ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 16, 1996 TAG: 9610160066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
Charles Mitchell pulled off his baseball cap and scanned the maps posted around the Vinton Senior Center Tuesday night.
"I'm here to persuade these people to do something that makes sense," he said.
Mitchell was one of 35 Vinton and East County residents who attended a community meeting Tuesday to brainstorm about the best use of the 100-acre McDonald farm.
By "these people," Mitchell meant officials of Vinton, which owns the property, and the Roanoke County officials who must approve any zoning changes. Representatives from both localities were present, but the ideas discussed Tuesday all came from residents who live near the farm.
McDonald farm is the largest tract with development potential in East County. The town purchased it 10 years ago to prevent a trailer park from moving in. Plans to incorporate it into Explore Park failed, and the town is leasing pasture space to a farmer for his cattle. But Vinton is running out of space to grow and is looking for ideas on how the tract could be developed.
Many of the 35 people attending said they liked the cows just fine.
"Can anybody say you moved to East County to get closer to more people?" asked Fred Cramer.
There was disagreement over whether it was realistic to think the farm would remain unchanged for much longer, but most people agreed that any future development should at least be low-density and include open space.
Carl Tingler used the rubber tip of his cane to point out his home on a map of the area.
"I'm bitter against anything in there except nice homes," he said, putting a price tag on "nice" between $150,000 and $200,000.
Mitchell also supported a housing development.
"It's better than a chicken coop," he said.
"Only if they come in by helicopter," countered Eunice Conner, who said she was worried about traffic on Hardy Road.
"It doesn't matter what they do, it's going to increase traffic," Mitchell predicted.
Local residents talked about mile-long traffic jams on the two-lane road each morning and the need for improvements, but Williamsburg landscape designer Carlton Abbott said widening the road will be complicated because of a stone bridge serving as an overpass for the Blue Ridge Parkway. Abbott and Roanoke landscape designer David Hill have been hired to turn the ideas generated Tuesday into a master plan for the McDonald farm.
Lloyd Enoch, who lives in the adjacent Montgomery Village subdivision, had another road concern. His home is at the end of a street that abuts the property line with the McDonald farm, and he fears that the road will be extended into a new development.
"I'm concerned about the ingress and the egress," he said. "The traffic. I don't want any more coming that way. We've got enough as it is."
Many people at the meeting said they'd like to see the property used for recreation. In fact, several said they already climb the fence into the McDonald farm to knock golf balls around the pasture and play baseball. They suggested a nine-hole golf course, fishing areas or even a sledding course for residents of the three local subdivisions, who have no parks within walking distance.
Those recreational uses wouldn't generate the tax revenue that town officials would probably like to get out of their $500,000 investment, but that didn't discourage some park proponents.
"From a Roanoke County taxpayer's standpoint, I really don't care if it produces revenue," said Brian Leacock. "I'd rather have something I'd enjoy."
Those who said they'd support commercial development suggested small-scale projects including a limited office or professional complex, a winery, craft shops and a bed-and-breakfast.
Abbott and Hill will be working today and Thursday at the Vinton Senior Center on plans for the property, using ideas generated Tuesday night. They invited local residents to stop in for a look during the day or at open house viewings scheduled for 7 to 9 both evenings.
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