By Lori Blanc, a concerned citizen of Blacksburg

Blacksburg is a wonderful place to live. I have lived in 6 states and 2 countries, but no place has inspired me to settle down and call it home… except Blacksburg. Living here has made me acutely aware of how important the quality of day-to-day life is - from being able to walk or ride my bike to work; to knowing my local community, small business owners, and farmers; to having my voice heard in local government decisions. I do not take these things for granted.

From the opinion of the Supreme Court of Virginia, February 27, 2009:

"For these reasons, we hold that the circuit court erred in ruling that the BZA correctly determined that the developers had a vested right to develop on the property structures for retail sales in excess of 80,000 square feet of gross floor space without the necessity of first obtaining a special use permit. Accordingly, we will reverse the judgment of the circuit court affirming the decision of the BZA, reinstate the determination of the Zoning Administrator that a special use permit will be required for a Retail Sales, Large Format use of the property, and enter final judgment here for the Town and the residents.”

The court has ruled unequivocally in our favor! Fairmount Properties has no vested right to build a 186,000 retail supercenter next to Margaret Beeks elementary school.

The efforts of thousands of Blacksburg's residents who spoke before Town Council, signed petitions, educated their fellow citizens, and mounted a costly legal battle, have paid off.

Read the court's full opinion here.