ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 29, 1997 TAG: 9701290023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
A development group's plans to build 20 town houses in Riner got the thumbs-down from six speakers at a Monday public hearing, and drew a deadlocked vote from the Montgomery County Planning Commission.
The speakers from a crowd of 40 told the Board of Supervisors and the commission that the proposed town houses would clash with the rural character of Riner and, if approved, would violate the county's comprehensive plan and fly in the face of a 1991 zoning compatibility chart.
Meeting after the public hearing, the Planning Commission deadlocked 4-4 on recommending the supervisors deny the request. Vice Chairman Ed Green was absent. After the tie, the commission tabled the request until Feb. 19.
That means the Planning Commission will take another vote before the Board of Supervisors can act on The Riner Group's request. The group is made up of developers Carl McNeil and Randy Gardner and lumber company president John Turman.
The trio wants to rezone 3.1 acres on Five Points Road and get a special-use permit to build the town houses. Some Riner residents see the town houses as just the latest intrusion on their previously quiet, rural atmosphere. The property is adjacent to the Lawrence subdivision, which McNeil and Gardner also developed, and also to Turman's Xpress Market property, which the county rezoned for commercial use last year amid protests. It is across Virginia 8 and a short distance from Auburn High and Middle Schools and the site of the new elementary school.
The town houses will be about a mile from a proposed 230-acre golf course and 140-home residential development.
Virginia Riley, one of the founders of a citizens group, The Friends of Riner, said the group was formed because "we realized [we were] close to losing the very essence of our community."
She said the proposal takes away open space, taxes county services and impinges on a nearby historic district.
"We do not see the proposed town houses as an enhancement" but rather as a burden, Riley said.
The supervisors were given a petition signed by about 55 people opposing the town houses.
Blaine Kessee with Gay Engineering, agent for the rezoning request, told the supervisors The Riner Group's request was not out of kilter with the comprehensive plan.
There will be 6.4 units per acre, which Kessee said qualifies as medium density, not the high density the opponents are labeling the project.
Kessee said at least 44 percent of the property will be open space. He called the town houses "a suitable transition between commercial sites and the low-density development that's occurring."
The property is surrounded by nonagricultural uses and is not prime farm soil, he said.
But Mary North, a Piney Woods Road resident, called the project unwarranted.
"Riner is only four miles from [Interstate]-81, as you know; certainly anyone interested in 'town house' living can find such in the Christiansburg area. At this point Riner does not offer work opportunities which would support a need for town houses. Such resident would no doubt join the already burgeoning commuter traffic on Route 8," North said.
North said she was not against planned cluster development but believes the proposed location is poor because of traffic congestion, its proximity to the historic district and because "there is no recognizable need for medium density housing in this area."
Charlie Bowles, a Riner resident, sat in the back of the room listening to his neighbors' comments before being the last resident to speak.
"We got a gold mine in Riner and now everyone wants to come," Bowles told the supervisors and commissioners. "I think you need to step back and look at what's going to happen to Riner," he suggested.
"They don't have any concerns for Riner," Bowles said of the developers. "They've got concerns for one thing: the almighty dollar."
Gardner, one of the developers, was reluctant to specifically respond to the opponents comments, saying they had a right to voice their opinions.
"We do have concerns. We live there," Gardner said Tuesday. "I love Riner. I live there. It's my home there for the rest of my life as far as I know. We certainly want to do what's compatible with the interests of Riner and the public and we like to leave things and be proud of what we left."
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