Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 30, 1995 TAG: 9506300042
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The county administrator's office on Thursday announced Teel's resignation from the Planning Commission after serving a little over one year of a four-year term.
"My one single voice wasn't doing anything, so I got out of there," Teel said.
Teel said he perceives a trend toward restricting land use, such as the two-dwelling-per-rural-tract rule the Board of Supervisors approved Monday, and that bothers him.
"Where's your freedom?" Teel asked. "It's the elitists trying to tell you what to do with your land. I think the best zoning that exists is ownership."
Jeff Scott, a county planner, said he wasn't surprised at Teel's comments. "Mr. Teel always seemed to be a strong proponent of unlimited property rights."
Teel also said restricting the placement of mobile homes is unfair to people who otherwise couldn't afford to own their own homes.
"What's wrong with trailer parks? Why deprive [people] of that privilege?"
He says he had hoped to change things by joining the commission.
"I thought we'd have some reasonable discussions and some sane decisions," Teel said. Instead, he says he found the commission to be a "rubber stamp" for the planning department.
Scott disagreed with Teel's impression of the commission.
"The planning commissioners all have minds of their own," Scott said. "We have some lively discussions at our meetings. Perhaps if Mr. Teel had attended more [meetings], he'd have heard them."
Minutes from the past year show Teel missed 28 meetings and attended six. Some of those absences stemmed from a heart transplant he underwent in November.
Teel, 71, said his health had no bearing on his decision to resign.
He also criticized the commission for what he considered overstepping its bounds - worrying about driveways, streets, septic fields and wells. He says the state Transportation Department and the Health Department look after those requirements.
"They're nosing themselves into things which they have no business," Teel said.
While Teel decided to give up on the Planning Commission, he'll continue to voice his opinion and encourage other citizens to get involved.
"People better start directing their attention toward local government," Teel said, instead of placing so much importance on state and federal officials.
Teel came to the commission with a wealth of political experience.
He served as Christiansburg's mayor from 1962 to 1966. In 1972, he won a seat in the House of Delegates. James Dobyns defeated Teel in a special election for the House seat in 1982.
The Republican pressed on, unsuccessfully challenging Democrat Madison Marye for his state Senate seat in 1983, the last time, until this year, that Marye faced opposition. Teel entered the 1985 House of Delegates race and lost to Democrat Joan Munford of Blacksburg.
The county will accept applications for Teel's seat until July 12 from registered voters who are in good tax standing.
by CNB