Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 12, 1995 TAG: 9504120037
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected developer Ray Epperly's request to change the zoning of 4.5 acres to a classification that would have allowed more dense development.
At a March 27 public hearing, Alan Seibert, representing his 11 neighbors, objected to the proposal because of the effect such development could have had on property values, drainage and the neighborhood's character.
Epperly and Seibert both spoke briefly Monday before the decision. Epperly said the rezoning would allow for the most efficient use of the land. "We all have responsibility to provide affordable housing," he said.
But Supervisor Joe Stewart, who represents the area and lives nearby, said the rezoning seemed to go against the interests of the people who already live in the neighborhood, off U.S. 11/460.
In other business Monday, the Board of Supervisors:
Issued a county permit for an open-air music festival a Virginia Tech fraternity plans to hold April 22 near Prices Fork. Beta Theta Pi plans the five-band, daytime concert as a fund-raising event for the Montgomery County Community Shelter. The site is a fenced-in, 8-acre portion of James Hoge's farm at 3587 Glade Road. The fraternity is seeking an Alcoholic Beverage Control permit to serve beer.
Last year, the Montgomery board granted its first-ever music festival permit to another Tech fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi. The group dropped its plans in September after an ABC official denied its request for a beer-selling permit amid concerns about possible underage drinking and lack of sufficient law-enforcement coverage from the county Sheriff's Office.
Approved an emergency ban on open-air fires in the county for the next 60 days. Violators face a fine of up to $250. The measure is in response to the extreme forest-fire danger of recent days.
Decided to redirect about $17,900 from the Sheriff's Office's 1995-96 budget originally planned to buy a cruiser. Instead, the county will use the money to serve as matching funds for a state crime-prevention grant. If the grant is approved, it could bring in $53,100 in state money. The combined $71,000 would pay for a police car, upgrading a part-time clerk to full-time status, adding another full-time crime prevention officer and expanding the county Neighborhood Watch program. The move, suggested by Supervisor Nick Rush, came after the board voted down a similar effort earlier in Monday's meeting.
Agreed to hire a full-time county engineer on a temporary basis to represent the county's interests in the construction of a new health and human services building in Christiansburg, the library expansion in Blacksburg and the reconstruction of the Mid-County Park Pool. The job will last until the projects are finished. The position will replace the job formerly held by Randall Bowling, who left recently to become the first executive director of the Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority.
by CNB