ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 6, 1997 TAG: 9703060076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL THE ROANOKE TIMES
The 40-acre rezoning request now must be approved by City Council.
A proposed commercial development adjacent to Valley View Mall received preliminary approval Wednesday when the Roanoke Planning Commission voted to recommend rezoning the property.
Faison Realty Equities Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., has an option to buy 40 acres of the former Watts farm property, pending rezoning approval. Plans for the site include a 123,000-square-foot discount store and several outparcels, which could accommodate smaller retailers, sit-down restaurants and banks. Faison also developed Valley View Mall.
The rezoning of the land from light manufacturing and residential to commercial now must be approved by City Council, which will take up the request at its April 21 meeting.
A second piece of land, owned by the Association for Retarded Citizens, also will be recommended for rezoning so that 1 acre could be used for retail business and the remaining 8 acres could house ARC's sheltered workshop.
Pedestrian access to the development, and to the 75-foot-wide greenways Faison will build to separate it from residential areas, would be controlled by the city or an organization such as the Western Virginia Land Trust. There would be no automobile access between the development and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Initial plans had called for a walking trail to be included in the greenways plan, but Chief of Community Planning John Marlles said that has been put on hold, in part because of questions of security. The planning staff will continue to meet with residents on that issue, he said.
Elizabeth Belcher, Roanoke Valley greenways coordinator, told the commission that the city should accept Faison's offer to surround the proposed development with green spaces. One of the biggest hurdles in constructing greenways typically is obtaining the land, she said. Faison would both provide the land and the landscaping.
Richard Kelley, Roanoke city schools' assistant superintendent for operations, told the commission that both Round Hill Primary School and Huff Lane Intermediate School, which abut the proposed development, would have to be soundproofed and equipped with air conditioning to counter increased noise and dirt. Additionally, he said, part of Huff Lane's building may have to be moved to make room for the extension of Valley View Boulevard.
All development plans hinge on the completion of the partial interchange off Interstate 581, a project that likely won't be finished until late fall 1998. According to the conditions offered by Faison, no retailers could occupy any of the land until the interchange and Valley View Boulevard extension have been built.
If the rezoning is approved, Faison will pay for a new access road to connect Valley View Boulevard and the interchange, which will be near Round Hill school. The half-diamond interchange should ease traffic problems in the Valley View area, said Tom Creasy, a traffic engineer with Wilbur Smith Associates in Columbia, S.C. The firm conducted a traffic study for Faison.
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