Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 20, 1991 TAG: 9102200275
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
The Franklin County Board of Supervisors voted 5-1 to approve The Boardwalk planned unit community submitted by lake developer Ron Willard.
A majority of board members ignored staff concerns that allowing private roads within The Boardwalk could set an unwanted precedent. Planning Director Carolyn Handy said she had no doubt that Willard - the developer of two successful golf developments at the lake - would build quality roads at The Boardwalk.
The issue, Handy said, was whether the county would have to exempt less reputable developers from the same local subdivision regulations, which require roads built to state specifications and road bonds posted with the county.
The regulations assure the county will not have to pay for "roads the state will not take," she said.
Willard replied by citing his record of success and assuring supervisors that state condominium laws contain adequate safeguards for buyers and the county. The roads will be maintained by the property owners' association, he said.
Speaking in front of an artist's colorful renderings of condominiums, Willard said the design relied on narrow streets to create the feel of a village. The single-family, detached condominiums would use the architecture of old Virginia farmhouses, complete with painted wood siding, big porches and tin roofs. The centerpiece will be a 12-foot-wide boardwalk along more than a mile of shoreline.
The units will cost about $350,000.
"I believe it's a perfect concept," said Charles Ellis, the Gills Creek District supervisor. "I don't see any problem with the roads."
Ellis and four other supervisors voted for the project. Blue Ridge District Supervisor Ronnie Woods voted no, citing the private roads. Snow Creek District Supervisor Gordon Washburn abstained.
Willard has said he will break ground this fall if the economy turns around. His other lake projects include the Waterfront and the Water's Edge, both in Franklin County.
Earlier Tuesday, the board appropriated $11,000 to the county's Social Services Department for in-home care for 21 elderly and retarded residents.
Social Services Director Ellie Ussery said the extra appropriation was needed to keep the program in operation through May. Without the care, families would have to place the patients in a nursing home, she said.
The vote was 5-2, with Woods and Washburn dissenting.
In other action, the board voted 4-3 to appropriate $30,733 to the School Board for added gasoline costs brought on by the Persian Gulf War.
by CNB