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

DATE: SATURDAY, August 12, 1995                   TAG: 9508140048
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BOTETOURT INSISTS GREENFIELD WOULD LIVE UP TO ITS NAME

FINCASTLE - Botetourt County Administrator Gerald Burgess sat in his office Friday surrounded by charts and looking like a lawyer getting ready to argue his case.

He admitted that maybe Botetourt County officials haven't done the best job of informing the public about their ideas for the proposed Greenfield development near Amsterdam that would combine a business park with a recreational park and a school site.

"Sometimes it all stays in here," he said, pointing to his head.

Thursday night was Burgess' turn to answer residents' questions as the county conducted the first of two informational meetings about the proposed "Botetourt Center at Greenfield."

About half of the 125 people who showed up came looking only for answers. They hadn't made up their mind on the project, which already is drawing fire from a community group.

"I was surprised at how many people just had questions," Burgess said. "I was very pleased at the turnout and the ability of everyone who attended to give input and get their questions answered."

For three hours Thursday night, Burgess and his staff had an opportunity to address concerns, which ranged from how tight regulations will be to a proposed ban on fast-food restaurants.

"People wanted to know that a plan will be followed and restrictions enforced," Burgess said.

Some were confused by a concept map that showed a park made up of three large components: a business park, a recreation area and an elementary school.

Burgess hopes that Greenfield will be more interactive. The county hopes the park will include a system of interconnecting greenways leading from the recreation area to other spots throughout the development.

Residents Thursday night suggested that trails could be developed to accommodate walkers, runners, horseback riders and bicyclists. Some suggested that a man-made lake proposed for stormwater retention also could be used for recreation.

Burgess said the greenway system would allow planners to take advantage of Greenfield's character by placing its historic buildings and cemeteries in the buffers.

In its initial concept plan, the county hopes to weave industrial sites into the fabric of the development in a way that does not become visually obtrusive, Burgess said.

He said the county hopes to land 12 to 15 businesses for the 922-acre site. That compares to nine business sites already located on 82 acres at the county's Eastpark Commerce Center off Alternate U.S. 220.

Burgess estimates that no more than 400 acres of the project would be used for industrial buildings and parking lots.

Burgess said the visibility of industrial businesses could be limited by taking advantage of the topography on the hilly property midway between Daleville and Fincastle. He said the county would like to locate businesses on naturally occurring flat sites in order to limit the amount of excavation required.

"We wind up with building pads around which we can build a master plan," Burgess said.

Residents suggested that the county allow no trees to be removed from buffer areas throughout the project. Even on building sites, if a tree is removed, it will have to be replaced elsewhere on the land, Burgess said.

Burgess said the crucial part of the county's plan will be the development of restrictive land-use covenants, which will be attached to all deeds and have the legal standing of a binding contract.

By placing the restrictions on the deed, the county will ensure that they will remain legally binding and will not be subject to the political whims of future boards of supervisors, Burgess said.

Burgess disputes the view of opponents who said at a rally last week that if the project creates jobs, they'll be low-paying jobs.

"That hasn't been our track record," he said, adding that no business recruited by the county since he arrived in 1992 has paid less than $10 an hour.

Burgess said he hopes that by attracting higher-paying jobs, the county can give its residents a chance at better salaries. The Roanoke Valley's unemployment rate in June, the most recent month available, was 3.8 percent, below the national rate of 5.6 percent.

"Our labor pool will not be the unemployed," Burgess said. "It will be the underemployed."