Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 9, 1994 TAG: 9403090187
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
But the board limited its recommendation to 69 lots in the first three phases of the 231-lot Heritage Place subdivision, and to a two-year period, after which it could review the need for public sewer for the remaining sections and any unsold lots in the first three.
Last month, amid concerns that such a concentration of septic systems could contribute to the contamination of groundwater, the PSA asked Lynchburg developer David M. Harman to present alternatives and their costs.
Harman, whose family once operated a fur farm near the site off U.S. 11 just outside Christiansburg, brought up the issue of the fairness. He noted that the county approved the adjacent, 47-lot Grandview subdivision last year with septic systems.
"Why didn't you give them the same problems you're trying to give us?" asked Harman, who hopes to build the development over the course of seven years.
The PSA board's 4-2 endorsement came after an engineer for Harman said extending public sewer lines 21/2 miles to the subdivision would cost $2 million or more.
That would increase Harman's cost by $8,000 to $11,000 per lot, according to Balzer & Associates engineer Carolyn Bolton. Using individual septic systems as originally proposed, on the other hand, would cost about $3,000 per lot, Bolton said. Harman already has agreed to pay to bring a public water line to the site.
The higher cost for a sewer system would be passed on to home builders, whom PSA board member Nick Rush noted, would pass it on to home buyers.
The PSA board is a separate political entity responsible for water and sewer systems in the more rural portions of Montgomery. It is composed of five members of the county Board of Supervisors and two former supervisors.
Rush lashed out at what he described as a "dog-and-pony show" the county was making the developer go through by making his case first before the PSA, then the Planning Commission next week and finally the supervisors. Bolton said Harman wanted to get to work on the project this spring and summer.
"This is ridiculous," Rush said. "Let's approve this and set some leadership."
PSA board Chairman Todd Solberg cast the deciding vote in favor of the recommendation, after sharply questioning some aspects of the proposal. Member Henry Jablonski, the supervisor who represents the area between U.S. 11 and Mud Pike where Harman wants to sell lots, missed the meeting. An effort to postpone the vote to next week failed.
Board members Jim Moore of Blacksburg and Ira Long of Prices Fork voted against the recommendation to the Planning Commission. Moore noted that if a sewer line is eventually extended to the area, homeowners with septic systems would be compelled to pay to hookup to it by county ordinance.
Soil scientist John J. Simon, who did test borings at the site for Harman last week, said requiring public sewer would change the whole concept of the large-lot development, and would require that the developer increase the density of lots to make it financially feasible. He said he didn't see groundwater degradation being a "real issue" in that area of Montgomery.
Moreover, operating costs and debt service for a new sewer line would be a financial burden on the PSA that county taxpayers as a whole might end up bearing, he said.
Though in the past the PSA has requested tax money to cover operating expenses, it no longer does so. But according to the 1994-95 budget draft, it still needs money to cover capital expenses. The PSA, like the county landfill, is supposed to support its operations with the fees it charges.
The county Planning Commission will review the Heritage Place subdivision proposal on March 16.
by CNB