Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 10, 1993 TAG: 9308100188
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
And there will be nothing they can do about it.
"The price of hogs is going up everyday," he said Monday night following a vote by the Bedford County Board of Supervisors to deny a plan to build a Little League baseball complex on property he owns adjacent to the neighborhood.
Reacting angrily to the vote, McQuade said he was serious about the threat. The land is designated for agricultural use, so McQuade said he is within his legal right to use it accordingly.
"I've had cattle on there. Now it's time maybe for pigs."
McQuade was angry both at Blumont residents who had bitterly opposed the baseball complex and at the supervisors for yielding to the neighborhood's protests.
"It was all a case of mob rule," he said.
Residents opposed the proposed 30-acre Little League complex, citing potential noise problems and safety concerns. The access road to the facility would have crossed a railroad spur.
The site is located off U.S. 221 behind Lane Pontiac in Forest.
A Lynchburg architect, Alan Adler, had developed the ballpark plan for the Lynchburg Little League, which he has said needs more baseball fields.
Adler had argued that the complex would be a benefit to the community, giving children a place to play and neighborhood residents a park within walking distance.
A prime piece of real estate, he also said it would be better than a factory or an apartment complex or some other less desirable use.
But residents continued to pressure the supervisors.
Last month, they packed a public hearing to oppose the project. Some 100 people also attended Monday's meeting with the supervisors.
The supervisors voted 5-2 to reject the baseball complex, going against an earlier recommendation by the county Planning Commission to approve the park.
Several reasons were cited. Some of the supervisors said the complex was not in compliance with the county's comprehensive plan because it wasn't primarily intended for use by county residents.
Some of the supervisors also said they had concerns about the safety of a baseball park adjacent to a railroad track and about the potential loss of tax revenue on the land because the Little League group was a non-profit organization and tax-exempt.
Neighborhood residents cheered and applauded the supervisors' decision Monday. But Adler and McQuade questioned the decision. They said they would look into appealing the action.
In the meantime, McQuade said he may start buying some pigs.
Memo: story ran on C2 in the Metro edition