Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 12, 1995 TAG: 9510120030
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Jablonski, the lone "nay" in a 5-1 vote to amend the county's zoning ordinance, said the decision set a "bad precedent" by creating a loophole large enough for other animals to leap through.
However, the vote was popular among horse lovers, who supported revising the code to allow two horses per five acres, up to a maximum of four on 10 acres, in residential areas.
Previously the county code prohibited "livestock" in subdivisions without specifying what sort of animal that meant. Horses in residential zones became an issue earlier this year when the county - spurred by a neighbor's complaint - ordered a resident of Deercroft subdivision to remove his horse.
Last month, horse owners flocked to a public hearing to endorse a revision of the zoning ordinance. Fewer attended the supervisors' meeting Tuesday, but those who did come applauded the board's vote.
Jablonski proposed allowing horses only if owners individually obtained a special use permit from the county. But other supervisors thought that arrangement would be too burdensome.
They also dropped language from the new ordinance that would have required "sufficient" shelter and fencing to maintain horses. County Attorney Roy Thorpe told the board that keeping animals from running at large is already covered by other local and state laws.
Horses in subdivisions also prompted a call from county Planning Commission member Ray Alcorn for a comprehensive reworking of the zoning ordinance, a document he criticized as "antiquated," "inflexible" and "a patchwork quilt of quick fixes."
Alcorn told the supervisors his vote against the horse rezoning last month was a "symbolic" expression of his dissatisfaction with the zoning ordinance. "We do not have the tools to deal with the situation."
Although the board didn't respond directly to Alcorn's challenge, Supervisor Joe Gorman did say later in the meeting that the issue of horses in residential areas "opened a Pandora's box to a lot of inadequacies" in the county code.
Board Chairman Larry Linkous, who was in Virginia Beach to accept an award from the Virginia Municipal League on behalf of the county, did not attend the meeting.
The supervisors also voted 6-0 to deny a request from Hollybrook Sawdust and Mulch, Inc. to rezone 12 acres on Firetower Road for industrial use.
Hollybrook owner J.E. Bolt reiterated his desire to use the property to expand his business's retail operations. Yet residential neighbors again urged that his request be denied, as they did at a public hearing last month, because of the traffic and dust Hollybrook already generates.
Several supervisors also expressed concern that rezoning the site industrially could allow the site to be used for other incompatible uses, should Bolt sell the property.
In other action, the board voted 5-1 to place about 9,000 acres of county land in agricultural and forestal districts. The designation makes property owners eligible for tax breaks for eight years.
Supervisor Jim Moore continued his policy of voting against agricultural and forestal districts. Moore said he favors preserving forest and agricultural lands, but objects to loopholes that allow land owners to withdraw from the district before the eight year-period expires.
"I am one of the 73,727 citizens that must assume increased taxes" because of the districts, Moore said. "I seem to be the only supervisor speaking up for them."
by CNB