Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 18, 1995 TAG: 9505180037
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
The Franklin County Board of Supervisors approved a request Tuesday night paving the way for construction of the county's fifth Minute Market - to be located off Virginia 40 next to the Penhook United Methodist Church.
The board voted on the matter April 18 but, with Chairman Gus Forry absent, tied 3-3.
A tie vote is carried over to the next meeting.
Tuesday, a motion to approve the request passed 5-2. Board members Lois English and Page Matherly cast the two ``no'' votes.
The supervisors tabled the issue two months ago to give applicant Danny Perdue and members of the Penhook United Methodist Church a chance to work out a compromise.
Perdue, who owns the other four Minute Markets in Franklin County, met with church leaders but an agreement was never reached.
Some church members wrote letters opposing the store because alcoholic beverages and lottery tickets will be sold there. They also were concerned about the traffic the store will generate and the store's proximity to the sanctuary's entrance.
The store ``reflects negatively on the basic Christian principles we uphold and ... administer in the Penhook community,'' Pastor Betty Marshall wrote in a February letter to church members.
But not all church members opposed Perdue's request, and some wrote letters to the county Planning Department expressing their support.
The 2-acre site's zoning classification allows a variety of uses. But the amended special-use permit approved by the supervisors allows only a convenience store and accompanying gas-pump islands to be built there.
Perdue, a Franklin County native, said Wednesday that he plans to begin construction early next year.
Asked if he'd received any feedback lately from church members, Perdue said: ``I believe everything's going to be all right.''
by CNB