By Matt de Simone
Fincastle Town Council met at the Fincastle Fire & EMS Training Room last Thursday holding a public hearing to discuss the ongoing voluntary boundary adjustment agreement between Botetourt County and the Town of Fincastle.
The first hearing came at the town’s Planning Commission recommendation that the R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, B-1, B-2, A-1, and AR zoning classifications be incorporated into the Town of Fincastle’s zoning ordinance, to be applied to those area taken into the town as a part of agreement.
Over the last few months, Fincastle planners completed a review of all such zoning classifications. Planning Commission member Scott Critzer updated council in June about the proposed incorporation. Council agreed to hold public hearings at last month’s meeting to avoid “challenges” from residents concerning the ordinances.
Critzer noted last Thursday night that “this (incorporation into the Fincastle zoning ordinance) is an administrative step… (the town has been) borrowing Botetourt County zoning for five years but couldn’t changes. This is just a starting point. (The new classifications are) very changeable.”
Critzer added that this decision was “practical.” Prior to council’s decision, a resident may have to reach out to four different places to find out the zoning ordinances in the town. Planners wanted to have all of the information about the town’s zoning ordinances available on the town’s newly refurbished website (townoffincastle.org). He added to pay attention to the stated purpose of each purpose of the zoning classification as it’s something “often overlooked.”
Mayor Mary Bess Smith noted that “people don’t do boundary adjustments. We’re in a very new area here with (incorporating) what (the Fincastle Planning Commission has) taken in after the fact. We do think the time has come.” She noted the town simply wants more specificity around things close to Fincastle.
Town Council unanimously approved incorporating the county classifications into the town’s zoning ordinance. Additionally, the town unanimously approved the Fincastle planners’ recommendation to adopt a Light Manufacturing zoning classification for the area along Route 220 north of the intersection of N. Roanoke Street and 220, and on a supporting amendment to the Town Comprehensive Land Use Plan supporting such an ordinance.
The new classification is a merger of the M-1, M-2, and M-3 categories. Planners discovered that they ended up with a “mixed use corridor” limiting new use for the area north of Route 220 and N. Roanoke Street intersection. The new Light Manufacturing classification would apply to future use conditions.
Critzer also made note that this merely incorporates the already established zoning ordinances by the county and that planners will continue to review the inclusion. Town council voted Critzer as the new interim Zoning Administrator for the town until a new town manager is hired.