THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 23, 1994 TAG: 9411230452
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
The new Currituck Board of Commissioners will inherit decisions on three controversial housing complexes in Moyock and Crawford townships.
At the last meeting of the current five-member board Monday night, the commissioners voted to keep talking about the proposed Dove Roost and Dozier Acres subdivisions and delayed action on The Plantations.
Dove Roost is a Moyock development that was reduced from 101 to 48 lots shortly after the commissioners began requiring impact statements for developments of 50 or more lots.
The 111-lot Dozier Acres off Tulls Creek Road is expected to include one- and two-story single-family homes in the $90,000 to $125,000 price range. The developers were the first to turn in analyses of the development's fiscal, economic, housing and environmental impact on the county.
Both subdivisions would be built by local developers, who must receive the commissioners' approval at three different stages. At issue is the first phase to approve the concepts, or sketch plans.
Drawings for The Plantations in the Moyock area show 601 lots along cul de sacs. The tract is being built by Virginia Beach developer Alan Resh, who bought the property at public auction and learned a 429-lot golf course community had already been approved.
All three projects have raised the ire of some residents concerned with recent growth in Currituck County.
Although the public hearings for Dove Roost and Dozier Acres were postponed on a staff recommendation, the commissioners on Monday allowed signed-up speakers to have their say on the projects.
Receiving loud applause from about 20 citizens was Robert Joseph, who lives in a subdivision which would be located next to Dove Roost.
``How are we, as county taxpayers, suppose to support the people moving in?'' Joseph asked. ``I think, gentlemen, we've got the cart before the horse.''
He later added, ``I'm not opposed to growth in this county . . . but I think we need to be very careful how we do it, and we need to be very careful that we don't overstretch our limits.''
Others echoed Joseph's sentiments, especially on the questions of further straining overburdened schools and roads. Drainage and trespassing problems also were raised.
Resident Elizabeth Hughes told the commissioners, ``When it comes to growth, don't put it into one little area.''
Much of the county's population problems are focused in Moyock, which has drawn a lot of Hampton Roads emigrees in the past few years.
Several speakers at Monday's meeting cited problems at Moyock Elementary School, which has been using eight mobile units on an undersized site to accommodate the surge in students.
``The kids tell me that they can't bring their books home because they really don't have them to bring home,'' said Ken Rose of Wildwood Acres. ``And that really upsets me.''
The schools the children from Dove Roost would attend include Moyock Elementary, while Dozier Acres children would be enrolled at Central Elementary School in Barco.
Two of three new commissioners, Eldon Miller and S. Paul O'Neal, attended Monday's meeting. The two men and Owen Etheridge will join Gene Gregory and Ernie Bowden on the board for next month's meeting, at 7 p.m. on Dec. 5 at the Currituck County Courthouse.
In addition to voting on the first stages of the Moyock and Crawford housing proposals, the new board will take over or begin deliberations on several other developments.
One involves a shopping center in Moyock. A public hearing on a special-use permit for property owners Acey Commerical Properties of Virginia Beach in on the commissioners' December agenda.
Some planning-board members earlier expressed concern that the shopping center, anchored by a supermarket, would hurt local merchants.
Other county officials have said the amenities would create even more of a draw for new residents, exacerbating the residential problems in the Moyock area.
Another large project to go before the board is The Currituck Club in Corolla. The community will include 476 single-family lots, 104 golf course villas, 56 patio homes, two commercial areas and several employee housing units.
A public hearing on The Currituck Club also is scheduled for the December meeting.
KEYWORDS: CURRITUCK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
by CNB