
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994                    TAG: 9406010208 
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER                     PAGE: 08    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: Short 
DATELINE: 940603                                 LENGTH:

CITY ARBORETUM\

{LEAD} People, especially those who live in more highly urbanized areas, think of Chesapeake as a green, leafy place, abounding in natural beauty and sylvan charm. That's not a false impression; it is lovely here.

But those who have watched the city grow over a period of time realize that a measure of its natural beauty constantly slips away as more houses, businesses, roads and parking lots spring up in once-green fields and glades.

{REST} There are still unspoiled spots, in the spaces between subdivisions and shopping centers, that retain pastoral charm, but they are fewer than they once were.

One such site is a 46-acre plot off Oak Grove Road with 200-year-old trees and a clear, sandy-bottom stream, where ground will soon be broken for a 373-home development on one side and a 171-home development on the other.

Happily, the City Council and the developers found a way to prevent this natural treasure from being trampled on the path to progress. In return for a few zoning concessions from the city, the owners agreed to turn the land over to the Chesapeake Arboretum Inc. for use as a botanical garden.

The arboretum will cost the city nothing, but it will pay untold dividends over the years. It will be a place of cool shade, colorful blossoms, birdsong, a place where the natural beauty of Chesapeake is preserved.

If future citizens could be consulted, they would urge us to look for more opportunities like this one.

{KEYWORDS} CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCIL\ CHESAPEAKE ARBORETUM INC.\

by CNB