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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994                   TAG: 9407200008
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEW VOTE BRINGS OK FOR ELLETT VALLEY SUBDIVISION|

Supervisor Joe Stewart of Elliston, who abstained on the original vote last week, provided the winning margin and was joined by Ira Long of Prices Fork, who switched his vote.

Developer Mike Eggleston said Monday he hopes to begin work this summer on the 139-acre site off Harding Road. County Planning Director Joe Powers said last week the subdivision would be the first in the county to use open-space concepts to locate homes in ways that preserve woods and pasture.

On June 13, the supervisors tied 3-3 on the final plat, in large part because of concerns by Blacksburg-area supervisors Joe Gorman and Jim Moore about plans for six septic system drainfields consolidated on two lots. The rural area has no public sewer service.

Under the board's rules, a tie means a measure fails. It can be reconsidered at the same or next meeting only at the request of a member of the side that caused it to fail. In this case, Moore moved to reconsider.

The board had approved a preliminary plat for Luster's Mill last year; the Planning Commission two months ago recommended approval of the final plan, which met the county's subdivision requirements.

Stewart abstained from voting last week until he could see the land, located just uphill from Gateway Baptist Church and about two miles east of Blacksburg, near Lusters Gate. He visited it Thursday evening.

"They've got a nice piece of land," he said. Stewart said he, too, didn't particularly like the consolidation of drainfields. But he also didn't feel the county could vote it down.

Gorman reiterated his opposition, and said he would have had no problem if the drainfields for the septic systems were located on common land owned by a homeowners' association. As is, the subdivision plan calls for four lots of 31/2 acres or less each to have septic drainfields on the 47-acre lot that will be owned by Eggleston. A fifth, nine-acre lot will have a septic drainfield on an adjoining 44-acre parcel owned by two other partners in the development. Both larger parcels also will have their own drainfields.

The developers consolidated the septic drainfields in the larger lots to help preserve the woods where the five homes with the smaller lots will be located, engineer Carolyn Bolton said last week. The drainfields will be located in open pasture, and the smaller-lot owners will have construction easements to guarantee them access to the land. Homeowners on the five smaller lots will have to pump their household waste to the drainfields because of the sloping land, which has a view of Paris Mountain.

"All it's doing is opening the door to future conflict," Gorman said. He said that area's karst, or limestone, terrain will pose problems for the people who buy and build homes there.

Board Chairman Larry Linkous said he, too, shared some of Gorman and Moore's concerns. But he thought that voting against it would be an arbitrary act considering his previous vote in favor.