ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 1, 1997 TAG: 9702030061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
Western Virginia car dealers Paul and Gary Duncan filed a court challenge Thursday to the Salem Planning Commission's decision not to subdivide Oakey Field, which the Duncans wanted to buy from the city in order to build a used car dealership on the property.
This is the second legal action over Oakey Field by the Duncans, who were recruited by the city last summer to consider buying about 6 acres of the field for the dealership.
In September, they signed a contract to buy the land for nearly $350,000. But the sale was contingent upon rezoning for commercial use and subdivision of the land.
When City Council held a public hearing over the rezoning, about 130 Salemites showed up, almost all of them opposing the rezoning of the land. That night, City Council unanimously denied the rezoning.
The Duncans filed a lawsuit in November to challenge that decision.
In December, the Planning Commission considered a request to subdivide the land from a 10-acre tract into a 4-acre tract for existing public tennis courts and the 6 acres that the Duncans wanted to buy.
The commission voted to deny the subdivision, saying that the proposed use didn't conform with the city's Comprehensive Plan.
In papers filed Thursday with Salem Circuit Court, the Duncans challenge the city ordinance that requires conformity with the Comprehensive Plan before land can be subdivided, said Michael Pace, the lawyer representing the Duncans.
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