THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406300763
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940629 LENGTH: VIRGINIA BEACH
The City Council approved a plan Tuesday to limit development in the city's southern rural area to 2,500 new homes. The plan covers 138 square miles south of Indian River Road - flat land with poorly draining soil that is close to the water table. Almost half of the city's 259 square miles is affected.
{REST} ``It's taking action to lay out a plan to stop the spread of urban sprawl into the southern section of the community,'' City Manager James K. Spore said.
This plan may be only the beginning of home construction limits around the city. A federal commission's call last week for a full environmental impact statement in the Lake Gaston pipeline has council members questioning whether they will be forced to stop water hook-ups for homes in other neighborhoods.
The study could take months or years, delaying hope for more water in this water-starved city. Before Tuesday's meeting, the council discussed alternatives to the decision in a closed-door session.
The city has a freeze on water hook-ups for undeveloped areas, but building has continued in neighborhoods that were developed before the ban.
The city's rural southern area isn't growing fast, largely because it is not served by sewer lines. There are about 1,700 homes. An average of 30 new homes are built each year.
For years, various groups have argued about their visions for the vast expanse of farmland, scattered homes, swamps and forests in the southern section. About two-thirds of the remaining farmland is located there, the city estimates.
Drafts of the development plan have fueled a tug-of-war between environmental groups, farmers and builders for more than a year. The number of additional homes allowed under the plan has fluctuated between 1,700 and 4,700.
The 2,500 new homes in the final plan represent a compromise that would not overload schools or require widening of the two-lane country roads.
Several council members noted that more may need to be done to preserve farming as a viable business in the city. The city's total farmland has dwindled from 51,000 acres in 1982 to roughly 30,000 acres in 1993.
Councilman John Moss noted that the Southeastern Expressway, if built, would open the southern rural area to development pressure. He held up a letter from a regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, which noted that the city may have to consider legally binding land use restrictions in order to preserve countryside if the highway is built.
by CNB