ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606240023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
With the "smart" road debate resolved, Montgomery County moves back to another major development controversy: the plan to build hundreds of homes on Price Mountain.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Monday on William H. Price's proposal to build single-family homes, duplexes and town houses on 538 acres. The meeting on the third floor of the county courthouse will start at 7 p.m.|
The Price plan is one of the largest rezoning requests in county history, and would have long-range effects on roads, utilities, schools and the appearance of the mountain that divides Blacksburg and Christiansburg.
Opponents - including Price Mountain residents and conservationists - have cited concerns about traffic, open-space planning, density and public utilities. They also say the development contradicts Montgomery County's comprehensive plan, which designates Price Mountain as a conservation area.
Price has said the development will provide needed housing and will proceed at a pace of 20 to 30 units a year, giving the county and state time to improve roads in the community and develop water and sewer lines.
It will be the second public hearing on the proposal in two months.
The Board of Supervisors delayed Price's rezoning request in April after the Planning Commission had recommended its approval by a 4-3 vote with two members abstaining. That vote was later ruled illegal because the planners' bylaws at the time required at least five "yes" votes.
The delay also allowed Price to put in writing and expand on amendments to his plans he had made along the way.
In his latest proposal, Price has offered legally binding limits on the maximum number of dwellings and the percentage of open space. Plans show a total of 534 dwelling units spread over four parcels, with about 22 percent of the acreage designated as open space. Price also has dedicated land for a water tank near the top of the mountain and has said he is "working to encourage development of two off-site road improvements to improve additional access."
But Price's latest offers have not mollified at least two Oilwell Road residents.
Tom Herrmann told the Planning Commission on Wednesday that he still had concerns about inadequate roads and mixing multifamily zoning with single-family homes.
Future residents of the 250 homes proposed for one part of the development will "have only one way in and out ... and that is through Oilwell and Merrimac roads," Herrmann said.
Herrmann also has concerns that duplexes and town houses will turn into rental property that will be used for student or Greek housing.
"While none of this is bad in itself, we don't believe it is suitable for a conservation area where there are single-family residences," Herrmann said.
Frank Pearsall weighed in with the Planning Commission via a letter read into the record. He called for the project to be handled as a Planned-Unit Development District, which requires far more advanced planning, rather than through rezoning. He also thinks larger lot sizes of three to five acres should be required.
Pearsall also points to a 1991 Planning Commission policy statement that says consistency with the county's comprehensive plan will be a major factor when considering rezoning applications. County supervisors and commissioners "have obligated themselves to uphold this document, and as a legal document, their disregard of it may be challenged in court," Pearsall wrote.
Price, a longtime player in the region's real estate and development industry, said the spotlight of attention on Montgomery County's growing pains does not make him overly concerned for his project's future.
"They recognize when a project's sound and they recognize when it's needed," Price said of the Board of Supervisors. "I think a reasonable growth level is healthy and is needed."
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. Price Mountain looms in the background at New Riverby CNBValley Mall. 2. map. color.