Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 20, 1993 TAG: 9311200164
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A two-state organization formed to protect the 470-mile national park from encroaching development met for the first time Thursday in Boone, N.C. Most members represent the Virginia planning district commissions and North Carolina councils of government the parkway passes through.
"We need to show the public that protecting the integrity of the parkway is good for economic development," said Don Barger, southeast regional director for the National Parks and Conservation Association.
The meeting of the as-yet-unnamed parkway protection organization was prompted by a development project that could bring hundreds of homes to a pristine area adjacent to the parkway in Roanoke County.
The project, part of which is still under legal challenge, showed the limitations of zoning and galvanized efforts to find ways to protect the parkway, said Gary Everhardt, the parkway superintendent.
An economic impact study showed that the parkway and its more than 22 million annual visitors contribute $1.3 billion to the local economies, $90 million in taxes to local governments and 26,000 jobs to local residents, Everhardt said.
The problem is that the government doesn't own most of the views from the narrow parkway that people have come to enjoy. Everhardt said encroaching development is the most critical issue facing the parkway.
He suggested the group come up with architectural and landscape standards and setback requirements for development that can be seen from critical viewing areas. Other areas might be protected by negotiating scenic preservation easements with neighboring landowners or by purchasing land, he said.
by CNB