Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Residents of the neighborhood behind Oak Grove Plaza nearly filled the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors meeting room Tuesday.
They came toting color-coded maps, photocopies of sections of the county's code, Hot Wheels toy cars and photos - all to illustrate their opposition to a McDonald's restaurant with a drive-through window in the aging shopping center.
But the props and voices of the eight residents who spoke out against the drive-through were not enough.
Supervisors voted 3-2 in favor of granting McDonald's a special-use permit for the drive-through window. Supervisors Fuzzy Minnix and Lee Eddy voted against the permit. The property already was zoned commercial.
"The decision to allow fast food at Oak Grove Plaza has already been made," said Maryellen Goodlatte, the attorney representing McDonald's Corp.
However, Mike Grimm, the owner of the proposed store and 17 other McDonald's restaurants, said without the special-use permit, he would have shopped for another locale.
"Considering 35 to 40 percent of my business is drive-in, it wouldn't have been profitable" without the window, said Grimm, who expects the restaurant to be built before Christmas.
It was that drive-in traffic that McDonald's future neighbors objected to.
Speaker after speaker turned to a map and pointed out the traffic problems a McDonald's in the old SupeRx site would cause.
"How much traffic can a two-lane road approximately one block in length handle?" asked Sue Harris, who lives in the neighborhood.
Goodlatte, however, argued that the traffic problems in the neighborhood were pre-existing and that McDonald's traffic would not exacerbate the situation.
This drive-through, she said, would be unlike any other in the area. The drive-through would be inside the building, with no speaker system. An employee inside the building would take customers' orders. Also, it would have room for 11 cars on its ramp, and they would be out of the way of traffic.
Elizabeth Belcher, however, wasn't impressed with the McDonald's innovation.
"Because of the unique design, it provides a tunnel for undesirable and illegal activity," said Belcher, who brought a red toy car to prove her point. "Traffic will not be stacking in the drive-through; they'll be queuing in Carriage Lane."
To allay some residents' concerns, McDonald's agreed that any new lighting would be toned down; speed bumps would be installed; and a caution sign, handrail and convex mirror would be installed at the foot of the ramp.
The plaza's tenants also were on hand to plead the McDonald's case. They became involved when a North Carolina developer expressed interest in purchasing the mall and putting in a grocery store.
That interest sparked a grass-roots lobbying effort by members of the Oak Grove Elementary School PTA. A letter was sent home with students encouraging their parents to not support the McDonald's plan. However, the developer has rescinded its offer.
If the developer had purchased the mall, the fate of its dozen or so businesses would be uncertain.
So, tenants such as Chuck Parker, who owns Jumbo's Pizzas & Subs, started collecting names in support of McDonald's.
He presented a petition, bearing more than 400 names, to the board. More than half of those listed had addresses in other areas such as Roanoke and Salem and even cities in Tennessee and Florida.
"The mall needs tenants. I think this could be a good thing for Oak Grove mall," Parker said.
Oak Grove's owner, Chuck Line, agrees, his attorney Ed Natt said.
"It's almost a make-or-break situation for him. He's got to have a long-term tenant to bring in the revenues to upgrade the center," Natt said.
Natt also presented the board with conceptual drawings for a revitalized center.
But Eddy said he wasn't sure that an upgrade would happen.
"I am impressed by the traffic argument, and I'm concerned about the precedent this would be setting," Eddy said.
The stretch of Virginia 419 from Brambleton to Apperson is devoid of any fast food restaurants with drive-through facilities.
Almost eight years ago, similar arguments about traffic led the board to turn down a request for a Burger King restaurant at 419 and Glen Heather Drive. However, unlike McDonald's, Burger King needed a rezoning.
Still, neighborhood resident Robert Shelton had hoped history would repeat itself.
"It just showed that some of our supervisors want business at any cost," said Shelton, who also collected hundreds of names on a petition against the restaurant. "Personally, I will never step foot in there, and I'll encourage my neighbors not to either."
In other action, the board:
Approved rezoning 38.22 acres for Steve Musselwhite's development, which is close to the Blue Ridge Parkway. No residents or supervisors voiced opposition.
Approved 21 projects for the county's annual drainage program, which will cost an estimated $229,000.
Proclaimed the week of Nov. 12-18 American Education Week in Roanoke County.
Passed a resolution of appreciation for TAP Chairman Emeritus Cabell Brand. "The name Cabell Brand in the Roanoke Valley is synonymous with someone who cares," Minnix said.
by CNB