Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 14, 1995 TAG: 9505150017
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: WALDON KERNS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It is time to move forward with plans that allow flexibility, integrate open space and rural character, and maintain the visual and natural integrity of the area.
A second community meeting will be held Monday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Blacksburg Community Center on Patrick Henry Drive to reach a consensus on the future of the Toms Creek Basin.
The proposed development standards discussed at the April 24 meeting included three new zoning districts for the basin:
A greenway conservation district;
A residential conservation district;
A hillside conservation district.
The main focus of the Toms Creek Basin is a greenway conservation district for about 715 acres that will preserve a greenway corridor along the creek. A greenway preserves land in a natural state so it can be used as a park for active recreation or preserved as a visual corridor. Development would be limited to one house for each existing parcel with much of the land designated as part of the Toms Creek Greenway.
The residential conservation district is the largest of the three districts, encompassing about 2,700 of the basin's 3,952 acres. This district requires that buildings be grouped in more compact areas, leaving half of a tract as permanent open space. If a landowner has 100 acres in the district, at least 50 acres must be reserved as open space with all of the development on the other 50 acres. These open spaces will link with the Toms Creek Greenway.
The hillside conservation district includes about 530 acres at the foot of Brush Mountain. This district is designed to preserve the visual integrity of the hillsides and to prevent erosion and storm-water runoff problems. It allows development on a sliding scale depending on the steepness of the slope. One house could be built on two acres on low to moderately sloping terrain, but would require 10 acres on steeper terrain.
The 70 citizens who attended the April 24 meeting offered suggestions for improving the proposed standards. They indicated that maintaining the area's rural character, and requiring that open space and natural areas be set aside in developments, were very important. They did not favor high-density development.
Since the April 24 meeting, a zoning committee has revised the proposed standards to reflect these concerns. At Monday's meeting, citizens will have the opportunity to further refine the proposed zoning standards and arrive at a community consensus on the future of the Toms Creek Basin.
Waldon Kerns is a member of the Blacksburg Town Council and is chairman of the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Steering Committee.
by CNB