Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 29, 1993 TAG: 9304290212
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LON WAGNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BOONES MILL LENGTH: Medium
Roucek and a handful of town residents had demanded for months that the town enforce its floodplain law against North American Housing Corp. before cracking down on Roucek.
A wooden deck on Roucek's cafe extends 3 feet into the floodplain of the Maggodee Creek. A gravel parking lot owned by North American - until two weeks ago, that is - was extended 20 feet into the floodplain.
The town solved the conflict with North American in what even Mayor Juanita Murray admits is an unusual manner: North American gave the parking lot to the town.
North American's floodplain violation has become the town's violation. But Murray said it will be cheaper for the town to dig the parking lot out of the creek than it would have been to take on a long legal fight.
"They were willing to cooperate and give it to us," Murray said, "and this was the cheapest way to go.
"I'm sure the taxpayers won't see it that way, but legal fees are expensive."
With the North American problem resolved, the council quickly focused on Roucek. Lynn Frith, Boones Mill's police officer, was told to crack down on Roucek.
Roucek built the deck without a permit last summer. He has held off council's enforcement efforts by pledging to have an engineer devise a better deck and demanding enforcement of other floodplain violations.
Or as Murray put it: "He's bought a year's time."
Roucek could face a $500 fine, and his deck could be declared a public nuisance, which would allow the town to tear it down.
Roucek said he will let Frith take his next step, then he will file an injunction to stop him. Then he will sue the town for "discriminatory enforcement."
There still are other structures in Boones Mill that are in the floodplain, he said, and those violations should be addressed before his deck.
"I don't want to do any of this, but they're putting me in a corner," Roucek said.
"I'm pretty tired of it myself."
by CNB