Entry 229 of 500
By Carol Lindstrom On March 8, 2009 at 3:25 PM
(NEW ITEMS ON CITIZEN WEBPAGE: AQUATIC CENTER BUSINESS PLAN & THE TOWN COUNCIL'S RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF USING STIMULUS PACKAGE MONIES FOR THE 114 PROJECT (this is a good read as to WHY this is necessary and why it is so very necessary for GOOD planning decisions to be made) Use the links to go to the one that interests you).

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INFORMATION NEEDED! Where are the staff reports for land use issues?

When I first started attending Town Council and Planning Commission meetings, I noticed something odd. There were no staff analysis reports included in the information provided to the Planning commission.

A staff analysis is a document prepared by the Planning Department staff and is an important tool for decision-making in land use issues. It usually contains the specifics of the request being made AND information and analysis of potential impacts on traffic, stormwater, school system, and adjacent properties. It also includes information on by-right uses of the current zoning and for the proposed change (if any), what the property is currently being used for, what proffers are being offered, favorable factors, unfavorable factors, clearly defined proposed use of the property, and many other features. An example of this type of document can be found by clicking on any of the links to the Planning Commission Agendas for Albermarle County, then clicking on one of the links for a specific request.

I have checked with multiple jurisdictions and have not found a single one thus far that does not include a staff analysis. Many of those jurisdictions are MUCH smaller than Christiansburg. In fact, people who have been through the Planning Commissioner training program would know that this type of information SHOULD BE MANDATORY....NOT OPTIONAL!!! Oh...and by the way, the Planning Commissioner training should be MANDATORY as well. (Since most Town Council members are former Planning Commissioners, there isn't a check and balance system to make sure that all of the appropriate information is used in making decisions about land use.) Similarly, the Board of Zoning Appeals members are not provided or required to have the training they should have that would enable them to catch some of the issues and deal with them.

The crucial feature is that the Planning Commission and Town Council decisions are based upon the information they are provided or which they can dig for themselves. Making good decisions requires good information. Whether you or I believe that a failure to provide relevant information to decisionmakers is something that just slipped by the wayside or was intentionally implemented to 'keep the process simple', really doesn't matter. I believe that the Planning Commission can request that similar studies be prepared for them so that they have all of the information needed to make good decisions. I believe that the Town Council can make it a requirement that staff analysis be included in all landuse issue packages.

I've heard more than once where elected officials have said that if they had known X and such, they would not have done what they did....well, here is a great opportunity to prevent that from happening in the future.

The Town of Christiansburg cannot afford to have 'bad' decisions made, citizens deserve more, Planning Commission and Town Council members deserve, AND MUST DEMAND, that they be provided with all the information needed to make those decisions. Then, if those people choose not to use the information, citizens will have to decide if they deserve to stay in office and continue half-way doing the job.