ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 15, 1996 TAG: 9612160036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
The "crown jewel" of Roanoke parks - Mill Mountain Park - one day may be crowned with a bigger zoo.
Mill Mountain Zoo is asking Roanoke City Council to approve a lease extension that will expand the zoo by more than 40 percent, giving it another 1.5 acres in the popular park that looms over downtown.
The request will be considered by council's Water Resources Committee Monday at a 1 p.m. meeting that is open to the public.
The expansion proposal comes as the Mill Mountain Development Committee readies plans for a January retreat to consider the mountain's future. Meanwhile, Mayor David Bowers is recommending the city hire a Mill Mountain development coordinator in the next budget year, which begins July1.
The land in question would be south of the existing zoo. The heavily wooded tract fronts the Mill Mountain spur road that climbs from Fishburn Parkway to the top of the mountain.
Beth Poff, executive director of the zoo, says the land is needed for a red wolf breeding program the zoo hopes to begin, as well as for holding pens for quarantining new animals. It would be screened from public areas to provide privacy for breeding wolves.
The zoo also may put an office trailer on the new property, Poff said. In line with American Zoological Association guidelines, any expanded property would be surrounded by a fence.
"Closer to the roadway, we'll probably have a combination wood fencing and chain-link fencing," Poff said.
If approved, the zoo would grow in size from 3.6 acres to 5.1 acres.
But the expansion concerns South Roanoker Betty Field, a regular walker and hiker on the mountain who has appealed for the city to keep the park as it is. Earlier this year, Field spoke out against proposals to build a tram to the Mill Mountain Star, a restaurant on the mountaintop and a parking garage on a lot adjacent to the zoo's entrance. No action has been taken on those ideas.
The mountain is the source of Crystal Springs, which provides drinking water for Mill Mountain and South Roanoke residents, Field noted.
"There's just no stopping the zoo, is there?" Field asked. "They'll be cutting trees, and they'll put a fence up, they'll have to."
The zoo's no-charge lease with the city expires Dec. 31. The expansion request comes in addition to a request to renew its lease for a five-year period, a normally routine issue for council.
The plans likely won't be implemented until the spring of 1998 at the earliest because the zoo doesn't have the money to build the fencing or other structures right now, Poff said.
"Since our lease was expiring at the end of this year, we just saw this as an opportunity because we knew we were going to need additional holding and breeding space over the next five years," Poff said.
The proposal received a unanimous endorsement Thursday from the Mill Mountain Development Committee. If approved by the Water Resources Committee, it will come up for another vote by the entire City Council, probably in January.
The mayor and a fellow member of the Water Resource Committee said Friday they see no reason why council shouldn't grant the expansion, given the endorsement by the Mill Mountain panel.
"I'm in favor of keeping the zoo where it is and allowing it to expand," Bowers said. "I want to make sure over the next year that we continue to focus on coordinated development on Mill Mountain, including zoo expansion, the Sister City sculpture, wildflower garden and better trails."
"I certainly think we should go ahead with it," said Councilman Jim Trout, who also serves on the Mill Mountain Development Committee. "It's part of a strategy to enlarge the zoo. And the new area would be used primarily for breeding purposes and this activity would require a shielding or protection from public areas of the zoo. The present size of the zoo doesn't provide this opportunity."
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