
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, August 7, 1993                   TAG: 9308070043
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

SPACE PLAN WOULD PROTECT LAND, HISTORY, `ATMOSPHERE'

The Montgomery County Planning Commission will review recommendations for managing the county's open spaces on Aug. 18. The Board of Supervisors plans a hearing on the open-space plan at its Sept. 27 meeting.

Here are recommendations developed by a citizens' advisory committee:

\ Conservation of farms and forests: The committee urges improving existing programs to protect farmland and forest land through land-use taxation and agricultural and forest districts.

Protection of farm and forest landowners from neighboring development is encouraged, including requiring developers to install buffer strips between developments and farms.

The plan suggests helping farmers develop an economic strategy for local farm products.

\ Water-resource protection: Includes protecting water quality and protecting property from flooding and erosion.

\ Protection of scenic views, rural atmosphere, landscape character: The committee suggests that the county seek a grant to study its scenic resources before making recommendations.

\ Historic preservation: A 1986 historic-sites survey would be used to make property owners aware of important historic resources on their land.

\ Orderly growth: Areas of the county where growth is expected should have plans to guide growth. The committee also recommends that developers be made to pay for improvements to public roads and utilities to their developments.

\ Recreational locations: The committee calls for an increase in public parkland and development of trails.

\ Other development options: Optional types of development are recommended that would better protect open spaces.

\ Conservation of resources on open-space maps: County planners should use open-space maps in making planning decisions and in considering requests for rezonings and special-use permits. Landowners who agree to conserve land should have a special tax break.

\ Conservation easements: Set up a system to allow sale or donation of conservation easements. Such an easement essentially involves selling certain development rights by a landowner in order to protect land and resources.

\ Greenways: Greenways can be buffers, closed to the public to protect water and natural resources, or they can be recreation or transportation corridors.

\ Cooperation with Virginia Tech: Because of Tech's vast county holdings, the university and county should work on a common vision of land use.

by CNB