ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140057
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
By the middle of the next century, Blacksburg's population will grow by more than 40 percent. Planners expect half the newcomers to live in the now-rural Toms Creek basin.
To avoid jampacked, cookie-cutter subdivisions there, Town Council adopted a sweeping revision Tuesday of rules for the way that third of Blacksburg will be developed.
With three unanimous votes, Town Council created new zoning classifications for the six-mile basin, amended subdivision development rules to match and rezoned most of Blacksburg's largest remaining tract of open space. One council member was absent.
Town officials have been trying to redirect development of the Toms Creek basin for more than two years. They say that without the changes, the rural area could have been developed with high-density, cookie-cutter subdivisions.
The effort resulted in three new zoning categories:
Rural Residential allows only one structure per acre with 50 percent of the land dedicated to open space. Clustering of houses is encouraged. Commercial development is limited to buildings no larger than 2,500 square feet.
Rural Residential II is the same except it allows the voluntary transfer of density from one property to another. A maximum of two structures per acre would be allowed through a vote by Town Council. The town could award density bonuses for certain amenities, such as open space donations.
Creek Valley Overlay zoning is limited to agriculture, open space, recreation and utility uses. This district applies to all areas within Toms Creek basin's 100-year flood plain and its wetlands, major tributaries and adjacent steep slopes.
The council also added the overall Toms Creek plan to its 1991 comprehensive plan, which is being revamped this year. The Toms Creek portion includes a detailed description of the area and strategies within the next five to 20 years.
The two-year process of redirecting future growth in Toms Creek basin has included six public meetings and input from numerous residents. The idea behind the new ordinances, town officials say, is to create a balance between two main interests: maintaining the area's current rural character and agricultural uses versus respecting property owners' rights to develop the area.
Population projections show Blacksburg will grow to 50,000 people - the current population is about 35,000 - by 2046. The Toms Creek basin, according to those projections, would accommodate a large chunk of that growth.
Councilman Michael Chandler said a balance has been achieved, though the ordinances will continue to be fine-tuned.
"It does introduce the specter of some change in the basin as we know it," he said. Compare that to current zoning which "would destroy the basin as we know it."
Still, not everyone is satisfied with the new ordinances. Allyn Moss, a Toms Creek basin resident, said the potential development is still too dense and she would rather see one house on every five acres of land, if any at all. Further development would destroy a finite resource, including the animals and plant life that thrive in the basin.
"Within time, this is a suburb we're talking about. This is not a rural residential area," Moss said during Tuesday's meeting. "It just masks the truth with words that sound pleasant."
Councilman Waldon Kerns said there are still issues that must be addressed within Toms Creek basin, specifically how to encourage people not to develop and support the people who still want to farm in the area.
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