THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 22, 1996 TAG: 9610220240
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 69 lines
Farmer's Market fans hope to unleash a storm of protest Wednesday night over any plans the city might have to relocate the 20-year-old, charred landmark or to shut it down.
The City Council will hold a special hearing Wednesday to allow the public to air concerns over the facility, which was partially destroyed by fire Aug. 22.
The session was prompted by a grass-roots petition effort to save the market and by the concerns of surviving merchants that inaction was strangling their trade.
Since the pre-dawn fire, neither merchants nor council members have been able to agree on whether to rebuild the city-owned facility on its present site, build a new marketplace on a nearby site or do away with it altogether.
A sample of council opinion indicates that members are determined to re-establish the Farmer's Market but are undecided on a location.
Some council members favor replacing the market at its present site at Dam Neck and Princess Anne roads. Others favor moving it
to a nearby tract near the Virginia Beach Amphitheater because of road access problems and the pending encroachment of the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center.
Some of the 13 surviving Farmer's Market merchants have launched a drive to persuade council members to restore the market at its present location and have netted 6,000 signatures on a petition.
Ron Kitchen, who runs Country Kitchen at the marketplace, advocates moving and expanding the facility.
Two business operators plan to shut their market stalls at the end of the month and at least one has signed a lease at other shopping venues in the city.
A few merchants, like Mary Chapman Neilson, proprietor of Chapman's Flowers, say the city has been indifferent to the market and cares little about the fate of the merchants who have rented its stalls over the years.
There appears to be regional support for reopening the market, despite the council's hesitancy to take immediate action. Longtime customers such as Betty Halstead of Norfolk want it to stay.
``I hope they keep this place open,'' said Halstead, who regularly drives from her Ghent home to the Virginia Beach crossroads to shop.
Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said she recently encountered strong sentiment from a Suffolk woman to continue the market's operation.
The woman demanded that the council reopen the market, Oberndorf said, explaining that the incident illustrates the regional appeal the market has generated. MEMO: Staff writer Mark Young contributed to this report.Staff writer
Mark Young contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Photos File photo
Virginia Beach Farmer's Market
File photo
Fire at Farmers Market
Graphic
MEETING
The Virginia Beach City Council will hold a special hearing on
the Farmer's Market at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The meeting will be held in
council chambers on the second floor of the City Hall Building.
Speakers are encouraged to sign up in advance by calling the City
Clerk's office at 427-4303. They also can sign up at the meeting.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH FARMER'S MARKET FIRE by CNB