Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 16, 1994 TAG: 9402160086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But he said they are castles compared to the starter home that is going up around the corner at 2930 Ravenwood Ave. N.W.
Manning figures that the home is so tiny that his living room would take up more than one-quarter of the 672-square-foot dwelling.
"We think this is completely out of line with the homes in the area," Manning told Roanoke City Council on Monday.
Manning, a retired service worker for Roanoke Gas Co., came armed with signatures of 49 neighbors who want the city to protect their neighborhood from "infill houses" built on vacant lots.
Council members, however, could offer only sympathy.
City Attorney Wilburn Dibling said the municipal government did not have the authority to regulate the size or design of new homes, provided the developer meets all local and state requirements for a building permit.
Dibling said the city has the authority to control the design of homes in certain historic neighborhoods, but not along Williamson Road.
Infill housing is an issue in older neighborhoods throughout Roanoke, pitting residents concerned with property values against developers looking for inexpensive lots.
"It's a broad problem," said Bob Fetzer, president of the Roanoke Valley Homebuilders Association. "A lot of these homes will be a blight on the neighborhood."
Examples of incompatible infill housing are scattered around the city. In Old Southwest, motel-like apartment complexes were built on streets lined with turn-of-the-century houses. In Gainsboro, boxy, vinyl-sided houses are dwarfed by some of the city's oldest homes.
Last year, Roanoke went to the General Assembly for help to prevent incompatible structures from robbing the charm of older neighborhoods, particularly Gainsboro.
The legislature granted the city authority to establish "design overlay districts" in 11 neighborhoods: Belmont, Fallon Park, Gainsboro, Gilmer, Harrison, Highland Park, Hurt Park, Kenwood, Loudon, Melrose and Morningside.
In any of these neighborhoods deemed to have historical or architectural merit, City Council can establish design standards and set up a process to review any new construction.
The city's planning staff has been drafting an ordinance that could be ready for adoption this summer, according to Community Planning Chief John Marlles.
"We are trying to encourage development in these areas, but we want to make sure it's compatible with the neighborhood," he said.
The new regulations would be no help to residents of the Williamson Road area.
Manning, who lives on Delray Street, has a stack of Polaroid pictures documenting the encroachment of infill houses.
The photos show starter homes on 10th Street, Roundhill Road, Delray Street and Ravenwood Avenue.
"I definitely don't want that house in this neighborhood. If you let one come in, everyone's going to come in," he said.
Manning said his house is assessed for $69,200. He figured the starter home around the corner would sell for about $40,000.
The actual price will be $46,950, according to developer L.T. McGhee of Vinton.
McGhee said the house he is building on Ravenwood is the best use of the lot, which is between an 8-unit apartment building and a house divided into federally subsidized apartments.
"I think the guy would have a point if I were [building] on his block, and there was a $65,000 house on one side and a $65,000 house on the other," McGhee said.
McGhee said he was taking a location that no one else wanted and using it to provide a young, working family with an opportunity to own their own home.
The house will have two bedrooms, one bath, cathedral ceilings and a heat pump. McGhee likened the house to those built in Roanoke for young couples after World War II.
"I won't apologize to anyone for this house," he said. "That is what America is all about."
Manning said he was concerned about the appearance of the house, as well as the price.
He said he feared the Ravenwood house will look like one that McGhee's company built last year on 10th Street - a box of a house with no features other than a front door and a few windows.
Fetzer, the home builders association president, said that it would take only a few touches, such as a front porch and a higher roof pitch, to help infill houses blend with existing neighborhoods.
McGhee said that would cost too much money.
"We could stick some amenities on it," he said. "But we'd probably take the house away from some young couple."
by CNB