Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503090068
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: B. LYNN WILLIAMS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
Dan Brugh, resident engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation, listened along with board members Tuesday to complaints of citizens who said they wanted their roads higher on the priority list in the county's six-year plan.
Residents also turned out at the meeting to discuss a proposed zoning change for Riverbend Subdivision.
"It seems like we've got a problem with the six-year plan," began William Foley, who had first asked the board to place Virginia 641 (Clendenin Road) on the priority list in 1984.
Ernie Miller requested that the board place a bridge spanning Virginia 713 in the plan. He questioned whether the project was ever included in the priority list.
Brugh confirmed that the bridge was not a part of the plan. Supervisor George Hedrick told Miller too few families would be served to justify the expense, making the bridge a low priority.
Brugh said that Miller's request, along with others, could be addressed in July when VDOT and the supervisors hold hearings to update the county's plan for road improvements. Such hearings are held every two years.
Larry Blankenship, who lives near Wolf Creek, urged supervisors to consider the Virginia 724 bridge an emergency need. He explained that 56 families are greatly affected - and essentially landlocked - when the creek gets high. The bridge has a weight limit of only 4 tons, he said, and access to emergency and fire services is nonexistent when flooding occurs.
"The rescue squad won't come if someone has a heart attack," Blankenship said.
Contacted later about Blankenship's comment, Steve Davis, Giles County's rescue squad captain, said, "The weight limit wouldn't keep our vehicles from crossing the bridge." He agreed, however, that flooding blocks the road and could cause problems.
Debra Dull of Eggleston inquired about the fate of the Commissary Hill Bridge, which the Department of Historic Resources wants to preserve. Brugh said the bridge would be saved if an individual or group accepted responsibility for it, but so far, no one has. If nobody does, VDOT plans to demolish the bridge, once the time limit for claiming it expires.
After the public hearing, supervisors voted unanimously to approve the road priority list. Roads scheduled for work this year include Rocky Hollow Road, Wolf Creek Road, Kanode Road, Woodland Drive, Sugar Run Road and Provision Road.
In a public hearing on Riverbend, France Whitt, developer of the subdivision, requested changing the zoning for 258 acres to allow some limited commercial development such as a motel, restaurant and/or lodge.
Several property owners in the first phase, which is strictly residential, objected to the zoning change. Phillip Morris, a local businessman with an interest in three lots, wanted Whitt to put into writing that he would not develop the open area near the lots, except as recreational space. He said landowners need some written protection before the land is rezoned.
Tom Richardson, an adjacent landowner, across Walker's Creek, argued that the property owners need legal reassurance that the tract won't be developed in the event Whitt no longer controls the property.
"Zoning doesn't go with the man, it goes with the land," Richardson explained.
Winston Faust, whose Riverbend home will be completed soon, spoke in favor of Whitt's request. He said the developer's verbal agreement to keep the land open satisfied his concerns.
Whitt said restrictive covenants could also be placed in deeds to ease landowner worries.
County engineer Jerry Mabry explained the zoning change would force Whitt to specify the type of future development he plans for the property.
In other business, the board:
Supported School Superintendent Robert McCracken's request for a $4 million loan from the Literary Fund for school renovations.
Endorsed amending a loan application for $1.9 million to complete closing the old and new parts of the landfill, reducing the initial amount from $3.75 million.
Went into executive session for almost three hours to discuss the Intermunicipal Agreement and the Public Service Authority.
by CNB