Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 14, 1992 TAG: 9201140164
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
DOCK GETS OFFICIAL IN TROUBLE
Wayne Compton, commissioner of revenue for Roanoke County, has gotten into hot water over a dock on his Smith Mountain Lake property.Compton was caught this fall building the dock without a permit Compton from the Franklin County building inspections office.
To make matters worse, Compton's dock in the Starwood subdivision violated a local ordinance by extending more than one-third of the way across a cove.
When asked about the dock Monday, Compton laughed and said: "I didn't know that they have building permits down there. I thought if you build on Sunday you were exempted."
The dock is no laughing matter to the Franklin County Planning Department. In November, officials notified Compton that he would have to remove the dock if he did not obtain a variance to local regulations.
At least three adjoining landowners in the Starwood subdivision have opposed such a variance, saying they may be unable to construct docks of their own if Compton takes up too much of the cove.
Compton said he had worked out a compromise that he hopes will satisfy his neighbors.
Compton bought the Starwood lot last fall and decided to improve a small floating dock attached to the property. He said he never got around to applying for a building permit.
"I was going to get one," he said. "I really didn't think I was going to do as much work as I did."
After replacing the gangplank, Compton decided to extend the dock another 15 feet into the cove because the drought left his floating dock mired in mud.
When the water level continued to drop, Compton added another 15 feet to the structure.
The dock is small by Smith Mountain Lake standards, but the cove is so narrow that the structure interferes with neighbors' access to the water.
Compton has been asked to appear before the Franklin County Planning Commission on Jan. 28. The commission must grant a variance before Compton can get a building permit.
At last month's meeting, county attorney Jim Jefferson could not resist a dig at Compton, who has been Roanoke County's commissioner of revenue since 1980.
Jefferson drily explained to commission members that building permits were important because they enabled commissioners of revenue to update property tax rolls.
Compton laughed and said, "I'm guilty."