Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 31, 1993 TAG: 9305310021
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Leave it to Salem to be different.
Salem City Council wants to put a new landfill right beside a small subdivision where landowners, most of them physicians, have built some of the most expensive homes in the city.
The eight property owners on Bent Ridge Lane have the wherewithal to hire a lawyer to protect their interests. Their biggest challenge so far has been overcoming the perception that they are a handful of fat cats trying to hold up progress.
"I've had one City Council member tell me, `You rich people don't want this landfill and are going to make everyone else pay for it,' " said Dr. David Cummings, a family practitioner.
Their determination to fight the landfill was not lessened by City Council's announcement of a five-year deal to ship the city's garbage to a private landfill near Richmond.
Council also agreed to seek a state permit for a new landfill near Bent Ridge Lane as a possible long-term solution to the city's solid-waste needs.
"It's nice that there's a postponement for five years," said Peter Noce, a businessman who lives on Bent Ridge Lane. "But I can see no option but to go full steam ahead and try to stop them from getting the permit."
Noce and his neighbors consider themselves fortunate to be living in Salem with its good schools, athletic pride and numerous parks.
But the landfill has given them a glimpse into the city's insular style of government, which has left them frustrated and angry.
Bent Ridge Lane residents say city officials were so vague about the landfill when planning began in 1990 that it took homeowners nearly two years to realize what was happening.
In August 1990, City Manager Randy Smith sent a letter to everyone who owned land adjoining Mowles Spring Park to inform them of the city's "intent to continue operating a solid waste management facility" in the 283-acre park.
The letter did not alarm landowners on Bent Ridge Lane because they were aware of the existing landfill when they bought their property in the 1980s. They felt they were a safe distance from the landfill, which is about a mile away and buffered by woods and topography.
After the letter arrived, Cummings said, he made a call to city hall to find out if the landfill plans would affect the colonial-style home he was preparing to build next to the park.
Cummings said he can't remember with whom he spoke, but that the call put his concerns to rest.
"They said, `Don't worry. We will let you know if we do something.'
"Then one day last year, bulldozers came over here clearing land."
A bulldozer operator broke the awful news - the new landfill would come within 100 feet of Cummings' home, which the city values at $246,000 for tax purposes.
"We're not talking about an acre or two buffer," Cummings said. "We're talking you can spit over there."
Smith denied that the city misled residents or hid facts from them.
"I've done what I thought was proper and I've done what is legal," he said.
Last fall, neighbors took action. They hired Ed Natt, a lawyer who specializes in land-use matters. They met with city administrators to learn more about plans for the new landfill.
Salem must close its current landfill in October under stringent state regulations. The city has contracted with Chambers Development Co. to send its garbage to the company's landfill in Amelia County for the next five years.
In the meantime, Salem officials will keep its long-term options open by looking into the new technology of turning household waste into compost and by following through on getting a permit for a two-phase landfill in Mowles Spring Park.
Bent Ridge Lane residents want City Council to withdraw the landfill permit until it decides the city will need the facility.
It would be a waste of taxpayer money, they argue, for the city to get a permit for a landfill it may never use.
And they fear that a state permit - even if the landfill were never built - would place a cloud over their property.
The group filed a lawsuit earlier this year trying to block the landfill application on grounds that city officials did not comply with state zoning regulations. Salem Circuit Judge G.O. Clemens has scheduled a hearing June 24.
Cummings, who would bear the brunt of the landfill, scoffs at the city's offer to plant white pines to screen the facility from his house.
"Why can't you take it back 500 feet and build an earth berm?"
The landfill probably would be visible from one other house in the subdivision. But residents say they will be close enough to hear the bulldozers, smell the garbage and watch their property values plummet.
Dr. Allen Watson, an ophthalmologist, suggested at a recent meeting of homeowners that they hire a professional appraiser to measure the impact on their property.
"I'd rather not, really," Cummings replied.
"Yeah, we'll need anti-depressants for sure if we get those numbers," said Dr. Jake Neathawk, a cardiologist.
The homeowners say they are frustrated by what they say is city officials' unwillingness to consider alternatives or to provide financial information to justify the landfill plans.
They question why the city wants to build the first phase of the landfill next to their subdivision and, after 20 years, open a second phase toward the center of the park.
Natt, the group's attorney, said city officials refuse to provide information to support their contention that the original plan would be more cost-effective.
Smith said that some information is not available yet, and some cannot be released because of the lawsuit.
"They want to nail me down on things before it's time," Smith said. "There are things I could not divulge to them or anyone else. I don't do all our business in public."
The landfill decision, he said, will not be a matter of public debate.
"Council has the facts and they'll have to make a business decision on the best way to go. The best thing I can do is to ask for people to trust the elected officials."
But Bent Ridge Lane residents fear that by the time the numbers come out it will too late for the public to evaluate them or suggest changes.
"If a landfill is a bargain for the city of Salem, let us know," Neathawk said.
"It's a bitter pill to swallow, but we'll swallow it," Watson said.
by CNB