
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 24, 1995                   TAG: 9505240086
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

COUNTY SEEKS INDUSTRIAL SITES

Saying it needed more land to attract businesses, the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed its Industrial Development Authority to seek rezoning of nearly 955 acres. The parcels would create a reserve of sites for industry and commerce.

The county lacks industrial sites in the I-81 corridor and available property in the 26-to-50 acre and 51-to-100 acre ranges, county Economic Development Director Tim Gubala told the board. The sites are needed to draw new businesses to the county, he said.

The Roanoke Valley Economic Development Regional Partnership "sees some of the site proposals we get for 25 acres or less. We seem to have enough sites to meet those requirements, but when it comes to larger sites we seem to get passed over," he said.

Motorola Inc., which last month announced plans for a $3 billion circuit factory near Richmond, considered locating that facility in Roanoke County, Gubala said, but there was no available property large enough.

The rezoning proposal offered by the economic development staff calls for the rezoning of 43 parcels.

Land at the intersection of Hollins and Plantation roads, property on Peters Creek Road, two tracts on Ogden Road near Tanglewood Mall and three sites along I-81 would be rezoned from residential and agricultural to commercial. A site for a visitors' center on the Blue Ridge Parkway also is included in the proposal.

Industrial sites would be made available near Valley TechPark, the West County Rail Site, Read Mountain and I-81. The largest industrial site, more than 460 acres, lies north of I-81 and west of Glenvar Heights Boulevard in a sparsely populated area.

Supervisor Lee Eddy was the only board member to vote against the resolution. He argued that the county should hold off large rezoning projects until revisions to the county's Comprehensive Plan for land use are completed. The Planning Department, which is working with citizens to envision land-use goals and other issues affecting the county's future, intends to present an updated plan within six months.

"I think it would be an unfortunate message to send to all the county citizens who are working on the 'visioning' process for us to move ahead with such a large-scale rezoning of property without first seeing the results of their work," Eddy said.

The Industrial Development Authority will finalize the list of properties and bring applications for rezoning before the Planning Commission.

by CNB