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Blue Ridge council debates utility-extension policy and zoning changes aimed at housing and downtown character
Summary
Councilors discussed a draft utility-extension policy after talks with the county and reviewed proposed land-use code updates including R-3 density, minimum unit sizes and sign standards. Members asked staff for visuals and ordinance language before advancing changes.
The Blue Ridge council used Monday's workshop to continue work on a utility-extension policy and a broader set of zoning updates intended to shape growth at the city's edges and preserve downtown character.
Eric, a city staff presenter, told the council he and the mayor had met with the county; the county agreed with the policy purpose but objected to language the county perceived as "forced annexation" for developments that hook into city water and sewer. Eric reported the county is open to sharing site plans and suggested negotiating a service-area approach that could lead to annexation discussions in 2027 and take effect in 2028.
Why it matters: Councilors repeatedly raised the fiscal fairness question: city water and sewer capacity is expensive (one councilor noted $22 million in water and sewer debt) while developments outside the corporate limits use services but do not pay city property tax. "It is unbelievably unfair to the city residents that they fund that portion of our world," one councilor said, arguing that requiring annexation for new projects that touch city limits would enable the city to capture property tax revenue to offset service costs.
On zoning, staff presented a draft of land-use code changes. Key items under discussion were appearance standards (reduced prescriptive requirements), a proposed reduction in minimum multifamily unit size to 750 square feet, and a suggested increase in R-3 density for new rezoning applications from 7 to 10 units per acre to encourage more affordable multifamily development. Council members asked staff to produce visual examples showing what 7 units/acre and 10 units/acre would look like on typical parcels.
Councilors also debated conditional uses for hotels and motels. One member urged removing hotels and motels as a conditional use in the CBD to limit new downtown lodging; others cautioned that much C-2 zoning near downtown would also need scrutiny because eliminating CBD allowances alone would not remove conditional opportunities in C-2 areas.
Sign rules drew consensus toward eliminating pole signs on Blue Ridge Drive and favoring raised monument signs limited to roughly 10 feet (some members suggested 15 feet to match recent approvals). Staff said any change would come back as ordinance language and go first to the planning commission for a public hearing.
Next steps: Council asked staff to prepare visual density examples for R-3, to map CBD and C-2 zoning in proximity to residential neighborhoods, and to draft ordinance language on signs and conditional uses for review by the planning commission.
