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The redevelopment of the commercial area on the west side of South Main Street between Country Club Drive and King Street — not including the Gables Shopping Center complex — was rezoned under Ordinance 1412 — adopted by Town Council in 2006.

Under Phase One of the development plan, Ohio developer Fairmount Properties and its local partners, Llamas and Diversified Investors, plan to build retail store sites, several restaurants and a movie theater.

The thus far unscheduled Phase Two will include construction of the as-yet unnamed big-box retail store, widely believed to be a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

"Anderson and Associates (the developers' engineering contractor) has not filed plans yet for Phase Two," said Anne McClung, director of planning and building.

Local residents voiced opposition to the development plan, especially the construction of a big-box retail outlet in the already congested south end of Blacksburg.

Town Council member Don Langrehr proposed a directive to block the big-box outlet and Blacksburg residents organized a petition in support of Ordinance 1450 — which would require developers to apply for a council-approved special-use permit for any retail building larger than 80,000 square feet.

Thousands signed a petition in support of Langrehr's proposal.

Fairmount and its partners sued Blacksburg, Town Council and zoning administrator Steve Hundley. The 2007 complaint filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court claimed the plaintiffs had vested rights to build a retail structure in excess of 80,000 square feet.

Blacksburg Town Council passed ordinance 1450 unanimously weeks after the complaint was filed.

Concerned Blacksburg residents formed BURG, Blacksburg United for Responsible Growth, a grassroots organization committed to development promotion for Blacksburg commercial activity that enhances the town's distinctive character, maintains the integrity of its neighborhoods and promotes environmental sustainability, according to BURG's mission statement.

Hundley then issued a determination on the vested rights of the South Main project's owners and developers, ruling that no government act approving a specific project had been made, and that therefore the developers do not have vested rights to build.

The Blacksburg Board of Zoning Appeals overturned Hundley's determination. The Board ruled unanimously that Hundley had wrongly determined that the developers of the South Main project did not have vested rights.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Bobby Turk found that Blacksburg Town Council had no legal right to stop or slow Fairmount from building a big-box store at the South Main site. Turk's ruling found that the plaintiffs have a right under state law to build the 186,000 square foot retail store along South Main Street without further governmental interference.

Town Council decided in a closed-door meeting to appeal the ruling saying that it will erode the power of local governments to regulate land use issues inside their borders. Town Council has set aside $100,000 for case-related legal expenses.

BURG has decided to use $17,000 in donations to finance 21 Blacksburg residents – mostly owners of property near the South Main site – who filed suit in Montgomery County Circuit Court to overturn the Blacksburg Board of Zoning Appeals decision.

The group will be represented by Richmond land-use attorney Philip Strother.