Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 23, 1993 TAG: 9312230091
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV9 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"It appears to me that it's a good plan, and it tells me that some of the things we've been doing in the past were heading in the right direction," said Mayor Harbold Linkous.
The plan is a guide for future development and is the basis for zoning decisions, said Kenneth Poore, whose Richmond-based company compiled it for the town. But it does not mandate future decisions, he said.
"It's a living document. You change it as the needs arise," said council member Truman Daniel.
The plan is divided into four parts: a catalog of the town's economic, social and environmental features; goals and objectives; a plan for land-use, transportation and community facilities; and funding and zoning recommendations.
It shows that continued growth is expected in the north part of town, near the New River Valley Mall. But a second commercial center may spring up around a proposed Interstate 81 interchange in the Falling Branch area, where Montgomery County is looking to build an industrial park.
Christiansburg is already the region's commercial center, with 20 percent of its residents employed in the retail sector, Poore said. The state average is 15 percent retail employment.
But the plan also focuses on residential life in the town. Forty-eight percent of Christiansburg's developed property is residential, while 12 percent is commercial, Poore said.
"We need to accommodate residential growth and try to enhance the environment in which that would occur," he said. "That's a broad statement, but at the same time it says something about the kind of development we want in the community."
The plan anticipates moderate population growth to about 16,400 people at the turn of the century, from the present level of just more than 15,000.
Also Tuesday, council endorsed a Highway Department proposal to widen Cambria Street where it intersects North Franklin Street. Turn lanes will be included when the project is finished, in about 12 to 18 months.
by CNB