Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 9, 1993 TAG: 9311090301
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Michael Stowe Staff Writer
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
A group of landowners from West Virginia is asking Blacksburg town officials to rezone 96 acres between North Main Street and Bishop Road for a planned community of 101 single-family homes.
As proposed, the subdivision would be linked to the Woodbine neighborhood by extending Birch Leaf Lane. Town Council will gets its first look at the proposal tonight, and will schedule a public hearing for Dec. 14.
Lori Slack, president of Woodbine Homeowners, said that her group is concerned about the traffic hazards that would result with more development in the area.
"We're not necessarily for or against this project, but I think it's important that people are aware of what's happening," she said. Slack said she is sending out letters encouraging neighborhood residents to speak out at public hearings. The Planning Commission will be the host for the first
hearing on Dec. 7, and will pass along a recommendation to Town Council for its meeting the following week.
The site, now zoned for agricultural use, is owned by John Wilson and his sisters, Sara W. McDonnell and Ann W. McClung.
Ray Varney, of Anderson and Associates in Blacksburg, prepared the site plans for the proposed subdivision.
Varney thinks the plan will pass, but he said that he's not surprised by the reaction of the site's neighbors.
"I've never been through a rezoning that didn't have some public opposition," he said.
Construction of the proposed housing development, which would include bike and walking trails, could begin by July 1994.
The project would be completed in nine phases over 10 to 18 years.
Varney said the homes, to be developed by Raines Real Estate, would be similar in style to those now in Woodbine.
"We certainly wouldn't want to come in and do something completely different," he said.
Birchwood, built in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has about 165 homes.
Rod Reasor, a former president of the Woodbine Home Association, said some residents also are concerned about drainage and flooding problems that could be caused by the new development.
"I would be surprised if there's not some organized opposition," he said.
The new subdivision, to be called Wyatt Farm, will include 33.5 acres of open space, including bike and walking trails that will be open to the public, Varney said.
Slack admitted the new homes could benefit the Woodbine neighborhood.
"Theoretically, it can increase our property values," she said.
\ Total number of single-family homes - 101.
Average lot size - 23,065-square-feet (.53 acre).
Minimum lot size - 11,261-square-feet.
Total open space - 37.69 acres
by CNB