Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 13, 1995 TAG: 9509130028
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
More than a dozen residents formed the new group, called simply the Village Association, during an organizational meeting last week.
Karen Pappas, one of the members, told the county Board of Supervisors Monday the group wants a historic overlay district that would involve stiffer development controls to protect the concentration of historic sites in the valleys and hollows along the South Fork of the Roanoke River.
Supervisor Henry Jablonski suggested the historic overlay district idea in June, but there's been no action taken to date.
The group also asked for better representation on the Planning Commission; for now, the area has only one member on the panel, Malvin Wells of Elliston.
The group's primary goal is to "promote sustainable, appropriate growth by locally protecting and enhancing the unique identity, history and beauty of each designated village or area" in eastern Montgomery, Pappas said.
The Board of Supervisors asked the group to submit the requests in writing.
Ben Snapp, another group member, said the Village Association hopes to work with the Planning Commission and serve as a forum and a focus point for Shawsville and Elliston-area residents.
At its next meeting, the group will adopt bylaws and elect officers. That meeting will occur at 7 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Shawsville Volunteer Rescue Squad. The first meeting, on Sept. 6, included county Planning Director Joe Powers and Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. Group members had met early in the summer with Supervisor Joe Stewart of Elliston, who represents the area on the board.
The catalyst for the association's formation was two zoning cases involving mobile homes in the Shawsville area.
Pappas and other residents spoke out against both applications in a public hearing that drew more than 50 people in May. In June, the supervisors voted 7-0 to turn down developer Ray Epperly's request to rezone 2.3 acres in Shawsville to allow for the placement of double-wide trailers, representing a victory for Pappas and her allies. But the next month the supervisors voted 4-3 to amend the special-use permit for the Smith Village Mobile Home Park to allow for a 25-space expansion.
At the time, Powers, the county planner, said he'd had little success over the years generating interest in land-use issues from Shawsville and Elliston residents.
With the formation of the Village Association, "I don't think anyone from our area can be accused of lethargy or disinterest in what's going on," Pappas said.
by CNB