the message to Town Council. That is a heck of a lot of work for one person to do in a town with a population of almost 20,000 people.
In the midst of juggling all of that, can you expect him to remain current on all new laws and regulations? Or, does it simply fall upon the shoulders of Town Council to do the necessary research. With Town Charter and Town Codes as clearly outdated as the ones for Christiansburg are, making sure all legal criteria are met could be a full-time job. If the Town had a full-time dedicated attorney, that would be possible to accomplish. If the Planning Dept. staff were directed to provide staff analysis of all projects going before Council, that would be another way to be sure that all the legal criteria AND the impact of the development on surrounding properties and the Town overall would be assessed and the Council provided with ALL the information they need. (I'm sure I missed a few other things delegated to him by the Town Council, and I am sure there are plenty of you readers who will let me know about them:)
In light of all of the above, I thought it was pretty darned impressive for Town Council to piece together enough of the overall picture to simply say "No" last night. Check out the video and see for yourself.
Additional KUDOS must go to Brad Stipes, who began swimming against the current by doing some research on CDBG grant money that could have been coming into Christiansburg for years now as money to provide streetlights, walkways, trails, and a myriad of other things that enhance quality of life, increase property values, and enhance citizen safety. It has been common practice to simply avoid this "free money" because of the problems with getting someone to handle the grant money once you get it (this from a warning from the Mayor about pursuing these funds). Sorry, your honor, but in my humble opinion, refusing $100,000 to $150,000 per year for years now just to prevent possibly having to hire someone part-time to manage grants (or work with other jurisdictions to share the cost of such a person) is a lot like tossing the baby out with the bathwater.
Christiansburg's claims to being progressive were proven in last night's meeting. Keep up the good work and if you need any help, I'm sure that there are citizens in our own community who would provide a wealth of information and support continuing to keep Christiansburg moving into the future without losing our 'small town' identity that we all treasure. All you need to do, Council Members, is ask for help and treat them with a little bit of the same respect that you want them to give you.