ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 3, 1996 TAG: 9603040004
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV16 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY AND ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITERS
From the top of Price Mountain, you can see through the trees clear to the edges of Montgomery County.
It's the kind of view that home buyers crave, and that William H. Price hopes will make his proposed 538-acre residential development on the mountain a long-range success.
But the visibility works both ways. The sheer size of Price's project - nearly twice the area of the Hethwood and Oak Manor neighborhoods in Blacksburg - could have major impacts on roads, schools and utilities, not to mention the landscape in the heart of Montgomery County.
If Price develops the mountain at the density he has proposed - half-acre lots and smaller - one-half to three-quarters of the trees on the mountainside could be cleared to make way for the project, according to two experienced developers who sit on the county Planning Commission.
A public hearing on Price's proposal, the largest residential rezoning request to come before the county since it adopted zoning in 1969, is more than three weeks away, but already the proposal has Blacksburg officials speaking of their concern.
So far, the Blacksburg Town Council has spent more time discussing the rezoning - they've even gone on a bus tour of the mountain - than the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, even though the council has no decision-making power over the matter.
The land in question is in the county but hugs Blacksburg's southern boundary. The second stage of development - the north side of the mountain - would require sewer service from the town.
The supervisors have had no public discussions of the proposal, but historically have resisted Blacksburg's more activist approach to planning.
So far, it is unclear if any town-county friction will play a role in the rezoning request. It also is unclear how far the proposal will go. Montgomery County Planning Commission members raised the possibility last month that Price could withdraw the current request, wait three months, then submit a planned-unit development proposal that would give him more flexible development rules in return for more concrete plans.
Price Real Estate Inc. and Triple J Investments Inc., companies headed by Price, have filed only tentative plans with the rezoning request (see box with map). They don't include the overall number of proposed lots; they give no indication of the percentage of the mountainous land that could be developed; and they don't include a fixed long-range plan of roads and open space.
Price, a well-known Blacksburg developer, has met twice with the Montgomery County Planning Commission, but was unavailable to answer questions for this article. His comments are drawn from those appearances.
Though Price's project has been in the public eye for only a few weeks, he has spent years planning it. He began acquiring land on the mountain 35 years ago and envisions the full development taking 20 to 30 years to build, with up to 30 lots a year coming onto the market.
Mountainside view
Randall Robinson lives on Price Mountain and can see only the roof of his nearest neighbor's home through the leafless trees of winter. He moved to the mountain 10 years ago to get away from the congestion, yet remain within a reasonable traveling distance to Blacksburg and Christiansburg.
He can see the two towns' borders clearly from his land.
``We have a beautiful view of Blacksburg and the New River Valley Mall area,'' Robinson said. ``It's kind of peaceful.''
Robinson, the president of the Price Mountain Road Association, is not opposed to development on the mountain. After all, he can see the land's attraction.
But Robinson is concerned about how the development will affect the look and feel of the mountain. He would rather see more open space with homes spread out on 3- to 5-acre lots - a sentiment most Blacksburg Town Council and Planning Commission members share.
In a letter to the county Planning Commission, the town echoed Robinson's desire for larger lot sizes, objected to multifamily homes because of the impact on the mountainside view and supported a planned-unit development approach.
Price said during a recent Montgomery County meeting that he wouldn't be serving the county well if he didn't develop the area densely, given the proximity of public utilities. Still, Price said he would restrict the cutting of trees in certain open spaces. But his company would not exercise control on the individual lots.
``We certainly intend to plan the development and encourage everyone else to preserve the mountain and its integrity,'' Price said.
Adele Schirmer, the town's planning and engineering director, said sensitivity is critical.
``It's a finite resource,'' she said. ``We should be very careful with how it's developed.''
If the past is any guide, people in Montgomery County do care about the way Price Mountain looks. In 1991, dozens turned out against a proposed 280-foot radio tower atop the ridge. The Board of Supervisors rejected it.
A long and winding road
One of the challenges of developing a sparsely populated mountain is contending with its narrow, twisty roads. Price's preliminary plans call for six links to Oilwell and Merrimac roads. According to mountain residents, neither road can handle the increased traffic that more development would produce.
This very issue already has been raised by officials in Montgomery County and Blacksburg and by residents.
``If you put 300 to 400 people and 200 to 300 houses, imagine what happens to the road,'' said Ed Green, a member of the county Planning Commission.
Only part of Oilwell Road is maintained by the state; residents who live on the remaining 0.8-mile portion tend to its upkeep.
``We'd hate to see construction on any part of the road the way it is now,'' said Robinson, of the Price Mountain Road Association. He added that his part of Oilwell Road could be navigated only by four-wheel-drive vehicles for weeks after the January and February snowstorms.
Tom Herrmann, who also lives along Oilwell Road and is a member of the association, wants the issues of traffic and roads to be addressed before development is considered.
``I'm not saying part of the mountain shouldn't be developed or can't be developed,'' said Herrmann, who has lived on Price Mountain for eight years. ``There are just issues that must be discussed. What about emergency vehicles?''
Merrimac and Oilwell roads are not included in the Virginia Department of Transportation's six-year road-improvement plan, said Dan Brugh, the resident engineer in Christiansburg. If the county added Merrimac Road, he said, it would have to go to the bottom of the list.
As for Oilwell Road, Brugh said he would rather see the developer play a role in improvements through an agreement with the county. Unlike Merrimac Road, Oilwell does not handle a high volume of traffic.
``Oilwell Road doesn't have the pavement structure to handle a lot of traffic,'' Brugh said.
Sewer politics
Price knows firsthand the importance of sewer and water in developments. He served as president of the Preston Forest subdivision on Brush Mountain outside Blacksburg and said that was developed with 5-acre lots primarily because of the lack of utilities.
Now he's proposed a far more dense development hinging on whether the county Public Service Authority, controlled by the Board of Supervisors, can provide water and sewer to the mountain.
``He's either going to have water and sewer, or it's not going to get developed,'' said Ray Alcorn, a Planning Commission member.
That's because soil in the bulk of the area probably would not accept septic systems and the ground water is not good, said Ray Varney, an engineer working for Price. The eastern end of Price Mountain is honeycombed with the subterranean shafts of the former anthracite coal mines.
Price said last month that he intends to develop the southeast corner, which is closest to Christiansburg, first. The county has an agreement with the town that could provide southern Price Mountain with water and sewer, though it does have limits on the amounts of service.
But on the north, or Blacksburg, side, it is a different story. Blacksburg controls sewage service and wants a say in the planning. Montgomery County controls water service and wants access to the sewer lines, but prefers to do its own planning. And the supervisors' planning philosophy isn't as aggressive as Blacksburg's.
``It's terribly obvious that Montgomery County and Blacksburg need to be coming to the table to talk about developing our shared boundaries,'' Blacksburg Councilman Michael Chandler said.
Mayor Roger Hedgepeth said the county and town have a history of butting heads on development along shared boundaries. For example, their inability to work together on utility issues is one of the factors - along with local residents' opposition - that led to the withdrawal a year ago of Patton's Grant, a proposed major retirement community that would have straddled their boundaries north of Blacksburg.
But the fact is, Hedgepeth said, that Blacksburg is part of the county, with town residents represented by four of the Board of Supervisors' seven seats.
Montgomery supervisors' Chairman Henry Jablonski understands why Blacksburg is concerned. "Usually when there's a project near the border, it's natural they would look at it real closely," he said. "We're going to look at what their concerns are, and we're going to address their concerns, I'm sure." Jablonski said the county and town have had some successes in working together, particularly with the Blacksburg Industrial Park, which extends into the county.
Chandler said the county needs to share its vision on the style and pattern of growth.
``I think that's where the impasse [is] - we can get utilities, but we don't want to talk about land issues,'' he said.
So far, the early debate on Price Mountain is not whether it should be developed, but how.
``I'd like to work for a good type of residential growth,'' said Herrmann. ``I'm not against it. I'm just trying to work out a good solution that would be good for the community.''
The public hearing on the Price Mountain proposal is set for 7 p.m. Marc 25 in the Montgomery County Courthouse.
LENGTH: Long : 193 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. 1. The section of Price Mountainby CNBproposed for development, looking southwest from Hoge Pasture next
to Graves Avenue and the municipal golf course in Blacksburg (ran on
NRV-1). 2. Price Mountain is the backdrop for the booming U.S.
460-Peppers Ferry Road area of Christiansburg, including the
soon-to-open Wal-Mart Supercenter and the New River Valley Mall. 3.
From Price Mountain, a view from Oilwell Road, looking north toward
Blacksburg. The Foxridge Apartments complex stands in the
foreground. color. 4. Lou and Tom Hermann at their home on Oilwell
Road on top of Price Mountain. Their back yard faces south toward
Peppers Ferry Road and Christiansburg.
5. chart - The Price Mountain Plan color contains map STAFF