Planning commission approves conditional-use permit to open historic Linkus Kipp House for small camps, workshops and limited overnight stays

The Blacksburg Planning Commission on July 1 approved CUP 25-1, the Graham Outdoor Recreational Camp conditional-use permit, allowing use of the historic Linkus Kipp House at 2190 Merrimack Road for educational programming, historic tours, arts and crafts workshops, counseling and limited overnight lodging in the house.

Town planner Kenzie O'Shea told the commission the property is more than 15 acres and zoned RR-1 (rural residential 1). O'Shea said the zoning administrator determined the application most closely matches the ordinance definition of a “camp” and that staff included recommended conditions addressing event limits, overnight stays, hours and safety measures. She said stormwater concept plans were approved by town engineering, the property is served by public water and sewer, and the applicant proposes private waste collection.

The applicants, Jeff Graham and Fiona Allen, described the project as a preservation-driven effort to restore the late-18th-century house and offer small-scale community uses. Graham said they have completed structural and utility repairs since purchasing the property and that revenues would be reinvested in restoration. “We want to give this house and this property back to the community,” Allen said, identifying herself as executive director of Merrimack Farm and describing plans for youth and disability programs, small retreats, and therapeutic uses involving horses.

Neighbors who spoke at the public hearing expressed mixed views. Supporters, including resident Gwen Ogle, said the owners have invested in restoration and that the site could provide rare public access to a local historic resource and therapeutic programming not otherwise available nearby. Several adjacent property owners and a representative of the Kipps Farm Homeowners Association, Sean Gray, urged the commission to study traffic, easement rights and long-term transferability. Gray asked the commission to “do its due diligence” on driveway access and liability; other neighbors raised safety concerns for children using yards near the shared driveway and questioned whether the proposal effectively creates a non-owner‑occupied short-term rental or event venue in an RR-1 district.

Applicants and staff said the driveway is governed by a 30-foot access easement recorded before the Kipps Farm subdivision; the paved driving surface is about 10 feet wide with additional grassy shoulder for passing. The applicants said the closest Kipps Farm house is about 0.2 miles from the Linkus Kipp House and that they have discussed maintenance of the driveway with neighbors and the fire department.

Commission discussion emphasized mitigation of impacts as the central purpose of a conditional-use review. Commissioners and staff noted key conditions in the permit package: limits on the number of events per week and start/stop times (no events before 8 a.m. or after 10 p.m. and compliance with the town noise code); a cap of 50 total attendees at an event (including staff); overnight lodging limited to the house’s capacity (five bedrooms, a stated lodging capacity of up to 10 people) and to 90 nights per year; and homestay-style requirements for fire alarms and fire-safety measures. The applicants agreed to collect and remit the town’s transient lodging tax and said they accept the proposed conditions.

Commissioners urged the applicants to include additional, specific ways to reduce neighborhood impacts when the item goes to town council: physical wayfinding or a low-profile delineation (bollards, reflective markers or a low fence) along the driveway to guide visitors, improved signage/lighting for nighttime arrivals, and written procedures for guest management and event monitoring. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized that permit conditions travel with the land and therefore should be durable and specific in the application materials so future owners must meet the same obligations.

On a motion to approve CUP 25-1, the planning commission voted in favor. The commission also approved the meeting consent agenda earlier in the session; two hearings noted on the consent agenda were canceled and will be rescheduled. The CUP approval is subject to the staff-recommended conditions recorded in the staff report and the additional expectations the commission requested for council-level review.

Next steps: the approved conditional-use permit will be forwarded to town council for its review and any additional action. The applicants and staff indicated they will provide clearer, written wayfinding and guest-management details ahead of the council hearing.