Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 9, 1994 TAG: 9406100014
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: 1 EDITION: NEW RIVER
SOURCE: |By KENNETH SINGLETARY| |STAFF WRITER|
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It was "one of the hardest decisions I've had to make," she said Wednesday. "I didn't sleep very well last night."
She finally was able to vote for the rezoning - indeed, was almost compelled to, she said - when she decided that council had little room to maneuver in a zoning request such as this one.
"I had to look at it in the perspective of what the request was for. ... Down deep, I don't want to see another Wal-Mart, but do I have the right to say that, 'No, you can't do that with your property?'"
Her answer, Carter said, was that she had to respect the right to privacy that the people involved with the project hold.
Also, the fact that no one has confirmed that the shopping center will include a Wal-Mart Superstore meant that she had virtually no recourse but to say "yes," she said.
"If they had said, 'We want to rezone to build a Wal-Mart,' I would have said no," Carter said.
The zoning request was filed April 20 by William "Bill" Matthews, a real estate developer who has been a force in several commercial projects, including the nearby Market Place shopping center.
Matthews asked to rezone 9.5 acres for business use, to go with the adjacent 17 acres already zoned for business and for which he is agent.
Other council members reached Wednesday didn't seem to have Carter's trepidations.
"Our long-range plans had shown this property would eventually be commercial," Truman Daniel said, referring to the town's new comprehensive plan.
He added, "The hard part's going to come later" - a
reference to the site plan the developers will have to file and the town consider.
When that might happen, however, is anybody's guess.
"It depends on how fast the developer wants to get things done," said Mayor Harold Linkous.
A Bentonville, Ark., engineering firm is in charge of the site plan, said Dan Brugh, the Virginia Department of Transportation's resident engineer. Bentonville is headquarters to Wal-Mart.
A employee with the firm, CEI Engineering Associates, who would not give his name or confirm that Wal-Mart is the company's client, said, "Things are still in the preliminary stage. It could go through, and it may not."
The site plan review will deal with the development's infrastructure, such as water, sewer, parking and landscaping, Town Manager John Lemley said at Tuesday's meeting. Town leaders took pains to distance themselves from any impact the shopping center will have on Peppers Ferry Road (Virginia 114) and U.S. 460.
Plans in the town's offices show that the development will have entrances onto both roads.
Traffic matters are VDOT's problems, Christiansburg's leaders said.
"They're half right," Brugh said Wednesday.
"The 460 issue, that's our responsibility," he said. But "114 is in the town limits of Christiansburg and is not an arterial route as 460 is."
Thus, "Technically, that's the town's responsibility."
Brugh said "I'm sure it's going to increase traffic somewhat," but he also pointed out that VDOT has plans to widen Peppers Ferry Road to four lanes within the town limits.
That project probably won't begin, he said, until the widening of Depot Street is completed. That's a one-year project that most likely won't begin until spring 1995, he said.
by CNB