Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 20, 1993 TAG: 9307200098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
That could give encouragement to Roanoke Mayor David Bowers and other city officials who have begun speaking publicly again of the city's need to consolidate with Roanoke County or to regain the right to annex.
Amid warnings that the state's urban centers are slipping behind others regionally and nationally, several speakers argued that the General Assembly must rethink a 14-year-old law that exempts major suburban counties from annexation.
"Can that egg be unscrambled?" asked Michael Amyx, director of the Virginia Municipal League, which lobbies for the state's cities and towns. "That's a question you'll want to talk about" he advised the group of cabinet members, local elected officials, and others active in urban issues.
The Commission on the Revitalization of Virginia's Urban Areas, appointed by Gov. Douglas Wilder, has been given until Oct. 1 to produce a report recommending an urban policy involving jobs, safety, education, and health.
With Wilder's term expiring in January, however, the fate of whatever the commission recommends will be determined by his successor. Neither Democrat Mary Sue Terry nor Republican George Allen has articulated an urban policy, and spokesmen for both said Monday that their candidates are not prepared to endorse specific legislation.
The lead speaker for the task force was David Rusk, a former Albuquerque, N.M., mayor who is stirring national debate as the author of a book urging reunification of cities and their suburbs. His recently published book, "Cities Without Suburbs," analyzes economic and social trends in 522 central cities and 320 metropolitan areas from 1950-1990.
"Virginia reached a fork in the road in 1979 and took the wrong turn," Rusk said of the state's annexation law. "No progress can be made without a change in the ground rules set by the legislature."
In 1979, the General Assembly gave about a dozen suburban counties, including Roanoke County, immunity from city-initiated annexation. Smaller cities still have the right to annex.
Roanoke County Del. Dick Cranwell was one of the architects of that law, and he said last week - in response to comments by Bowers - that he would fight any attempt by Roanoke to get the power to annex again.
Rusk argued that metropolitan areas that share the burdens of housing, educating and caring for the poor are far healthier than those in which such costs are borne only by a central city. Economic and racial segregation are less pronounced, and the financial condition of the entire community tends to be stronger, he said.
A comparison of Virginia and North Carolina cities shows that the North Carolina localities benefited during the 1980s from policies encouraging consolidation - including liberal annexation laws - while Virginia cities suffered, he said.
For instance, in 10 North Carolina metro areas analyzed by Rush, city income grew 22 percent in the past decade and suburban income grew 23 percent. But in six Virginia metro areas - including Roanoke, Richmond and Norfolk - city income grew 9 percent while suburban income grew 21 percent.
Citing the benefits of regional governments in Nashville, Tenn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Charlotte, N.C., Rusk advised Virginia officials to "look at creating something new." He recommended a variety of approaches, ranging from annexations to creating umbrella governments sharing some regional responsibilities.
by CNB