Virginia Tech
PAE-3: Physical Campus Plan

The 2006-2016 Campus Master Plan contains many references to sustainability throughout the Master Plan Goals, the Defining Strategies, Program Accommodation and Campus System sections of the plan. The 2009 Master Plan Land Use Update also references sustainability in regard to land use on campus. The Land Use Update specifically states that “Land development should minimize environmental impact and should support the storm water strategies outlined in [the Master Plan].” Specific references to sustainability within the 2006-2016 Campus Master Plan include the following: The Land Assets section of the Master Plan Goals states that “the University and the Town of Blacksburg share a drainage basin that flows through Stroubles Creek. Stroubles Creek has been designated an impaired body of water by the State. Future planning needs to embody sustainable land use practices and development patterns to preserve key assets and key drainage ways such as the Duck Pond, Drill Field, and wooded areas like the Grove.” The Land Use section of Defining Strategies sets forth that “a major strategy to be employed is to embrace sustainable land use planning in the interest of resolving, to the greatest degree possible, flood plain and water quality issues related to Stroubles Creek and the shared Town of Blacksburg/Virginia Tech drainage basin. The plan does this by creating an ‘environmental and cultural greenway’ that protects campus drainage ways, addresses stormwater quality and quantity issues and integrates key forested areas and cultural assets that are at the very heart of Virginia Tech, such as the Drill Field, Duck Pond and Grove. The plan also proposes to daylight the north branch of Stroubles Creek in its passage through parking lots north of the academic core.” The Defining Strategies section of the Campus Master Plan also has a subsection devoted to the campus Stormwater/Sustainability Study, which analyzes these issues throughout the campus. The Transit & Infrastructure section of the Master Plan Goals emphasizes utilizing infill development strategies to “enhance and organize the special character of the campus…while maximizing the existing utility infrastructure, and increasing building density to desired ranges.” Additionally, “the 2006 Master Plan continues patterns of infill to achieve ideal densities in the core district. This plan implements western expansion of the campus by proposing the Life Science District in the ten-year horizon, and preserves the golf course as a future district and land bank. The master plan also codifies and designates the environmental and cultural greenway as a significant reservation of lands, waterways, tree stands, and cultural landmarks for future generations and ‘best management practices’ of sustainable land use. Finally, this plan allows for the growth of the airport, CRC, the core campus, and fulfills objectives of the master plan for Blacksburg and, most importantly, aligns with and helps to implement Virginia Tech’s strategic vision.”