Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501230036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bedford County's population grew by 12.1 percent from April 1, 1990, the date of the 1990 census count, to July 1, 1994. The growth continues a trend the county followed throughout the 1980s and puts added demand on water, sewer, schools and other services, the county's top planning official says.
The regional locality with the lowest growth rate was Pulaski County, which lost population over the four-year period. Pulaski County's population dropped by 30 people to 34,466, the Census Bureau says.
Peter Huber, assistant Pulaski County administrator, said the major factors holding back the county were the closing of the AT&T plant in Fairlawn, layoffs at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant and other plant closings.
In Pulaski County, too, the population drop follows a trend that characterized the last decade; but in Pulaski County's case, it is a trend that seems to be moderating. Huber bases that judgment on the county's decreasing unemployment rate and the fact that state population estimates show the county growing slightly, in contrast with the federal figures.
Roanoke made little headway in the past four years in getting back to the magic 100,000 population level, according to the figures. The government shows the city gaining exactly 500 people in the past four years, with its population standing at 97,009 as of July. Cities of more than 100,000 are said to be more attractive to businesses looking for a new location.
Virginia, as a whole, grew by 5.8 percent to a population of more than 6.5 million. Besides Bedford County, other localities in the Roanoke region growing faster than the state average were Franklin County, Botetourt County, Bedford and Craig County.
Floyd County, with a 4.9 percent population jump, was the fastest growing New River Valley locality.
In the Roanoke Valley, Salem and Roanoke County joined Roanoke in growing less than 2 percent. Salem was the only locality in the region in which the number of people dying (1,276) was greater than the number of births (1,200).
Jeff Burdett, the chief planning official in Bedford County, said the county is growing fastest in four specific areas: Smith Mountain Lake; the Roanoke suburbs of Montvale, Stewartsville and Chamblissburg; around the city of Bedford; and the Lynchburg suburbs of Boonsboro and Forest.
Bedford County's four-year growth is matching the pace of the 1980s, when the county's population grew by 30 percent.
The census estimates are in harmony with the county's recent real-estate reassessment, which indicates the county has become a desired place to which to move, Burdett said.
Growth is not without its effects. Bedford County is hiring its fourth building inspector to keep up with all the construction going on in the county, Burdett said. In the '80s, growth led the county to adopt a zoning ordinance and a capital improvement plan.
The county has been building new schools and rehabilitating old ones for several years, Burdett said. A new middle school recently opened in Forest, and new elementary schools to replace the Montvale Elementary School and for the Forest-Boonsboro area are in the future.
by CNB