THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502170233
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
If the city of Chesapeake were captured in silhouette, its outline could take on a number of shapes: clusters of cul-de-sacs to the north, large stretches of farmland to the south, and sailboats passing bridges throughout.
But canoeing serenely across a lake, with a baldcypress tree and a setting sun in the distance?
That image may not be the first to come to mind in this rapidly growing suburban city. But it is the image the City Council chose to represent Chesapeake's best face for a new license plate design.
Unlike other license plates offered by the state, the proposed Chesapeake design would be more than just a pretty picture. Money made from selling the plates would be earmarked to fund projects for conservation and beautification of the city's natural environment.
``It's a revenue-generator for special charities,'' said Assistant City Manager Mary Ann Saunders. ``It could go for anything from tree planting, to the median beautification program.''
The plates sell for $25 annually. The city gets $15 of that for every plate over 1,000 that is sold.
Saunders said the trick was finding a design that would reflect the city and be marketable at the same time.
``We sat around and brainstormed on some ideas with other city department staff,'' Saunders said. ``We had the clipper ship idea, City Hall, a blue heron in flight. But logistically, you only have a small space to put them in, and a lot of the ideas just wouldn't show up from far away.''
Though the water wasn't intended to represent one particular lake in the city, the tree design came from the baldcypress that grows in Chesapeake, better known as the dismal swamp cypress.
The next step, Saunders said, is getting a sample plate from the artist hired by the city for the designs. That sample will be on display at the Chesapeake branch of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The sample plate should be ready in a few months, Saunders said. ILLUSTRATION: Revenue from the Chesapeake plate will help fund city
beautification.
by CNB