Monday: Christiansburg Planning Commission to hold public hearing on apartment owner’s request to forgo building a street connection
The Christiansburg Planning Commission’s regular meeting on Monday, March 16, at 7 p.m. will include a public hearing on Madison Apartment Homes’ rezoning request to remove the requirement that they build a street connection from Bozeman Trail to Walters Drive. The requirement to build the street was part of the rezoning action in 2020 when the property was rezoned from agricultural to multi-family residential. The property is designated as residential on the Future Land Use Map of the 2013 Christiansburg Comprehensive Plan. The meeting is open to the public and will be held in the Town Council Chambers of Christiansburg Town Hall at 100 East Main St.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Radford to hold two public meetings for input on using federal funding for community development
The City of Radford will hold public meetings on Tuesday, March 17, at 4 p.m. and Wednesday, March 18, at noon to gather input into housing, homelessness, public service and community development needs. The input will inform the city’s decision about which services to support with Community Development Block Grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. CDBG funds must be used for public service programs that benefit low- and moderate-income people and special populations.
Applications for CDBG funding are currently open to public agencies and nonprofit organizations that deliver services and activities to Radford residents. Examples of eligible activities include job training, anti-violence programs, immigration services and fair housing counseling. Applications will be reviewed by the city’s Community Development Department. The department will make recommendations to the city council, which will decide which proposals to fund.
This week’s public meetings will include information about available CDBG funds and the range of eligible services and activities. The meetings will be held in the City Council Chambers of the Radford City Office at 10 Robertson St.
Thursday: Blacksburg Town Gown to discuss off-campus housing solutions
The topic for the Town Gown meeting on Thursday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m. is “Creating Off-Campus Housing Solutions for Our Community.” Town Gown is a collective of town and Virginia Tech staff, students and citizens who meet six times a year to provide a forum for community conversation about specific topics. According to the town website, Town Gown “works towards strengthening, nurturing and sustaining relationships across all cross sections of our community to create a sense of camaraderie, communication and service for the betterment of the town and university.” Thursday’s conversation will focus on expanding housing choices in Blacksburg.
According to Virginia Tech Student Affairs, the presenter will be Blacksburg’s Deputy Town Manager Matthew Hanratty, who co-chairs Town Gown alongside Virginia Tech’s Vice President for Student Affairs Frances Keene. Town Gown meetings are open to everyone in the community and are held at the Creativity & Innovation Learning Community, Multipurpose Library at 185 Kent St. (next to the Virginia Tech Graduate Life Center).