Help kick off the Fair Play campaign! Collect the Blacksburg meals and lodging tax at Tech

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PlayfairAll restaurants in Blacksburg collect a 6% meals tax, providing an important source of revenue to the town. But Virginia Tech does not collect the meals tax at any of its dining halls, on-campus franchises, or catering services.

That's not fair play!

Tech's refusal to collect the local meals tax gives on-campus dining halls and restaurants an unfair advantage, and deprives the town of needed revenues. And all hotels in town collect a 7% lodging tax, except one, the Inn at Virginia Tech.

Join us for an informational and organizational meeting, and help kick of the Fair Play campaign. Two town council members will be there to provide background on the issue, and we'll be setting up a committee to coordinate action.

Blacksburg Public Library, Sunday, March 28, at 7:00 PM

Sponsored by Citizens First for Blacksburg, ProgressAndMain.com, and Blacksburg United for Responsible Growth.

See this event on Facebook, and invite your friends!

Bumper stickers will be available at the meeting.

 

Let's Be Vigilant in the November 3 Election

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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.

Read more...
 

The Virginia Supreme Court rules in our favor

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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

 

 

 

Town Council reduces big box size cap to 50,000 square feet

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On Tuesday, February 10, the Blacksburg Town Council approved Ordinance 1509, which revises town's regulations of "large-format retail" development. The ordinance reduced that size cap for a retail establishment from 80,000 to 50,000 square feet. Any retail above that limit must obtain a special use permit. The new rules also create new design standards for large format retail, to make such developments compatible with the town's character.The ordinance passed by a 6-0 vote, with one council member absent.

Read the whole ordinance here.

Here's the story in the Roanoke Times.

 

New Study: Shifting 10% of shopping to local businesses can give local economy a big boost

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Downtown Blacksburg

Just in time for the holiday shopping rush, a new study in Western Michigan shows that even a small shift in spending from chains to locally-owned businesses boosts the local economy and creates jobs.

Read the report here.

 
Donations to Blacksburg United for Responsible Growth (BURG) are not tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes.