Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 6, 1991                   TAG: 9102060152
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

STUDENT APARTMENT PLANS TO BE RESUBMITTED

In a letter sent to Irons late Monday, the town cited potential traffic congestion and incompatibility with surrounding structures - along with several technical problems - as reasons for disapproving the project.

Irons plans to build two student apartment buildings, one on either side of the historic Thomas-Conner House at the corner of Draper Road and Wall Street.

The Planning Department estimated that the 106-bedroom project would generate up to 560 vehicle trips daily. The staff is asking Irons to dedicate land for a future widening of Wall Street.

The letter also says that the project is not in "harmony with surrounding structures," as stipulated in the Central Residential District zoning ordinance.

But Irons said that the town has never before relied on those two issues - off-site traffic and compatibiltiy - to turn down a project otherwise allowed by right.

"That, along with the legal memorandum on these points . . . we're very comfortable that the town will go ahead and approve the site plan," he said.

Irons' lawyer sent the town a memo last week that said Blacksburg has no legal grounds to use traffic projections in its review of the site plan. The town had already accounted for traffic when it originally adopted the zoning ordinance, the memo says.

Further, the notion of "harmony with surrounding structures" is used in the ordinance as a guideline and not as a standard that a developer must meet, the memo says.

Irons said he would include the 10-page memo in response to the town's rejection, and that a number of other, technical problems listed by the town could easily be corrected by his project engineer.

It is the second time that the planning staff has rejected Irons's project, but planner Roger Hunt said it's not unusual for projects to go through several reviews in order to get all the details correct.

"The issues are different - no question," Hunt said. "Harmony is a kind of a fuzzy term."

Determining whether a project fits in with its surroundings boils down to making a judgment call, Hunt said, and involves a collective opinion of staff members.

"Harmony is more than architectural detail. It's size and placement on the lot, for example," he said.

The project, first submitted in November, has raised the ire of citizens who say it would destroy one of Blacksburg's remaining open spaces downtown and detract from the century-old Thomas-Conner landmark.

The detractors have called on the town to buy the property.

"We would be happy to discuss the possibility of the sale of the property with any parties that are interested," Irons said.

But for now, he's moving ahead with plans to build. Irons said he has made arrangements with a contractor to start building two student apartment buildings on Draper Road, and hopes to have them ready for occupancy by Virginia Tech's fall semester.