A subdivision is proposed in what is now pasture and forest on the Montgomery County (east) side of the Blacksburg Golf Course hill.
A preliminary plat has been filed with the county to make a roadway connection from the subdivision to Graves Avenue that runs between the golf course and Hoge Pasture conservation easement and stables, down to Main Street.
A date for town council consideration and public comment has not yet been set.
But, in a May 21, 2019 work session, the Blacksburg Planning Commission expressed concerns about the proposed access as not in keeping with the principles in the Comprehensive Plan according to a town staff report.
Neighborhood connectivity, connected street grids and urban sprawl were of concern.
There was also discussion about any possible ways to connect the Cedar Orchard roads to other streets within the county or to connect the two phases of the subdivision instead designing them as two cul-de-sac roadways.
The commission asked whether there was a possibility of constructing a sidewalk on Graves Avenue within the Hoge Pasture Conservation Easement if the Cedar Orchard road continued through Graves, but the parameters of the conservation easement would not allow the construction of a sidewalk within the easement, staff said.
If the road went through, a number of improvements to Graves Avenue involving improvements to Graves and Willard Avenue would be required including realigning and reconstructing golf course entrance driveway to town standards and improve existing roadside ditches on Graves Avenue from Willard Drive to the town limit to contain a 10-year storm event and improve the existing inlet near the intersection of Graves Avenue and Willard Drive.
For more information see staff contact Anne McClung, Planning and Building Director amcclung@blacksburg.gov
