Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 2, 1995 TAG: 9503020047
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
A spokesman for the the project said it wasn't necessarily dead, but would need some "severe rethinking" if it were to be presented again.
The developers, who over the last several months had revised their proposal and listened to suggestions from town and county residents, said Wednesday that a barrage of requests for more information at a Town Council meeting the night before left them with no choice
"We left the meeting essentially not knowing what to do," said Bob Rogers, an architect with Architectural Alternatives Inc., which helped design the proposal.
The developers hoped to have 300 acres, located in Montgomery County and northern Blacksburg, rezoned so they could build a planned development of houses, apartments, town homes, stores and other facilities that would cater to a 55-and-older population.
Tuesday night, council members asked for fiscal analyses and marketing studies, feasibility studies on things such as the economic impact to the town, traffic increases and the costs of providing services and utilities. Other requests for information came last month in a Blacksburg Planning staff report that endorsed the concept of the community if the staff's recommended modifications were made.
The town and county planning staffs had expected Patton's Grant backers to provide a summary and list of final proffers this week so that they could prepare reports for their respective planning commissions, which were scheduled to meet jointly in a public hearing Tuesday.
"We've done everything they wanted," said Donald Edone, son of Joseph Edone, the Floyd County man who holds options on the land where Patton's Grant would be built. "What more could we do?"
Rogers said the tone of the council's discussion and their questions "kind of had a negative take." That, the deadline pressure and questions about Joseph Edone's health heading into a potentially volatile series of public meetings forced the proposal's withdrawal. That "appeared to be the only option at this point."
Without the information, the developers feared the town planning staff would recommend denying their application, and that the planning commission and council would follow suit.
"The bottom line was that we didn't want to get a denial," Donald Edone said.
The developers formally submitted their proposal in December. Town code demands that the Planning Commission make a recommendation on a proposal within 120 days from the time a proposal is put forth.
In both the town and county, if a proposal goes before the council or board and is denied, it cannot be resubmitted for a year. Withdrawn, it can be resubmitted after three months in the county; there is no time limit in the town.
"That has not been ruled out," Rogers said.
Wednesday afternoon, county and town officials reacted to the withdrawal in different ways.
"I think we could've worked with them, and I think the concept is good," said a disappointed Al Leighton. The Blacksburg councilman said he hoped the developers would eventually resubmit their proposal "in a more acceptable manner."
Supervisor Joe Gorman, whose district includes the entire 250 acres of the project in the county, hasn't taken a position for or against the project. But he said he considered Patton's Grant the best development plan submitted in the county in decades in terms of protecting the environment and using space effectively.
He had, however, received plenty of calls from potential neighbors of Patton's Grant who criticized the project.
"The message that I'm getting is that the retirement village concept is no longer viable," he said.
"You can't just dump 3,000 people and provide the services," said Councilwoman Joyce Lewis, who added that council was right in asking for more information. "You have to plan for it." She said she would welcome a revised proposal.
"A 300-acre proposal ... certainly produced a great number of questions," before council could decide whether to rezone the land, said Blacksburg Mayor Roger Hedgepeth. "We were nowhere close to that.
For opponents, Wednesday's news was good.
A handful of residents from the Murphy and Apperson Park subdivisions, located adjacent and to the south of the Patton's Grant site, had criticized the proposal Tuesday night for being out of character with its surroundings.
"I don't think the Blacksburg Town Council should let this happen," said George Flick, who lives in the Murphy subdivision. He said only 7 percent of the community's units are to be single-family homes, with the vast majority of units to be apartments.
Michelle Lowe had argued that Blacksburg recreational facilities would be overwhelmed, and said the town could end up paying for things like a new fire department, a water tower and other expenses associated with an influx of up to 3,000 new residents.
"Is the town willing to absorb all the problems of Patton's Grant?" Lowe asked Tuesday.
Wednesday she said, "I really wish we could've worked it out but I don't see how we ever could have. It came to the point where we had to kill it." Now, though, she worries about what other kind of development might go in.
"The plan as it stood was, I thought, not a good thing for the town," said Mike Gallagher, who also spoke Tuesday night.
He wouldn't have any problems with a residential development in the area that blended with the existing single-family home neighborhoods on its borders.
"Hopefully they would be sensitive to how the neighborhood looks now," he said.
Staff writer Brian Kelley contributed information to this report.
by CNB