ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610110027
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: MARK CLOTHIER STAFF WRITER
On Tuesday, a group of downtown homeowners outlined concerns about a special zoning district that could allow five Virginia Tech fraternities to undertake major overhauls of their houses.
By Thursday, Town Council had gotten the message.
A straw poll taken Thursday shows most council members favor eliminating the special housing overlay district from East Roanoke Street. Residents are concerned that if the district goes into effect, it could turn their neighborhood into fraternity row.
John L. Bush is one of those residents. He said he's up early most weekend mornings, and on the occasional weekday, walking his front yard along Wharton Street, picking up trash from somebody else's revelry.
The time's not the issue. It takes about 10 minutes and he usually turns it into male bonding time, enlisting his two boys to help him pick up the bottles, cans and fast-food wrappers left the night before.
The problem is the littering's persistence and that it leads to worse: his 11-year-old's bike was stolen from the back porch and an entire trash can - with trash - was lifted.
Bush said he thinks the problem is college student-related. His biggest clue: nearby are five fraternity houses and a few apartment complexes.
"I'm pretty sure it's not the elderly," the 33-year-old said. "There aren't any high school students in the area yet and it's got to be people in vehicles so the only alternative is students or locals. But because most of the activity lasts until 3 a.m., who else could it be?
"The rationale for the rezoning - that it gives the town some control - is so faulty," he said. "There are problems with what's here now. How will they fix it by letting more in? Why are the tools lacking to control them now?"
Fraternity representatives have argued for the overlay district. Gary Markle, president of Tech's Interfraternity Council, said the measure would allow fraternities to renovate their houses and be better long-term neighbors. He said the biggest misconception about the district is that it would attract more fraternities to already crowded Roanoke Street.
But Markle's viewpoint was in the minority at the council hearing this week.
Two weeks ago and again this week, Bush represented some 35 residents of his Blacksburg neighborhood before Blacksburg's Planning Commission and Town Council. The town's proposed zoning ordinance would place a special housing overlay district on nearby Roanoke Street, an area that includes some of Blacksburg's oldest neighborhoods.
The purpose of the overlay district is to give Town Council a measure of control over the fraternity houses on Roanoke Street. It would require them to apply for a special-use permit to renovate their houses, requiring a public hearing and preconditions.
At a work session Thursday, Town Council hashed over zoning questions raised by residents at Tuesday's public hearing. No official votes were taken, but in a straw poll five of the seven council members favored lifting the proposed special housing overlay from Roanoke Street. Town Manager Ron Secrist also said council unanimously supported keeping the proposed overlay as part of the new ordinance and putting it in the Knollwood area, off Ramble Road.
Councilman Ron Rordam said he'd like to "allow the five fraternities now on Roanoke Street to improve their situation without allowing more to come.
"But the question is: are we locking ourselves into an either/or situation with the special housing overlay where we can't improve the existing houses on Roanoke Street without having it become a Greek Row?" Rordam asked.
For now, the special housing overlay is proposed in three parts of town: along East Roanoke Street, between Penn and Rutledge streets; along Turner Street, between North Main and Gilbert streets beside the Tech campus; and the east side of Ramble Road, between the 1900 and 2200 blocks, near the Tech Corporate Research Center.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map byy staff.by CNB