
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 12, 1994                   TAG: 9404140013
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SLOW GROWTH

WHEN I first came to the Roanoke Valley in 1962, the local economy was depressed from the closure of the American Viscose rayon plant and the conversion of the Norfolk and Western Railroad from steam to diesel locomotives. During a reconnaissance visit, a staff member of the Roanoke Chamber of Commerce recommended against moving here, but later a cab driver said it was a great place to live. I frequently tell myself how glad I am I took the advice of the cab driver.

The Roanoke Valley, in its narrow geographic definition, is never likely to attract any large new industries because of our limited availability of suitable land. Some surrounding counties do have large tracts that could be converted from agriculture to industry. We need to work cooperatively with them to achieve the spin-off benefits from any large new employers in those areas.

The Roanoke Valley must compete strongly for diversified and targeted smaller businesses and industry to locate here, to offset the inevitable periodic business departures and closures, and to maintain a modest level of job growth. Those parents who aspire to have good local jobs for all their adult children are not likely to see their dreams realized. We will never be a Charlotte or Greensboro or Richmond (thank goodness!), but we will continue to be the major population and commercial center for Western Virginia, and a mighty fine place to live.

Ensuring that we will continue to enjoy a high quality of life requires careful and dedicated planning by the private and public sectors. The Blue Ridge Parkway, the Appalachian Trail, our pristine valley farmlands, our mountain viewscapes, the Explore Park, and our air and water quality all cry out for protection against possible desecration. But that attitude of preservation has to be tempered with the need to accommodate some commercial and transportation development. The challenge will be to discriminate between those real threats to our environment and those that are primarily NIMBY (not in my back yard) reactions.

I think the newspaper articles on ``Peril and Promise'' have been unnecessarily negative, creating an impression that the Roanoke Valley is in imminent danger of disaster. We are now far too resilient and diversified to suffer a severe economic downturn compared to the rest of the country. We do live in the best place on Earth, and must constantly strive to keep it that way, while working for that moderate level of growth that will keep the economy viable. We need to back the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership and the New Century Council to the hilt, to maintain some parity with aggressive competitors across this country and in the world.

Intelligent and enlightened leadership, with the informed support of our citizens, will maintain the right balance between a viable economy and a high quality of life. We must do it, and we can do it.

|LEE B. EDDY |ROANOKE

by CNB