Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 13, 1990 TAG: 9003133615
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The red-and-white signs are already helping to reduce problems in the housing communities, said Herbert McBride, executive director of the city's Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
"We think this is going to be a tremendous benefit because this will give police the legal authority to make arrests" of outsiders who come into the developments and cause trouble, McBride said Monday.
Signs have been posted in all the authority's developments to notify outsiders of the policy, which applies 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The signs, which have red letters on a white background, read: "No Trespassing At Any Time On This Development - City of Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority."
The signs and posts cost more than $5,000. The signs, which cost $28 each, have been erected at entrances to the developments and other locations so they are readily visible.
The no-trespassing policy was adopted earlier this year because of an increase in drug-related crimes and outsiders coming into the housing communities with firearms.
Ronny Grogan, a former William Fleming High School football star, was killed and three other people were wounded in a shootout last year at the Lincoln Terrace development in Northwest Roanoke.
Two men have been shot to death near the Lansdowne Park development at Salem Turnpike and 24th Street Northwest in the past year.
Meanwhile, Lansdowne Park residents have been urged to work with the management to help curb criminal activity and prevent disruptive gatherings of people.
Lansdowne residents keep a watch for outsiders or strangers who seem suspicious, said Alice Johnson, manager of the development.
McBride said residents in the housing developments support the no-trespassing policy because they are concerned about safety. Public housing agencies in some other cities have erected fences around projects, but he said he wouldn't recommend that for Roanoke.
On another matter, the authority's board of commissioners voted Monday to hire Hayes, Seay, Mattern and Mattern to develop plans for a proposed parking garage with condominiums on the upper floors on Church Avenue Southeast in downtown next to city Fire Station No. 1.
The redevelopment agency is working with city officials to develop the plans for the combined garage and housing structure because it owns the site in the Downtown East renewal project.
Preliminary plans call for the garage to have approximately 427 parking spaces. The upper floors would be housing.
The garage would provide Crestar Bank with 266 parking spaces, which will be taken when Norfolk Southern Corp. constructs an office building at Franklin and Williamson roads.
The authority has a legal commitment to provide the parking for the nearby Crestar building (formerly Colonial American Bank) under the terms of the original sale of the land, which was part of the Downtown East project.
The garage would also likely provide some parking for Norfolk Southern, residents in the housing units and the public, said Brian Wishneff, city chief of economic development.
The redevelopment agency hopes to finance the garage with money from the sale of the land at Franklin and Williamson roads to NS and loans that could be repaid with revenue from the rental of the parking spaces.
by CNB