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In an effort to launch conversations about site specific sustainable design criteria for new development
in the New River Valley, Sustainable Blacksburg and the New River Valley Planning District
Commission and its partners, developed a full-day “Sustainable Land Development Workshop” during
Sustainability Week in Blacksburg in October 2007. This workshop highlighted Green Infrastructure
planning concepts and conservation subdivision development through programs such as Earthcraft
Communities and LEED Neighborhood designs. The workshop was attended by local developers,
locality planning staff and other interested groups and had a total of 68 participants from around the
region.
At the close of the workshop, a smaller group convened to discuss how best to continue promoting
sustainable land development within the New River Valley within the context of the developing green
infrastructure assessment. Among the suggestions from this group was to partner with Southface
Energy Institute, who serves as administrator for Earthcraft Communities (a third party certification
program) and to explore using the NRV area as a pilot area for the development of a mountain region
Earthcraft criterion for the Southeastern United States. The local group from the NRV was also
interested in using a pilot project site plan to evaluate if it is feasible for developers to utilize a 3rd party
criteria program under current zoning/subdivision. These pilot projects present the opportunity to begin
identifying potential issues with current land use regulations in this region.
In May 2008, Sustainable Blacksburg, the New River Valley Planning District Commission and their
Green Infrastructure Partners contracted the Southface to facilitate the workshop. The workshop was
made possible by two grants from the Forest Headwaters Land Care Partnership and a private
foundation that wishes to remain anonymous. Using two developments in NRV that would become the
first certified Earthcraft Communities in the area, the workshop opened up the development process to
all stakeholders to help identify challenges and issues surrounding sustainable land development. The
workshop provided a valuable opportunity to understanding the certification process and to begin the
process of critically evaluating criteria for the region.
The full workshop report is available here.
Sustainable Blacksburg’s charge, as an organization, is to facilitate effective environmental stewardship in the Blacksburg area and to enhance the region’s livability and sustainability by reducing its impact on the local and global environment.
In the spring of 2008, Sustainable Blacksburg determined that it would pursue, as a focused project, the possibility of increasing and improving recycling downtown. This issue was selected in response to merchants’ and citizens’ comments about the pressing need to establish a comprehensive recycling program downtown.
Sustainable Blacksburg asked Bill Claus to chair a study group that would be composed of downtown merchants, interested citizens, local solid waste professionals, and Sustainable Blacksburg members, and to guide this study group toward making recommendations for establishing a uniform downtown recycling program.
CORE RECOMMENDATIONS
The core recommendations given below are based upon (i) feedback from downtown Blacksburg businesses and citizen representatives, (ii) the result of a systematic survey of downtown businesses by Sustainable Blacksburg and Virginia Tech student volunteers, (iii) the experiences of four similar, nearby municipalities in Virginia and North Carolina, and, (iv) the strong recommendations expressed by some of the employees in these cities who are directly responsible for the operation of their downtown refuse and recycling programs. One of the fundamental lessons learned from these other cities is that refuse and recycling programs in downtown districts should be linked together, because the efficient operation of one supports the other.
- Establish a single uniform recycling & refuse collection program for downtown Blacksburg businesses.
- Require all businesses in the downtown area to participate in the refuse & recycling program.
- Develop a “Pay As You Throw” system for refuse collection with fees based primarily on the weight or volume of material discarded.
- Provide education and training, periodically and free of charge, for downtown businesses
- Extend the recycling requirement to all businesses in Blacksburg.
For further details on these recommendations, supplemental recommendations and additional information regarding the study and proposed plan, please refer to the following documents:
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