ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 21, 1996 TAG: 9611210029
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: MARK CLOTHIER STAFF WRITER
Last month, town property owners complained about sweeping changes proposed to Blacksburg's zoning laws.
Some of their ire centered on the idea that the proposals could make several homes and businesses nonconforming, meaning they would no longer comply with existing zoning laws.
If a nonconforming building were destroyed in a catastrophe, it couldn't be replicated, property owners worried. Instead, it would have to be rebuilt to comply with the new zoning laws.
This last point was a concern raised by several speakers at Town Council's October public hearing on the proposed changes.
Tuesday night, at a work session, Town Council tentatively agreed on a plan that would appease those fears.
A vote on the proposed zoning ordinance and accompanying comprehensive plan map is not expected until early next year.
But the plan agreed to Tuesday would allow property owners whose buildings are destroyed in a catastrophe the option of replicating their structure.
The goal, said Councilman Ron Rordam, who proposed it the idea, is to reduce the impact the rezoning will have on residents.
"It just seemed to me if something was built under a current ordinance and that, at some point, was changed it didn't seem right to cause harm and go back and say 'You can't do that,'" he said. "Half of the concerns I heard was that people would be harmed because they couldn't build back. It wasn't a problem with our vision."
On a related issue, Town Council also tentatively agreed to do away with the spending limit for nonconforming buildings.
Now, if someone wants to renovate a building that doesn't comply with zoning laws they can only spend up to 10 percent of the building's assessed value each year.
The new idea would eliminate the renovation spending cap and allow a property owner the right to fix up a building as much as he or she can, as long as the building's degree of nonconformity isn't increased.
For example, if a building doesn't comply with zoning laws because it covers too much of its lot, a property owner couldn't add on to the building.
"It made sense to do both," Rordam said. "If you're going to allow them to build back, then why restrict to 10 percent? Even if a building. is nonconforming, if someone wants to make it look nice we shouldn't stand in their way, as long as it doesn't compound nonconformity."
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