Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 24, 1993 TAG: 9309240192
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And that apparently will ensure a multiregion study aimed at preserving the vistas and natural environment along the entire length of the highway in Virginia and North Carolina.
On Thursday, the Fifth Planning District's executive committee authorized Strickland to proceed with plans for the study that was triggered by the recent controversy in Roanoke County over rezoning land near the parkway.
Strickland, executive director of the planning district, was spurred to seek the study because of the county fight and a newspaper editorial decrying the lack of a plan to protect the parkway.
Strickland has contacted 10 regional agencies along the parkway. Seven have agreed to participate and one has said it probably will participate.
He said the study could encompass several issues:
Evaluating the need for "viewshed" protection and preserving the natural vistas.
Balancing the protection of parkway resources with the development potential of privately-owned property near the parkway.
Examining a possible model ordinance that localities could enact to restrict development along the highway.
Finding the funds to pay for protection strategies.
Strickland said each regional agency can coordinate the participation of its localities along the parkway or within its "viewshed."
He said the precedent for such a multiregion approach was set by the Interstate 81 Corridor Council, a group of regional planning agencies that studied ways to encourage scenic development, especially at interchanges.
"Much of what was learned from this study could be used as a model for a viewshed study of the parkway," he said.
Strickland said parkway officials have been contacted about the study and they have agreed to help arrange a meeting in October or early November.
by CNB