ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 13, 1997 TAG: 9703130033
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: MARK CLOTHIER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Blacksburg rental property owners worried development options will be limited.
Responding to more than a dozen concerns about the extensive revision of the town's zoning laws, Town Council again delayed a vote on the changes Tuesday and scheduled a third public hearing for late next month.
Town Council also scheduled a work session for March 25. The third public hearing will be on April 22.
Many of the issues were raised by owners of rental property worried that the rezoning would limit their development options.
Kevin Carter lives at 206 Watson Ave. but owns houses on Montgomery and Roanoke streets, most of which he rents to students. Carter said the properties represent most of his family's savings, so any changes to the zoning laws do even more than limit choices.
Specifically, the amount of money he could make on his property at the corner of Roanoke and Jefferson streets would be cut 33 percent, Carter said. He said he'd like to build a 12-bedroom triplex on the site, which is within walking distance of Virginia Tech and ideal for students.
But under the proposed zoning law, the land would become transitional residential, allowing Carter to build a single-family home or a duplex, conceivably eight bedrooms.
"I don't know what the town would be transitioning from," Carter said. "That property is surrounded by apartments. The town wants me to be the one little island of nonprofitable real estate within walking distance of Tech."
A few residents of Tall Oaks Drive, in Stroubles Mill in west Blacksburg, also questioned why a large parcel, now zoned for agricultural use, is proposed for residential development. The land in question is south of Prices Fork Road, bounded by Merrimac Road and Tall Oaks Drive.
Jim Haynes said he watched the development of similar land when he lived in southern New Jersey. He said he bought a home in Stroubles Mill because the nearby land was rolling farmland, zoned agricultural, which requires lot sizes of at least one acre.
The property is proposed for low-density residential uses, which allows detached single-family homes with a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet (approximately one-quarter acre), community and public recreation and minor utility services, among others.
Cemeteries, day-care services, schools and a post office are among the uses allowed in the low-density residential district with a special-use permit, acquisition of which requires a public hearing and Town Council vote.
Adele Schirmer, director of planning and engineering for the town, said the property west of Tall Oaks Drive is proposed for rezoning because it's well-suited for development. She said it has good road access, good topography and access to water and sewer.
On another issue, Dan Brugh, resident engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said a new provision could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of the planned highway interchange at South Main Street and U.S. 460. That's where the U.S. 460 Bypass, the Alternative 3A bypass connector and the "smart" road will all join.
The provision would require all new utility systems be buried, rather than strung from poles. Brugh said a similar requirement on a project in Roanoke added $200,000 to the overall cost.
Brugh asked Town Council to delay a vote until some sort of cost-sharing agreement could be worked out between VDOT and the town.
After 75 minutes of public comment, Mayor Roger Hedgepeth asked Town Council to vote on setting a third public hearing. He said hopefully it would be the last.
"It may not be perfect," he said, "but it ought to be good enough to vote on."
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