Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408300039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kathleen K. Seefeldt said the county is ``dead serious about the goal of assuring appropriate, high-quality development. That will be a major task, but we have, I think, developed the expertise and the know-how.''
She said Prince William officials have talked to their counterparts in Florida and California, ``and we take very seriously the whole issue of strip development outside the boundaries of the Disney holdings.''
The county's ability to control growth is hampered by Virginia's restrictions on local governmental power and by a lot of cheap land, much of it planned for dense commercial development under the county's long-range land-use blueprint.
Laws to give the county greater control over development would have to be approved by the General Assembly. Such laws might include giving the county power to deny building approvals until roads, water lines and schools are ready.
They also could let the county establish development rights or ``credits'' that could be swapped to preserve farmland and encourage building along highways.
What planners and some residents fear is the hodgepodge strip development of motels, fast-food restaurants, mobile-home parks and mini theme parks.
John De Grove, a former Florida Cabinet member, is well-acquainted with growth around theme parks. He calls it a ``peanut-butter layer of development - thinly spread, chunky and slightly greasy.''
The county is looking at options such as revamping county zoning statutes to include new landscaping and architectural, sign and green-space rules, and new zoning districts with stricter requirements on developers.
Seefeldt said that by following the practice of compelling developers to make concessions such as roads and design standards to win zoning approval, ``I think at that point we're able to do a very good job.''
Park opponents question the county's desire to control development. The supervisors have not denied a developer's zoning application in three years, according to planning records. For a county of 240,000, where six of 10 commute outside the county to work, the issue of attracting jobs is more important than limiting growth, planners say.
by CNB