Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 22, 1995 TAG: 9508220081
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Landowners' rights are at risk
I THINK the New Century Council has some excellent ideas. But in our pursuit of progress, let's not forget that too much regulation can impede progress and freedom.
In the council's effort to preserve scenic views by promoting ``ridge-top protection ordinances,'' it may be doing a disservice to most of the population by limiting towers and power lines that provide better television, radio, 911 signals, electricity and water.
Is it right to deny a landowner the right to sell his land for such towers and for homes that provide scenic views for the owners? Tax incentives to encourage protection of scenic views are one thing, but telling a taxpayer and landowner that he cannot sell his land is another.
And what's so horrible about a few slender towers and homes on some of our mountains? Should everyone have to live in the lowlands? I've driven on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and after miles and miles of trees and greenery, I welcome the sight of homes, a city and even towers. It gives the view a bit of diversity.
If the New Century Council were deciding today about the Mill Mountain Star, I doubt that it would let what some people call an ``eyesore'' be built. But think of the pleasure it has afforded our people over the years!
Let's not go overboard in regulating what our taxpayers and landowners can do with their property.
HELEN CRUMPACKER
ROANOKE
DEFINING MOMENT
Civic self-esteem in the making
I APPLAUD the New Century Council for what it has already accomplished: defining our region geographically and challenging us to think regionally. For Roanoke Valley citizens especially, this leadership is a long step forward, and possibly a step up out of quagmire.
Though its membership may change, the council will be needed to help us find and express in concrete ways our regional identity. But if the council veers off course or becomes dominated by a small clique pursuing narrow interests, citizens should be able to bring complaints to these leaders publicly, and receive an open response. The whole concept is one of creative partnership and accountability.
Our as-yet-unnamed region could strive to be a model in the new age touted by Speaker Newt Gingrich and Gov. George Allen - a region working to solve its problems with less control by the federal government. If the job is tackled in the right spirit, the time it takes will be of far less importance than the civic self-esteem achieved in the process.
The goal of reducing teen pregnancy by 50 percent is overdue and too modest. Why ignore older unwed mothers and fathers? The educational goals - foreign language in kindergarten, greater emphasis on health care, year-round schools, model programs - are excellent.
A good land-use program would go much further than protecting ridge tops and scenic views. Cluster development and greenways will serve us better than 10,000 acres of office parks. Let's say no to urban sprawl and cluttered highways! Let's be gardeners of this beautiful region, using all that's known about conservation, ecology and sustainable development to create a happy middle ground between wilderness and metropolis.
LIN NEILL
ROANOKE
SPORTS, ETC.
Not all the ideas are feasible
MOST OF the New Century Council's ideas look good on paper, but here are a few of my thoughts:
Having a new name and slogan for the area is nice, but not necessary.
To have a regional sports authority, the area needs to have enough fans to make it profitable. This area can support Hokie sports, the Salem Avalanche and a few minor leagues, but we lack the numbers for anything much bigger.
A comprehensive land-use plan has been on the front burner of every county's board of supervisors in this area. Cluster development is a good concept and very marketable. Land-use topics should be kept on local levels so that citizens can have input on growth and land use.
Ridge lines need proper zoning so owners can build, but also protect the ridge. We should consider the rights of the majority vs. the rights of a few. If we lose the ridge lines, we lose a big portion of what makes this area attractive.
Concerning a leadership council with representatives from business, education and government, what about community leaders? Is this to be an exclusive club that decides what this region wants? Citizens provide a lot of leadership experience and vision for the future, and they shouldn't be left out of this important ``leadership club.''
Although we need to work together for regional economic development, communities should have a choice whether to grow economically or be left alone to remain a small-town or farming environment.
A lot of time has gone into producing the strategic plan for the future. But in some cases money seems to be the motivator, at the expense of the region's aesthetic beauty and low-key lifestyle. We may be better off with less growth and less regional income. Overall, the New Century Council's suggestions need serious consideration and scrutiny before being adopted.
MICHELLE LOWE
BLACKSBURG
SMART VALLEYS
Protect the urban character, too
REGARDING New Century Council report and the region:
Regional unity requires inclusion of the entire region. Although the recommendations include the communities of Hardy Ford, Hales Ford and Vinton, their close neighbors of Hardy, Moneta and Stewartsville are left out. The regional economy crosses into Bedford County suburbs, carried by thousands of commuters and shoppers. Running of a comprehensive planning boundary through a metropolitan area defeats its purpose.
The second report stressed the themes of ``developing a regional identity and preserving that identity's rural character'' (July 18 article, ``Council: Growth is great - if it's orderly''). Another asset worth protecting is the urban character in cities like Roanoke. Los Angeles is an example of a city that has paved over most of its urban and rural character.
For a regional name, we need something that ties together our location and the council's ideas. The following list reflects the attempt to cover both:
Blue Sky
Blue Star Region
Blue Summit
Blue Valleys
Inquiring Valleys
New Star Region
New Star Valleys
Olympic Summit
Smart Valleys
CHARLES JORDAN
BOONES MILL
VIDEO TREES?
Environmental concern is missing
THE NEW Century Council report has a lot to say about development, but is mostly silent about preserving and protecting our natural environment. Despite polls that repeatedly show that the public highly values our scenic landscape and our open spaces, the report overlooks the value of unlogged forests, unfouled streams and unsmogged air.
When shopping centers, eight-laned highways, industrial parks and parking lots get all our attention and money, then we had better prepare ourselves to give up our rural landscape in favor of urban sprawl and inner-city congestion.
We must realize the interrelationship of natural places, wildlife and our own sense of wellness, which is best felt by a walk in the woods, a day along the river or a climb up to a hilltop to enjoy the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Can more movie theaters and video stores provide a substitute?
Our generation may be the last to see how beautiful the Blue Ridge region really is. If, in our rush to plan for more growth, we overlook our natural heritage, our children's children will find themselves living in just another urban tangle of paved roads. They will be reduced to seeing their trees on video and their birds in cages. I suggest the New Century Council appoint a new committee of environmental conservators to advise on how to prevent that from happening.
BILL MODICA
SALEM
EYESORES
First, tend to existing needs
REGARDING the New Century Council's ideas, it's good to look ahead and have a vision for the future, but not at the expense of much-needed things in the present.
Downtown Roanoke needs much attention: Empty storefronts aren't attractive; a portion of the Viaduct still exists and is an eyesore; the empty building on Williamson Road between Salem and Campbell avenues is also an eyesore. Also, Mill Mountain could be developed more.
Regarding the recommendations on education: Day care in high schools would only encourage children to be less careful about sex, knowing that their children would have baby sitters during school hours. And who at the schools would be qualified to teach parents how to be better parents?
I see no need for clerical help for teachers. They must grade their own students' papers to monitor students' progress.
As to the council's statement, ``Teachers would be granted release time to visit classrooms in other schools to learn new methods'': No way! But I believe school boards should visit every classroom once a year. They should be visible.
I'm for regional cooperation for fire, police, rescue, roads and environmental problems.
ARTHUR G. TROUT
ROANOKE
NEWS THAT BINDS
Media can make it meaningful
THE REGIONAL media can help a great deal in helping us visualize the bigger picture of the New Century Region (or whatever name is selected). Three examples, focusing on this newspaper's role:
New Century news. At least once a week, have a full page focusing on how we're moving in our regional planning and thinking. Include a map of the region, and highlight community names where regional news is being made.
Regional reporting on related events. Your newspaper has been a helpful promoter of greenway planning, as was evident in your Aug. 13 editorial (``Greenway ideas are sprouting'') and Aug. 15 article (``2010: A Roanoke County odyssey begins''). But it has reported very lightly about greenway planning in Blacksburg and Giles County. If we're to achieve a New Century Greenway and other regional ties, then these diverse but related efforts should be equally promoted.
``Discover the New Century Region.'' The Aug. 13 edition of your newspaper also included the ``Discover the Roanoke Valley'' section. At some point in the future, we in the New River Valley will receive ``Discover the New River Valley.'' One idea of the Tourism, Retirement and Convention Committee was to create a regional ``discover'' section for the entire region. This regional approach would also be helpful for other special publications.
These are related to the idea of regional bonding, reinforcing through the media that we're part of this larger effort.
ROBERT L. ROGERS
BLACKSBURG
GOOD NEIGHBORS
Improve access for Craig County
THE NEW Century Council's effort is greatly appreciated. We encourage continuation of study of various subjects and what may be the results from actions.
We also hope the residents of Craig County, as good neighbors, will be included to encourage tourism and the use of the countryside's open spaces, camping grounds, trails and wilderness areas.
Roanoke County and Roanoke city are certainly part of our lives in Craig County. Practically every day, we depend on them for many services and activities. Could there be a study of transportation to help make these areas more accessible across the mountains - to and from Roanoke?
JANE BARNES
NEW CASTLE
WHOSE MONEY?
Beware the enthusiasts
EVERYONE has visions for the future. But not everyone wants to pay for them with other people's money. All protestations to the contrary, people who want to determine how to spend other people's money, and those who want to do so without having to go through the bother of being elected, are motivated by greed.
In Chapter 4 of ``The Road to Serfdom'' by Friedrich Hayek, co-winner of the 1974 Nobel Prize for Economics, we discover what we most need to keep in mind as we consider the value or absence thereof of the New Century Council - this new incarnation of old ways of getting done what some people want done without having to pay for it themselves.
Hayek explains that ``every one of the many things ... it would be possible to achieve in a planned society creates enthusiasts for planning. ... The hopes they place in planning, however, are the result not of a comprehensive view of society but rather of a very limited view and often the result of a great exaggeration of the importance of the ends they place foremost.''
I urge readers of The Roanoke Times to read this chapter before providing support of any kind for the New Century Council.
MICHAEL T. MARLOWE
BLACKSBURG
NATURAL BEAUTY
Capitalize on the area's assets
FACE THE fact that you're going to have growth. You already do. Look at Botetourt County, Forest and Moneta in Bedford County. All around the area, people are moving in. Many are retirees, but there are lots of young people, too. This will continue.
Turn growth in the direction you want it to go. Don't let pastoral aspects of this area suffer, but capitalize on them. Those who enjoy such things will appreciate that this is an area that respects the environment and the beauty it has at its doorstep.
For example, capitalize on the Appalachian Trail. Hundreds of wildflowers thrive along this trail. Create a wildflower institute. Have wildflowers on display, giving their history and where and how they grow best. Show where on the Appalachian Trail you can find these flowers. Run tours that concentrate on wildflowers, and publicize these.
Create a Center on Aging. House it in a new or renovated building in downtown Roanoke. Have studies on aging, employing area professors. Work with local hospitals and retirement homes. Make Roanoke known for its Center on Aging.
What about an Appalachian School of Dance? Recruit dance instructors, and establish a school that could have summer dance workshops open to students from all over the country. Hold a dance festival each summer. It would be a real way to boost tourism.
JOAN ANGEVINE
MONETA
REGIONAL PLAYER
Include Bedford in the vision
WITH THE western half of Bedford County being a bedroom community for Roanoke, I would like to have seen us included in the New Century Council's ``vision.'' Although I live and work in Bedford County, I shop, eat and conduct business in Roanoke.
As long as the Roanoke Valley retains its many separate governments, with each guarding its turf to the detriment of the majority, I don't think there will be enough cooperation to accomplish many of these goals. Have Roanoke and Lynchburg ever heard of the Triad region in that unmentionable state to the south? If you're going to propose change, make it a truly regional effort.
BARRY L. NUNLEY
BEDFORD
by CNB