ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
It didn't reach the proportions of the "late unpleasantness" of 1861-65, but the battle over land rezoning for the Ashley Plantation development did pit brother against brother.
Reid and Chris McMurry both spoke at Tuesday's Botetourt County Board of Supervisors meeting about the proposed 300-home golf course development. But they took opposite sides on the issue.
Chris McMurry is the engineer for the development planned for a 422-acre farm owned by T.D. Steele. Reid McMurry, a surveyor, initially worked on the project but says he now opposes it because the plans will put nearly 100 condominiums on land right next to his family's home off U.S. 220.
"It's just a difference of opinion. Chris plays golf, and I don't," he said jokingly.
Reid McMurry kept quiet throughout the six months of debate over the project. He worked behind the scenes for the opposition, gathering information on erosion, watersheds and storm drainage. He figured that people would think he and his brother were "in this together."
But he showed up at Tuesday's meeting in his characteristic wide-brimmed hat, his face framed by his long, uneven beard, and with a 15-page report to deliver.
"It just seemed like the right thing to do at this point," he said. "I thought people would listen to me."
After his short-haired, clean-cut-looking brother Chris spoke about how he had revised the landscaping of the subdivision to include trees that would reduce the "sight pollution" of the condominiums to be built, Reid took the lectern and argued that the condominiums were unsightly.
The supervisors ultimately sided with Chris McMurry and developer A.R. Overbay.
Afterward, Reid McMurry said although he was disappointed with the approval of the rezoning, there are no hard feelings.
LENGTH: Short : 42 linesby CNB