ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 1996 TAG: 9604160088
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
The Virginia Supreme Court today will hear Salem City Council argue that it should not have to rezone two residential lots to allow for a Wendy's fast-food restaurant.
Wendy's of Western Virginia Inc. wants to open a restaurant at the corner of Midland Road and Virginia 419.
City Council refused to rezone the two lots after hearing from nearby Highland Road residents who didn't want the traffic and noise they said would come from a hamburger joint.
And the city had its own reason for not allowing the rezoning. Salem's comprehensive land-use plan shows the area as a long-range industrial center - possibly an expansion of nearby industrial parks.
But Salem Circuit Judge Roy B. Willett ruled last May that the city's refusal to rezone the properties was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."
The city appealed that decision, fearing that a precedent for commercial development will be set in the area.
If Wendy's is allowed to go in, said City Attorney Stephen Yost, "there's no way you can stop the whole neighborhood" from turning commercial.
"It would set a factual precedent of allowing B-3 commercial zoning," he said.
Edward Natt, the attorney representing Wendy's of Western Virginia, has argued that commercial development is already surrounding the area. Twenty-nine of 37 homes in the neighborhood abut, adjoin or are adjacent to some commercial or industrial development, he said.
Yost said that the commercial and industrial properties are on the fringes of residents' back yards, whereas the Wendy's project would put the restaurant "right next door."
Normally, it takes several months for the Supreme Court to announce a decision after arguments are heard.
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