Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 30, 1995 TAG: 9510300049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It's election time in Franklin County, and here comes that Z word again.
Zoning and Franklin County have a unique relationship: Franklin is the only county in the state where some magisterial districts have land-use zoning and some do not.
It makes for a hot topic.
So, it's not surprising that zoning is a main campaign issue for the 12 Board of Supervisor candidates.
Boone District Supervisor Homer Murray, seeking his fifth term, is campaigning loudly for countywide zoning, saying the situation has become intolerable.
Murray's opponent, John Helms, says zoning is a good idea, but problems arise when public officials don't use common sense when applying land-use ordinances.
Like Murray, Union Hall Supervisor Lois English says she supports uniform zoning across the county.
"This hodgepodge situation causes too much conflict," she said. "There's always pressure on people in my district from those who live in areas without zoning."
English's opponent, Jerre Lumsden, also supports zoning. But he said he thinks local ordinances could be administered in a more "user-friendly" manner, according to the specific wants and needs of a particular magisterial district.
On the other end of the issue is Blue Ridge Supervisor Hubert Quinn. He is opposed to zoning, and some supervisors say they've been told Quinn worked to recruit anti-zoning, ultra-conservative candidates to run against them, although none of the challengers would confirm that.
A candidate who decided not to run for the board, Boones Mill Mayor Steve Palmer, said he was contacted by a conservative faction in the county but did not talk to Quinn.
Quinn says he has not recruited any candidates to run against his peers.
"I've heard that stuff and it's absolutely untrue," he said, adding that he's "got all the respect in the world" for other supervisors.
The zoning issue gripped the county in 1988 and, with public opinion swelling, the board came to a "gentleman's agreement." It voted to institute zoning in four districts in the fast-growing northeastern section of the county - Gills Creek, Rocky Mount, Union Hall and Boone. The three remaining districts - Blackwater, Blue Ridge and Snow Creek - were excluded.
A couple of years later, the board voted in countywide zoning, but, upon pressure from a large crowd, rescinded the vote in favor of a public referendum in the three zoning-free districts.
Voters soundly defeated zoning. But the referendums were advisory, meaning the board can revisit the issue at any time.
All seven board seats are up for election this year. The only unopposed candidates are Supervisor Wayne Angell, an independent who thinks his constituents in the Blackwater District should decide the zoning issue, and board Chairman Gus Forry, a Democrat who favors zoning.
Here's a look at the contested races:
Blue Ridge: Quinn, convicted of moonshining as a young man, has a conservative, grass-roots way about him that played well in his rural district during the last election.
He recently retired and sold his business, Quinn's Autoville on Virginia 40 near Rocky Mount, to his son, Reggie. Quinn said: "I'm conservative. I campaigned on that last time and I haven't changed."
He said the county's taxes should be lowered. Quinn, 63, is an independent.
Ronnie Woods, also an independent, was the Blue Ridge representative on the board from 1988 through 1991. He lost to Quinn in a three-way race four years ago and decided to run again this year "because I enjoy serving the people of my district."
Woods, 51, said he wants to keep taxes low and find funds to improve county roads. He is a Franklin County native and an employee of Scott's Cabinets.
Boone - Murray, a Democrat, was born in the Boones Mill area and has spent his life there. Always fighting to change the town's reputation as a speed trap, he was Boones Mill's postmaster for 26 years.
In addition to countywide zoning, the 86-year-old Murray says two things high on his priority list are continued improvement of the school system and acquiring reputable industries to provide high-paying jobs.
Independent John Helms, 53, is Murray's opponent. He describes himself as a retired Army brat. He retired from the service in 1987 after 20 years of duty. "I did everything from radio repair to radar control on missile sites to weather service work."
He now works at Magnum Marine, a boat sales and service center at Smith Mountain Lake.
Asked about his campaign issues, he said: "I will listen to people and represent their needs. I will let them decide what issues I should worry about." He, too, is a Boones Mill native.
Gills Creek: Independent Charles Ellis, 45, is seeking his third term.
The cigar-smoking, easygoing Ellis runs a janitorial service and a security business. He is a zoning proponent, saying it helps set the framework for well-managed, clean development. He says the county has had to play catch-up over the past few years to bring its school system and other services up to par.
"It's amazing that we've been able to accomplish so much and keep taxes at a reasonable level," he said. "And I know there are people out there who would like to cut taxes and set us back 20 years."
Ellis is a Gills Creek native.
Don Riddle, 63, also an independent, is a retired state trooper who has lived in Franklin County for 40 years. He has a call-'em-as-you-see-'em approach. He thinks county taxes are too high, saying: "I think it's time the Board of Supervisors says no once in a while."
Riddle favors zoning. He has spent most of his time knocking on doors around the district and has used several Smith Mountain Lake-area issues as a platform. He's against a recent sand mining operation that started on the lake - "I don't think it's being operated properly" - and he's against short-term rentals at the lake except in designated areas.
Snow Creek: Democrat Page Matherly says he's heard the complaints about high taxes. But Matherly, seeking his second term, responded: "I think taxes are too high, but the federal and state governments keep putting more and more pressure on localities. I'd be glad to cut taxes, if you'll tell me what you want cut out."
Matherly, 62, who ran four years ago as a zoning supporter, says he cannot support zoning now because the referendum "gave me a clear indication of how people in my district feel."
Matherly, a Snow Creek native, is a farmer and is retired from Martinsville's DuPont Corp.
Independent Michael Bolling, 44, is challenging Matherly. He decided he was going to run for the board three years ago while leading a group of Snow Creek residents opposed to zoning. Asked why he made that decision, Bolling said: ``I've been to some of the board meetings, and I think the people are being overlooked." He is against zoning and says county taxes are too high.
Bolling, a Franklin County native, is a craftsman. He owns a small woodworking business.
Union Hall: English, a Democrat, is seeking her second term. She is a retired teacher and food service coordinator from the Franklin County school system.
She says the county - where she's lived all her life - must continue to improve schools, roads, public safety, law enforcement and long-range planning in order to attract quality industry.
English, 71, says she likes to serve people. "You get a lot of criticism doing this job, but you get a lot of it no matter what you do."
Lumsden, her challenger, is a semiretired farmer and a Franklin County native. A former teacher, he was on the county School Board for eight years in the 1970s.
He says the current Board of Supervisors takes too long to make a decision.
The county needs to attract industry to provide jobs for its citizens and to keep taxes low, he said. "We've been a bedroom community, and we need to move away from that," he said.
Lumsden, 57, is an independent.
This year's supervisors elections begin the first staggered terms in the county. The Boone, Rocky Mount and Snow Creek representatives elected this year will serve two-year terms. The other four supervisors elected this year will serve four-year terms.
Keywords:
POLITICS BOONES MILL
by CNB