Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 12, 1991 TAG: 9102120396
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The supervisors also heard from citizens from Bradshaw Valley in eastern Montgomery County, who asked for the board's help in fighting Roanoke County's proposed trash train and demanded to know the supervisors' position on the train.
The rezoned property lies in an area just south of Virginia 114 and east of U.S. 460 near the Market Place shopping center. The request for the rezoning came from William B. Matthews of Blacksburg, agent for the company that owns the property.
Before changing the zoning, the supervisors had to change the property's designation in the county's comprehensive plan from residential to commercial to make way for a business zone.
Matthews, who acquired the land in a controversial swap with Virginia Tech, hopes to sell the rezoned property to BTR Realty, a Maryland company that would develop the shopping center across Virginia 114 from the Market Place.
BTR is a strong company that has been doing well while other developers have floundered, Matthews said.
The board tabled any action on rezoning the remaining 35 acres of the horticultural farm property that lies west of the proposed Virginia 3A bypass and next to the rezoned property. Tabling clears the way for further consideration of the property's zoning at any time.
Supervisor Ann Hess cast the lone votes against both the change in the comprehensive plan and the rezoning. Hess said it was premature to rezone the property, saying the property might be needed for light industry and that not enough attention had been given to how it might fit into transportation needs in the area.
Several Bradshaw area residents appealed to the board for help in their fight against the trash train.
"We don't want to be like the Lone Ranger, waiting for you people to decide what you're going to do," said resident Jack Waldeck. "A lot of people here would like to know your position on this," he said.
Board Chairman Henry Jablonski told the delegation that the board does not yet have a position on the train.
Jackie Romley, another resident, admonished the board for being complacent on the issue, warning the supervisors they did not have much time left to act. She said she was disturbed by the lack of information coming from the supervisors about the train.
In other action, the board approved an application from the Showalter Center adult home in Warm Hearth Village near Blacksburg to sell $5 million in tax-exempt Industrial Development Authority bonds.
Jackie Earnist, finance director for the Warm Hearth retirement community, said without the refinancing provided by the bonds, Showalter faces default on its mortgage. In that case, the building would revert to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the employees of the center would lose their jobs, she said.
Showalter is 7 years old, has 85 residents and is served by 45 workers, Earnist said. The refinancing will reduce the center's interest payments from 11.25 percent to roughly 8 percent.
by CNB