ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602160067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on February 17, 1996.
A story Friday about Len Boone's proposed development along the Blue
Ridge Parkway incorrectly stated the estimated number of daily trips
that would be made by cars on Cotton Hill Road after the development is
complete. The correct number is 9,500.
Ron and Fran Marrano came to Thursday night's informational meeting about Len Boone's proposed development along the Blue Ridge Parkway to express their concerns. But they weren't concerned about the view from the Blue Ridge Parkway, an issue that halted Boone's plans for more than three years.
As residents of nearby Cotton Hill Road, the Marranos were concerned with how much traffic a planned commercial strip in the development would draw from other areas.
And they wanted Roanoke County officials to affirm that Cotton Hill Road, the main route to the proposed development, would be improved enough to accommodate the estimated 20,000 car trips that would be made daily when the development is complete.
Thursday night was the first time folk such as the Marranos have been able to discuss their concerns publicly about Wilshire, a planned community of 1,102 residences spread across 315 acres in the Back Creek area.
The 30 to 40 residents who showed up at the Brambleton Center were given an in-depth presentation on the development and how it will help preserve the parkway's scenic views.
But some said they were more concerned with how the existing rural community will be affected.
"He talked to us like we were home buyers," Ron Marrano said after Boone gave his presentation. "It seems like this whole project has been done while forgetting about Cotton Hill Road."
Four or five other residents echoed Marrano's concerns about the impact on Cotton Hill Road.
County Administrator Elmer Hodge assured residents that improvements to the road have been considered long before now.
Parts of the road, from where it intersects U.S. 221 to the crossing of the parkway, already have been made a part of the Virginia Department of Transportation's six-year plan for road improvements, Hodge said.
Roanoke County Supervisor Fuzzy Minnix, who represents the area, said Cotton Hill Road has been a concern of his as well.
He said he will push to have other parts of Cotton Hill Road placed on VDOT's six-year plan. But he also is taking into consideration that the increase in traffic on the road will not be an overnight event.
"You have to consider that road improvements have to follow development," Minnix said. "As houses begin to be built in there, we will just have to apply more pressure to have roads that are safe for people to drive on."
Boone's development will be built in phases over 20 years.
The development straddles a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. And when Boone first shared his plan in 1991, parkway lovers and others were in an uproar that the development would spoil one of the last open spaces remaining along the scenic highway in the valley.
Some of the area's top planners and parkway officials were called in to make the plan agreeable to all parties. Those involved with the negotiations included Carlton Abbott, a renowned Williamsburg architect whose father was one of the chief parkway planners. Former Rep. Jim Olin, co-chairman of the nonprofit Coalition for the Blue Ridge Parkway, also became involved.
Both men were at the meeting Thursday.
Three years after negotiations began, they presented a plan allowing about 59 acres of preserved green space and architectural constraints on the houses within sight of the parkway.
So far, all parties involved seem to be in agreement over the controversies that once surrounded the parkway.
The public will have another opportunity to voice concerns, at a public hearing before the Roanoke County Planning Commission on March 5. The Planning Commission will consider at that hearing whether to recommend the rezoning.
The county Board of Supervisors then will consider the Planning Commission's recommendation and vote on the rezoning. The issue could be brought before the Board of Supervisors as early as March 26, depending on the outcome of the public hearings before the Planning Commission, Hodge said.
The National Park Service also will have to approve a right of way under the parkway for water and sewer lines before the development of the section east of the parkway can begin.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map by staff.by CNB