Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 14, 1993 TAG: 9310140307
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's the conclusion of a state commission that has spent three months studying the problems of the state's large urban areas.
If nothing is done, what you see today in hard-hit areas in Roanoke and other large cities, you will see tomorrow in the suburbs.
"Crime knows no boundaries. Once neighborhoods decline, it's hard to stop the tide of urban blight," said Scott Bates, chairman of the Governor's Commission on the Revitalization of Virginia's Urban Areas.
The commission's prescription for remedying the ills of urban areas includes more police, more teachers and tax cuts to help create jobs.
The 20-member task force, appointed by Gov. Douglas Wilder, has made 36 recommendations for improving public safety, promoting job creation and improving education and health.
The commission's report backs up Roanoke City Council's contention that cities need more state aid and other help to deal with poverty, crime, unemployment and neighborhood decay.
Roanoke Mayor David Bowers is working with his counterparts in Norfolk and Richmond to organize a lobbying campaign for more state aid for cities and possible changes in local government structure to ease their financial squeeze.
Councilman Delvis "Mac" McCadden hopes the commission's report will convince state legislators that the cities' problems are real.
"I hope the report will alert them to our needs. I hope they don't put it on a shelf and forget it," McCadden said.
Bates said the task force's recommendations will help reverse the decline in urban areas. "It is a long road, but one we must travel to build a better commonwealth for all," he said.
On the issue of annexation and Virginia's independent-city system, the commission noted that several speakers at its hearings called for changes in Virginia's annexation laws, which block most large cities from annexing.
The commission didn't have time to consider that issue comprehensively, but said it is a matter of urgent importance to urban areas. The commission recommended that a committee of state and local officials, business leaders and national experts be established to examine local government structure in Virginia and determine if it is equipped to handle the challenges that confront it.
Bowers favors most of the commission's proposals, but he said he had a mixed reaction to that one.
Bowers questioned the need for another study. He said several studies already have been made on the issue - most recently by the Grayson commission. "I'm in favor of the issue being brought up, but I'm not sure we need another study," he said.
The commission said its recommendations take into account the state's fiscal problems.
"We recognized that the possibility for approving major new spending initiatives is minimal," the report said. "But the commission also operated on the assumption that budgetary constraint is not a justification for inaction."
Bates said Virginia's cities point the way to the future. If they are allowed to decline, he said, the entire state will suffer.
\ URBAN COMMISSION\ RECOMMENDATIONS\ \ Police presence:
Put more police on foot patrol and use community policing in tough city neighborhoods.\ \ Drugs:
Send state police troopers into the cities when needed to combat drug-related crime.
Allow cities to condemn blighted and crack-cocaine houses more quickly.\ Youth crime:
Develop boot camps for young offenders on former military bases and other properties.\ \ Business incentives:
Create "tax-free zones" for businesses willing to create jobs in inner-city areas.
Expand state enterprise zones that provide tax breaks for businesses.\ Student teachers:
Put more teachers in schools by giving scholarships to college students willing to teach in city classrooms.\ \ Teen pregnancy:
Expand the state's program to help reduce teen pregnancy.
by CNB