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Resident urges council to deny 801 North Main amendment, citing parking, setback and traffic concerns
Summary
At the June 25 Blacksburg Town Council meeting, resident Mark Chobaca urged the council to deny an upcoming amendment to the 801 North Main development, arguing it would worsen parking overflow, reduce setbacks and hamper planned traffic solutions.
A Blacksburg resident urged the Town Council to deny a forthcoming amendment to the 801 North Main development, saying the changes would worsen parking, aesthetics and traffic.
Mark Chobaca, of 817 Montgomery Street, spoke during the public comment period and said three concerns should guide council action when the amendment is considered in two weeks: increased parking demand, reduced setbacks that would bring development closer to Main Street, and traffic impacts. He said the amendment “may make the development seem better, but I think most of the most egregious parts of this development get worse with this amendment, not better.”
Chobaca urged the council not to rely exclusively on parking ratios and to consider absolute parking counts. He told the council the current development could create “an overflow of between 228 and 456 cars that are gonna have to be absorbed somewhere in town,” naming likely spillover onto public streets and nearby neighborhoods including Cambridge and Bennett Hill Progress. He also criticized a proposed 0-foot setback, saying commercial zoning currently requires “I believe, it's 10 feet of setback,” and warned that the closer building edge would be inappropriate for Main Street’s existing commercial frontage.
On traffic, Chobaca said the amendment could “severely hamper our ability to put a traffic circle there,” and noted traffic circles have been a recent local success. He concluded by urging council to “deny this amendment when it comes before you.”
Mayor (not named in transcript) asked a follow-up question about a T-shirt Chobaca was wearing; Chobaca replied that the phrase “street parking is theft” expresses the argument that street space could be repurposed for other uses such as separated bike lanes, and that Blacksburg’s biking infrastructure is “woefully inadequate.”
The council did not take action on the 801 North Main amendment at this meeting; Chobaca noted the amendment will come before the council in two weeks.
