BLACKSBURG -- Few people at Tuesday night's Blacksburg Town Council meeting had strong feelings about a document that will guide the town's economic and physical development over the next five to 30 years. But more than a dozen speakers voiced opposition to a plan to build a big-box store such as a Wal-Mart along South Main Street.

Blacksburg 2046, better known as the town's comprehensive plan, passed unanimously following an endorsement by Montgomery County Planner Meghan Dorsett. She said the plan's focus on regional cooperation would "promote closer relationships between Blacksburg and Montgomery County." Those relationships have been strained over the past two years by disagreements about where to put a new Blacksburg High School stadium and what to do with the now-vacant old Blacksburg Middle School.

Only one speaker criticized the plan. Frank Lau said it did not address traffic congestion on Main Street. Lau ran an unsuccessful council campaign last year on a plan to build a Main Street bypass across the old school property.

But the majority of speakers came to endorse Ordinance 1450. Proposed last month by Councilman Don Langrehr, the ordinance would restrict the size of retail buildings. It is widely seen as a way to discourage construction of large chain stores. Some hope it could be used to ward off a big-box store planned for vacant land behind Margaret Beeks Elementary School.

Council was scheduled to hear public comment and vote on Langrehr's proposal Tuesday. But an error in the town's public notification process caused a three-week delay and sparked suspicion among some speakers that the error was a case of political maneuvering. One speaker called for the firing of the employee who made the mistake.

Town Manager Marc Verniel has declined to name the employee or to say if he or she would be disciplined. The Virginia Freedom of Information Act allows, but does not require, officials to keep that information confidential. At Tuesday's meeting, he said the town's public notification process had been changed to prevent future errors. Council is now scheduled to take up the ordinance on May 29.