Since
the Town Code on the Public Documents website I set up is
search-able, I decided to create a list of keywords that I have heard
at Town Council and/or Planning Commission meetings. I picked one of
the words and starting searching the Town Code for instances where
that word came up. The first word I picked for study was “sidewalk”.
While there are instances where “sidewalk” occurs throughout the
Code, Chapter 30 – Zoning holds some very important information. (Just so you know, a quick google search shows that the cost of sidewalk construction, with curb & gutter, approximately $50-$125/linear foot. The importance of this will be seen when you read the following sections of the Town Code.)
Chapter 30 of the Town Code of Christiansburg, VA: Zoning
Article
II. Agricultural District A; no codes pertaining to sidewalks. (understandable)
Article
III. Rural Residential District R-1A; no codes pertaining to
sidewalks. (understandable)
Article
IV. Single-Family Residential District R-1; no codes pertaining to
sidewalks. (What?)
Article
V. Two-Family Residential District R-2; no codes pertaining to
sidewalks. (What?)
Article
VI. Multiple-Family Residential District R-3; no codes pertaining to
sidewalks. (What?)
Article
VII. Residential manufactured Home Subdivision District R-MS; no
codes pertaining to sidewalks. (What?)
Article
VIII. Mixed Use: Residential – Limited Business District MU-1
Sec. 30-71 (selection)
Sidewalks shall be required for all new non-residential development.
The Zoning Administrator/Town Manager may waive this requirement in
circumstances that sidewalks do not provide desired connectivity
and/or are not physically practical due to site limitations provided
the owner/developer makes a contribution in an amount approximate to
the sidewalk installation cost to the Town of Christiansburg to be
utilized for sidewalk improvements and/or repairs in other locations.
The Zoning Administrator/Town Manager may refer the decision
regarding the connectivity and/or practicality to the Planning
Commission should there be any doubts. The Town Manager/Town Engineer
shall make the determination of the approximate sidewalk installation
cost.
Article
IX. Mixed Use: Residential-Limited Business-Limited Industrial
District MU-2
From Sec. 30-82 Sidewalks
shall be required for all new non-residential development. The Zoning
Administrator/Town Manager may waive this requirement in
circumstances that sidewalks do not provide desired connectivity
and/or are not physically practical due to site limitations provided
the owner/developer makes a contribution in an amount approximate to
the sidewalk installation cost to the Town of Christiansburg to be
utilized for sidewalk improvements and/or repairs in other locations.
The Zoning Administrator/Town Manager may refer the decision
regarding the connectivity and/or practicality to the Planning
Commission should there be any doubts. The Town Manager/Town Engineer
shall make the determination of the approximate sidewalk installation
cost.
Article
X. Limited Business District B-1
From Sec. 30-92 (e)
Sidewalks shall be required for all new development. The Zoning Administrator/Town Manager
may waive this requirement in circumstances that sidewalks do not
provide desired connectivity and/or are not physically practical due
to site limitations provided the owner/developer makes a contribution
in an amount approximate to the sidewalk installation cost to the
Town of Christiansburg to be utilized for sidewalk improvements
and/or repairs in other locations. The Zoning Administrator/Town
Manager may refer the decision regarding the connectivity and/or
practicality to the Planning Commission should there be any doubts.
The Town Manager/Town Engineer shall make the determination of the
approximate sidewalk installation cost.
Article
XI. Central Business District B-2
From Sec. 30-98 Sidewalks
shall be required for all new development. The Zoning
Administrator/Town Manager may waive this requirement in
circumstances that sidewalks do not provide desired connectivity
and/or are not physically practical due to site limitations provided
the owner/developer makes a contribution in an amount approximate to
the sidewalk installation cost to the Town of Christiansburg to be
utilized for sidewalk improvements and/or repairs in other locations.
The Zoning Administrator/Town Manager may refer the decision
regarding the connectivity and/or practicality to the Planning
Commission should there be any doubts. The Town Manager/Town Engineer
shall make the determination of the approximate sidewalk installation
cost.
Article
XII. General Business District B-3
From Sec. 30-103 (f)
Sidewalks shall be required for all new development. The Zoning
Administrator/Town Manager may waive this requirement in
circumstances that sidewalks do not provide desired connectivity
and/or are not physically practical due to site limitations provided
the owner/developer makes a contribution in an amount approximate to
the sidewalk installation cost to the Town of Christiansburg to be
utilized for sidewalk improvements and/or repairs in other locations.
The Zoning Administrator/Town Manager may refer the decision
regarding the connectivity and/or practicality to the Planning
Commission should there be any doubts. The Town Manager/Town Engineer
shall make the determination of the approximate sidewalk installation
cost.
In
reviewing Chapter 26: Subdivisions I found these references to
sidewalks.
Article
I. In General
From
Sec. 26-1. Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to establish
certain subdivision standards and procedures for the Town and such of
its environs as come under the jurisdiction of the governing body as
provided for by the Code of Virginia, as amended, and Section 4.01 of
the Town Charter. These are part of a long range plan to guide and
facilitate the orderly beneficial growth of the community and to
promote the public health, safety, convenience, comfort, prosperity
and general welfare. More specifically to provide for the harmonious
and economic development of the Town, in conformity with the Zoning
Ordinance of the Town; for coordination of streets, alleys, and
parkways and other public areas within the subdivision with other
existing and planned streets, alleys and public areas within the
Town; for adequate open spaces for traffic, recreation, light and
air, [and] the width, grading, elevation, drainage and paving of such
areas; the planting of trees and shrubs; the construction of
sidewalks, curbs and gutters; the provision for laying and
maintaining gas, sewer, water, electric and telephone lines, works,
pipes and easements and for a distribution of the population and
traffic which will tend to create conditions favorable to health,
safety, convenience, prosperity and the general welfare of the
citizenry of the Town.
While
I have not completed all of the multiple sections of these documents,
I have begun to notice a pattern. Most of the people that I have
heard complain about the lack of sidewalks within the Town are
citizens that live in residential areas. Well, guess what areas are
specifically EXCLUDED in the Town Code when it comes to any
requirements for sidewalks to be constructed. You got it, RESIDENTIAL
unless it in a Mixed-Use section. (Call Town Hall and ask exactly how
many New Mixed-Use developments have been constructed in the last 5
years!!) Furthermore, now that most of the available land in
Christiansburg has been built out, the construction will shift to
re-development. Where is there any criteria for 're-development' to
be required to add sidewalks or, at minimum, trails?
This
brief look at the Town Codes has certainly gotten a rise out of my
cardiac output device! (Done jumped up my blood pressure, in other
words.) And, it has raised a whole new list of items for me to
research. If you have an interest in having sidewalks in your
neighborhood, or wondered why they were not built in, now you know.
Give your Town Council representatives a call and let them know how
you feel about this. Changing the Codes is the only way to insure
that ALL developments are treated equally. If written like the above
sections for MUP's and Business zones, the Town retains the right to
make exceptions to the criteria, but not at taxpayer expense. I will
be looking at this issue in the Comprehensive Plan, the State Codes,
and the Town Codes of other jurisdictions to see if this is common
practice. I, for one, hope it is not!