Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 26, 1994 TAG: 9403010205
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
If all nine phases are built over several years, the proposed Heritage Place subdivision would be one of the largest developments in Montgomery County.
But before plans go forward, county officials want developers David M. Harman and his wife, Ronnie F. Harman, to pay for a study of alternatives to using individual septic systems in the 301 acres between Mud Pike and U.S. 11. The land is adjacent to the family's former fur farm.
The county Public Service Authority "is concerned that 225 septic systems, located within a dense residential area, could contribute to the contamination of groundwater and nearby water wells," Gary Gibson, utilities director for the authority, wrote earlier this month.
"Sewer service can be provided to this subdivision by connecting to" Christiansburg's system, Gibson wrote. The town has a sewage plant on Crab Creek, about two miles from the Heritage Place site.
Harman, whose family has owned the land for about 50 years, said Friday the density of upscale, single-family homes on 1-acre lots planned for Heritage Place is less than some other subdivisions in the same general area.
He said he would meet with county officials next week "to decide what we can or can't do."
Nevertheless, "We're going to do something there, there's going to be some development," Harman said.
"We're offering two small lakes and a mile of jogging trail around the lakes," he said. "As far as conservation goes, we really feel like we're doing our thing there."
The Harmans filed a plat on the subdivision last month and asked the county Planning Commission for a preliminary approval that would last for several years rather than the usual one-year limit. That's because they plan to develop the land in nine phases, the first of which would involve 11 lots right on Mud Pike.
Four Planning Commission members visited the site with Harman and his engineer on Feb. 1 and raised questions about water, sewer and road access.
The Harmans are planning to bring public water from Christiansburg to the development using a Public Service Authority water line.
But the septic systems are the sticking point. The current county subdivision ordinance requires that if a new development's boundary is within 200 feet of a public water or sewer line, then the developer must pay for an extension. Heritage Place is apparently well beyond 200 feet from Christiansburg's sewer line, according to county documents. One summary notes that to extend sewer service from Christiansburg, a pump station and force main would be required.
Increasingly, the county Public Service Authority has seen rural subdivisions sprouting up near its lines, but it has had no way to compel their connection to its system. The Montgomery PSA is a separate political entity responsible for water and sewer systems outside the much larger Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Virginia Tech service area. Its seven-member board includes five members of the county Board of Supervisors.
At its Feb. 7 meeting, the PSA board voted 6-0 to require the Harmans to hire an engineering firm of its approval to study the feasibility of on-site and off-site alternatives to septic systems. The engineer would also estimate construction costs and methods of financing. Further, the board asked that the Planning Commission hold up its consideration of the Heritage Place proposal until the PSA reviews and acts upon the study.
The move ties in with the PSA's overall effort to tie in its recent look at the future of its water and sewer systems with the county's 1990 comprehensive plan.
According to county Planning Director Joe Powers, of the 212 subdivision lots registered in the county in 1993, only one-third connected to public water and only 17 percent to public sewer. Many of those lots were close to existing lines or new lines proposed in the PSA's water and sewer study, Powers wrote in a Jan. 26 letter.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***