ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 1996 TAG: 9604230041
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
Two controversial road projects provided the only major contrast of opinion in a forum for Blacksburg Town Council candidates Thursday night. Otherwise three candidates shared similar perspectives on issues ranging from downtown parking to Greek housing on Roanoke Street.
Longtime incumbent Michael Chandler and challengers Todd Halwas and Ron Rordam, both local businessmen, took significantly different stands on two issues: the proposed "smart" road and Interstate 73.
Frances Parsons, who is running for re-election after more than two decades on council, could not attend the forum because her father has been critically ill. Three seats are up for grabs in the May 7 election.
The smart road is a proposed 5.8-mile highway to link southern Blacksburg with Interstate 81 and serve as a prototype for new computer-assisted transportation technology. It is also part of a controversial route proposed for I-73 through Blacksburg and Southwest Virginia.
Chandler and Rordam, vice chairman of the town's planning commission, both said they had lingering questions about the smart road, including its environmental impacts and funding sources for the entire road. The two also said they oppose I-73 coming through Blacksburg.
Both emphasized proper planning if either of these projects becomes a reality.
"Ten years ago, I had concerns about the smart road and those concerns have not been allayed," said Chandler, a Virginia Tech associate professor who works at the university's Institute for Community Resource Development.
Halwas, former president of the Greater Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce, said the smart road research would spur economic growth and prove to legislators in Richmond that Virginia Tech is worth funding - a position supported by the chamber.
Halwas, an associate broker at Raines Real Estate., added that he supports another chamber position: an endorsement of I-73 as long as it follows the U.S. 460 corridor through Blacksburg.
In the only real disagreement of the evening, Rordam responded to Halwas' position on I-73 by saying, "As we continue to grow, 460 will be the heart of Blacksburg."
"If we jump on the interstate bandwagon like I-73, in 50 years there may be whole new ways of travel and communication that a highway won't address," added Rordam, who owns Health Benefits Services in Blacksburg.
Questions posed to the candidates by the approximately 20 audience members and people watching the forum on the cable access channel touched on several planning issues. Those included a developer's request to rezone 538 acres on Price Mountain for a large residential development, the prevalence of Greek housing on Roanoke Street and preserving open space in Toms Creek Basin - Blacksburg's largest tract of land that is largely undeveloped.
Downtown parking and historic preservation also were among the issues addressed.
* On the Price Mountain rezoning, all three candidates emphasized a need to cooperate with the county, which has control over the rezoning request, and the negative impact a high density development could have on Blacksburg's view of the mountain.
Chandler, who spoke last on the issue, added that he hopes the county will honor its comprehensive plan and reject the rezoning request.
* On Toms Creek Basin, Chandler and Rordam said the recent zoning changes passed by Town Council and the Planning Commission are a starting point. They said dialogue will continue on preserving the area's open space and rural character.
Halwas said he would like to see the area developed with projects such as Spring Valley subdivision, a planned community approved by Town Council last year.
* On downtown parking, a perennial issue in Blacksburg, the candidates supported the town's efforts to intersperse small parking lots around town. They said complaints about space scarcity were often about perceptions, claiming shoppers would walk greater distances across a parking lot at Wal-Mart than downtown.
* On Greek housing, all three said it could not be forcibly removed from Roanoke Street, but zoning changes that would allow fraternity houses to renovate might improve the situation. A dialogue on solutions continues, however, the candidates said.
* A question on whether Blacksburg should institute a curfew for teen-agers prompted solid "no's" from all three candidates.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CITY COUNCILby CNB