Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 23, 1993 TAG: 9311230224
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Frank and Joyce Howard wanted to build the park on 18 acres at the intersection of Cove Hollow Road and Howard Drive. They had applied for a rezoning and special-use permit to develop the rural property.
But they decided to withdraw the request on learning that two of the seven supervisors wouldn't be present. Chairman Ira Long and Supervisor Henry Jablonski were absent.
"If [the board had] voted, we'd have lost," said the Howards' son, Allen, who is developing the property for them.
If all seven supervisors had been present, Howard said, his parents would not have withdrawn the request.
If the request had been turned down by the supervisors, it could not have been brought back for a year. But by withdrawing the request, the Howards can bring it back in three months.
Howard would not say whether his parents plan to do that.
Last month, the supervisors decided to let their decision on the rezoning request wait while the Virginia Department of Transportation studied the prospect of new turning lanes and a crossover on U.S. 460 to ease access to the site.
On Wednesday, resident engineer Dan Brugh wrote a letter to Howard approving the road changes, provided the Howards pay for them.
The county Planning Commission voted 5-3 last month to recommend denial of the Howards' request, citing traffic problems that would be caused because of the park's proximity to U.S. 460 and a railroad crossing.
The commission also cited criticisms raised by citizens at a September public hearing and last month's supervisors' meeting: the added residents would overburden already strapped schools, and the park would not fit in with the surrounding area.
Montgomery County has eight mobile-home parks.
The Howards live in homes behind the proposed park. Allen Howard said at an earlier public hearing: "We intend to have a park that will add value to our land and not detract from it. We're hoping to build a mobile-home park that is in a class by itself."
by CNB