ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
MILL MOUNTAIN ZOO will expand by 1.5 acres, despite fears that the expansion could affect Crystal Spring, a major city water source.
The red wolves and tigers on Monday won out over residents' fears for the water of Crystal Spring when City Council agreed to let Mill Mountain Zoo expand by about 40percent.
By a 6-1vote, council approved a five-year lease renewal that gives the 44-year-old zoo an additional 1.5 acres of property adjacent to the 3.6 acres it already occupies.
The land will be used to begin a red wolf breeding program, for quarantining new arrivals and perhaps as extra space for offices, zoo officials have said.
But the vote came with a warning from Councilman Carroll Swain that he was unlikely to vote for any future zoo expansions unless the Blue Ridge Zoological Society Inc. conducts environmental impact studies on the effects development has on Mill Mountain and the water that flows beneath it.
Councilman William White, meanwhile, agreed with residents that the expansion could potentially affect Crystal Spring, a major city water source. Swain voted for the lease, while White voted against it.
Two residents testified against the zoo expansion. The first was Betty Field, a Mill Mountain activist who wants to keep the city park in as natural a state a possible. The other was Peter White, president of Neighbors of South Roanoke, a community group serving the city's wealthiest neighborhood.
Both warned that the source of Crystal Spring is unknown and that alterations to the mountain could affect its flow or its water quality. Crystal Spring supplies water to South Roanoke, Garden City and homes in other neighborhoods.
"Since no one knows the source of this spring water, anything could happen," said Field, who also noted the zoo has cut down trees and changed the mountain's ridge line.
"This is a water issue," said Peter White, no relation to the councilman. "The Water Resources Committee, which can't tell us where the water in Crystal Spring is coming from, wants to allow some development up there. Let's pause."
The expansion plan was first outlined by zoo officials last month before the Water Resources Committee, which unanimously recommended it to council. Prior to that it already had received the unanimous endorsement of the Mill Mountain Development Committee, a council-appointed panel that oversees development on the mountain.
The land in question is 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, said 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. A previous wolf-breeding program the zoo helped sponsor at Explore Park fizzled for lack of funding.
The zoo also may put an office trailer on the property, Poff said. Any expanded property would be surrounded by a combination wood-and-chain link fence. None of the improvements will be made until the spring of 1998 at the earliest.
Council members who voted for the expansion Monday pooh-poohed the idea that the zoo is not a careful environmental steward of the property it occupies.
"I would guess that deer on that mountain do more damage to the trees than anything else," Councilman Jack Parrott said.
And Councilman Nelson Harris, who serves as council's liaison to the zoo's board of directors, denied the zoo would "mow down" trees on the 1.5 acres of expanded territory.
"As far as I'm concerned, there is no more environmentally conscious group than the zoo," Harris said. "To say the zoo is not environmentally conscious is absurd, I think."
Vice Mayor Linda Wyatt noted the city retains building permit approval over anything erected in the expanded zone. If the zoo builds anything disagreeable, council could decline to renew the lease for that portion of its property when the five-year term is up, she said.
"Things either grow or die," Wyatt said. "With the zoo, we're looking at a critical stage. I think our zoo has a potential to do a lot of good. I think we have a responsibility to help them out."
City Manager Bob Herbert has promised the city forester will review in advance any tree-cutting plans.
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