Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
BLACKSBURG- During the citizens comments portion of the Aug. 27, 2024 Blacksburg Town Council meeting, two residents came forward with suggested ordinances for town council and suggested changes to ordinances.
Eric Bissey, owner of Nice Dreams in Blacksburg, proposed two ordinances to the town council. One regarded people sleeping or camping on town property.
“We have a homeless problem,” Bissey said, “especially downtown and it’s not good for our businesses, it’s not good for our community and it’s not good for sanitation because these people have been pooping and peeing in our doorways and that’s not cool.”
Bissey also proposed an ordinance prohibiting panhandling in Blacksburg. Town Attorney Lawrence Spencer informed the council they cannot prohibit panhandling as panhandling is protected in the First Amendment. Due to this, the council cannot have ordinances against panhandling as it infringes on the panhandler’s constitutional rights. However, Spencer said Roanoke has an ordinance against sleeping in or on public property and Blacksburg may be able to implement something like that, but they would have to look into it. Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith said that the council will take this issue seriously and thanked Bissey for stating his concerns.
The second gentleman that addressed the council was Zachary Weiss, who proposed that the town double the time it takes them to mow their grass as it will produce fewer emissions, allow native species and pollinators to thrive and provide more time for litter pickup. Weiss also explained that adjusting ordinances to say that weeds can be replaced with “native ground cover”, meaning native species like clover, can not only help lower mowing frequency, support local wildlife species but also reintroduce many native species plants back into the ecosystem. Weiss said his proposed changes align with the town’s sustainability goals.