Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 26, 1993 TAG: 9305260145
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission held public hearings Monday night on requests by Jerry L. East and Quorum Holding Inc. and MCR Property Management Inc. to rezone about 32 acres from industrial and general business to multifamily residential.
The property is behind Holiday Ford near the end of National Drive about a quarter-mile off U.S. 460 in midcounty. A special-use permit also was requested to allow fraternity and sorority houses.
The proposal drew mixed reactions from local governmental agencies but no negative comment from the public.
The Rt. 460 Planning Council suggested that locating the fraternity and sorority houses in the relatively isolated area might cause fewer problems than if they were in a residential neighborhood.
The Montgomery County Recreation Commission objected to the proposal. The area is next to the Mid-county Park and the commission members were concerned that parties at the houses would spill over into the park.
However, Carolyn Bolton, an engineer representing the developers, suggested that the steep terrain between the proposed development and park would prevent that kind of problem.
"You're not just going to have kids going up those steep slopes in the middle of the night," Bolton said.
The initial plan, Bolton said, is to remodel a building at the end of National Drive that had been used by a salvage yard to house one fraternity.
The developers will pave National Drive past Holiday Ford to keep down dust and improve the intersection of National Drive and Jennelle Road in line with state Department of Transportation instructions, Bolton said. The first building shouldn't generate anymore traffic than the salvage yard did, she said.
Eventually, the developers hope to construct houses for five additional fraternities and sororities on the back side of the property. The intention is to provide access to those houses from Alternate 3A (U.S. 460 bypass) when it's built, Bolton said.
Delta Chi, a relatively new fraternity at Virginia Tech, would be the first to move into the park in the old salvage yard building. Wes Kennedy, speaking for the fraternity, sought to reassure the supervisors that it wasn't the fraternity's intent to stage one long party there.
Kennedy told the supervisors that 80 percent of the leadership positions at Tech are held by fraternity members even though they represent only about 15 percent of all students.
His fraternity also is involved in a number of public service projects, Kennedy said.
The Planning Commission postponed action on the request Monday night until it can get information from the highway department on what will be required to improve the intersection.
The supervisors will not consider the request until it receives a recommendation from the Planning Commission.
In other business Monday, the supervisors made appointments to a number of boards and commissions.
Edward Green, Joe Draper and Malvin Wells were re-appointed to the Planning Commission and Harry Neumann, a former member, was named to the commission.
Other appointments included: Dixon Hannah and Maple Anderson to the Human Services Commission; Kimberly Bruner and Angela Dulaney to the Youth Services Board; and Albert Hendricks to the Zoning Appeals Board.
by CNB