Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 15, 1993 TAG: 9312150197
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The vote clears the way for a planned community of 101 single-family homes to be built on what is now a large open space between North Main Street and Bishop Road.
Council approved the plan 5-1 despite concerns from some homeowners that the new housing development would increase traffic and cause flooding problems in the nearby Woodbine subdivision.
The plan calls for the new community, Wyatt Farm, to be linked to the Woodbine neighborhood by Birch Leaf Lane.
Ray Stell, who lives on Birch Leaf Lane, said his property already suffers flooding during heavy rain, and more development only would make the problem worse.
"I've got everything I have invested in that property," he told council in an impassioned plea. "I'm really worried. Any flaw in calculation will make my property part of the storm drainage system."
Adele Schirmer, Blacksburg's director of planning and engineering, assured council that the new subdivision would not cause more drainage problems in Woodbine.
"One of our primary concerns would be to assure that there would be no [water] backup," she said.
Ron Marlowe, also a Woodbine resident, said the extension of Birch Leaf Lane would mean more traffic on the road, making it dangerous for children to play.
"The road is maxed out on traffic already," he said during the 90-minute public hearing. "I can't see putting any more there."
Woodbine, built in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has about 165 homes.
The Wyatt Farm site is owned by John Wilson and his sisters, Sara W. McDonnell and Ann W. McClung. They live in West Virginia.
The new subdivision would have 33.5 acres of open space, including biking and walking trails. The community will be developed by Blacksburg-based Raines Real Estate.
Construction could begin by July and will be completed in nine phases over 10 to 18 years. The average lot size would be just over half an acre.
by CNB