Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 24, 1995 TAG: 9503240124
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Trailer owner Frances Lamb hasn't put away her oil lantern and kerosene heater - reminders of the cold nights she endured without electricity - but three months after she got into a zoning dispute with Roanoke County, she is starting to settle in.
``I've just begun to unpack,'' she said, pointing to boxes as she welcomed visitors into her home.
Lamb had been reluctant to get too comfortable because she wasn't sure how far the county would go to enforce its zoning regulations. Lamb's trailer, on a 5-acre lot on Williby Road in the Bradshaw area, violates county regulations that prohibit single-wide manufactured homes on individual lots.
But this week she found out county officials probably won't go very far, thanks to legislation passed by the General Assembly that mandates that localities allow single-wide manufactured homes on agriculturally zoned property. The bill, which is awaiting the governor's signature, affects all counties and cities in Virginia.
If the governor is going to sign it, there's little sense in fighting Lamb, Planning Director Terry Harrington said.
``Since we've heard about the legislation, it is our working assumption that Mrs. Lamb, as of July 1, will be just fine and dandy where she is,'' Harrington said.
When Lamb refused to budge in December, Roanoke County used the only bargaining tool it had - her electricity. She went without power until Jan. 24, when the county granted her temporary permission to hook up to electric lines.
Roanoke County officials had considered a number of options to bring Lamb into compliance, including a proposal to redraw the county's borders; but in the end when citizens volunteered to help her relocate at no cost, the county set a March 20 deadline.
Lamb would have to move her trailer only 240 feet, because her property abuts Montgomery County, where there is no zoning ordinance. Despite the offers, Lamb said she'll stay where she is, law permitting.
``Roanoke County is the one who goofed up on this to begin with,'' she said, the sound of her voice muted by the shrieks of her pet cockatiels. ``They made me move.''
For seven years, before she moved to Williby Road, Lamb had been living on her daughter's property off Wild Turkey Road. Under the 1986 zoning ordinance, Lamb's trailer was ``grandfathered'' on that site.
Her daughter plans to sell, however, and the county said a trailer could remain on the property only if it were used by a member of the family who buys the house. The stipulation is a part of the zoning ordinance that allows for ``accessory'' manufactured homes for the elderly and others to live near relatives.
``I could have stayed there and avoided all these headaches,'' Lamb said. ``This has really been four months of hell for me. The stress of not knowing whether they are going to knock on your door or what they are going to do sure is something. I was hoping this law would apply to all of Virginia. Thank God it does.''
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995
Memo: ***CORRECTION***