Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260090
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Massie's Mobile Home Park is seeking a rezoning to expand by 16 acres and add room for 40 trailers to its existing 61 spaces. A public hearing Monday drew only three speakers - two for it and one worried about more cars on Peppers Ferry Road. An engineer representing owner Billy Massie also attended.
But the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission learned a backlog in enforcing state environmental law may affect the expansion plans.
The Planning Commission said it may postpone the rezoning until the trailer park obtains a modern pollution discharge permit. The commission will discuss the issue again May 17.
The park had been operating under an old permit handled by the state Health Department. Responsibility for enforcing state water law has been shifted to the Department of Environmental Quality. That agency is updating the old permits - usually five to 10 a year - for more than 30 small sewage treatment systems in Western Virginia, including Massie's.
In an April 13 letter to the county, Neil Obenshain, a department permit manager, said Massie's may be asked to apply for a new permit after July 1. Until then, the department has no way of knowing if the existing lagoon system, which discharges into a tributary of Slate Branch, will be able to handle the increased load from a park expansion.
Randall Hancock, an engineer with Draper Aden Associates, said Massie's would be applying for a permit from the Department of Environmental Quality. He said his calculations indicate the system would be able to handle the expansion. But, Hancock said, hooking into the county Public Service Authority's sewage system would be too expensive.
The nearest connection is three-quarters of a mile from Massie's at Belview Elementary School, and would cost $200,000 to reach, Hancock said.
In other business Monday, the Planning Commission recommended approval of a rezoning and special-use permit for 1 acre on Clubhouse Road for the construction of two clay tennis courts at the Blacksburg Country Club.
The recommendation came after a public hearing during which a handful of tennis buffs - including Virginia Tech President Paul Torgersen, via letter - supported the request.
One neighbor, Blacksburg lawyer Dutton Olinger, opposed it because he said the deed for the property restricted such a use. The request will go to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision next month.
by CNB