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Town/County issues
OBMS-A Possible Solution
The Blacksburg Townscape Committee has developed a new approach to solving the dispute over the future of the old Blacksburg Middle School. Their idea for a design competition was made in December, 2006, to the joint OMBC Transition Committee formed by the County Board of Supervisors and the Blacksburg Town Council. We all know that the county has ownership through the school board and that the town has control through its zoning power. Townscape now offers a way to move the discussion off dead center.
Townscape envisions a design competition that can attract the best minds from the region and the nation to propose solutions that have thus far proved elusive. Officials from the county and the town will present their competing requirements for the future of the property: the schools need money; Blacksburg needs a carefully designed gateway that contributes to a vibrant downtown. These demands, along with desires gathered from citizen input, will be combined into the framework for the design competition. The architects and planners who submit plans must incorporate the conflicting needs in their proposals.