THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503240195
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
SOURCE: BY MARTHA GEORGE AND DAVID WALKUP
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
The Suffolk Planning Commission and Suffolk City Council will have a joint public hearing Wednesday at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers to consider amending the 2005 Comprehensive Plan to redesignate the area off Nansemond Parkway in the vicinity of Shoulders Hill Road from Low Density Residential and Agricultural to High Intensity Commercial rezoning for an industrial park and automobile race track, and issuing a conditional use permit for the track.
The Comprehensive Plan amendment and accompanying change in Urban Development Area are being done so the rezoning request will be viewed by the courts as planned rather than piecemeal or spot zoning. However, it appears to be spot zoning because things like roads and emergency services have not been considered.
According to several Suffolk officials, this area was selected because a large manufacturer went to the director of the Suffolk Industrial Authority and said it wanted to build at this location. The city started seeing money because this area is currently taxed at a low rate and, if changed, would be taxed at a higher rate. Dollars brought in by the city would expand Suffolk's tax base, which pays to improve city services.
While everyone wants good schools and libraries with current reading materials, the absence of prior planning by city officials will create major problems for residents along Nansemond Parkway, Shoulders Hill Road and Bennett's Pasture Road.
The biggest problem with this area's rezoning for heavy manufacturing is narrow, two-lane Nansemond Parkway, which handles buses from two elementary schools and a high school, farm equipment, tractor-trailers and residential traffic. During morning and evening rush hours, traffic is bumper to bumper, trying to get onto this road is risky.
Putting additional automobile and tractor-trailer traffic on Nansemond Parkway would compromise the health and safety of area residents because there are three-foot ditches on each side, making it extremely difficult for rescue, fire and police to respond, in the likely event of an automobile breakdown or accident.
If the city had planned to develop this area into a 700-acre industrial park, why didn't it spend millions to widen this road to a four-lane road capable of handling the traffic load? We think there are several reasons:
(1) There are 28 miles of U.S. Route 58, a four-lane, divided highway with rail access, in Suffolk, and most of it is rural or farm land; (2) There are five miles of U.S. 460, a four-lane highway bordered by rail, in Suffolk, and most is rural or farm land; (3) The city has 3,600 acres zoned for heavy manufacturing, at 21 sites, and only one doesn't have utilities. Thirteen sites have rail access, and it is being extended to one, making 14 sites with 2,577 acres with rail access; (4) With several M-2 sites available, developing an industrial park at the proposed location would face significant competition, and the millions required to widen Nansemond Parkway and provide utilities could be utilized elsewhere to improve the quality of life for Suffolk citizens.
This area is highly populated, with several established residential developments. An industrial park could risk future residential developments and businesses. Most businesses locate in an area based on the surrounding population and household incomes, which is probably the primary reason Suffolk didn't get Chesapeake Square Mall.
It is clear that the comprehensive plan is being amended, and the zoning changed to accommodate one manufacturer at the expense of residents, not because city officials have planned this park.
The conditional-use permit for the race track will not be issued without the rezoning. An automobile race track will amplify the same major problems with traffic and emergency services as the industrial park. Both the Suffolk Planning Department and chief of police are against the race track at this site for this reason.
The race track would sell alcoholic beverages during races. Although all of us who go to races don't drink excessively, some do, and that is all it takes to kill people.
The noise of the race track would be a big nuisance for residents within three miles and a nuisance for residents within seven miles. More than 100,000 people live in established communities within seven miles of the race track. Why would any responsible person put a race track in an area as densely populated as this?
Race tracks usually are built in rural, sparsely populated areas. When people move near them, they know what they are getting into. Residents of this area couldn't have imagined an automobile race track would be built nearby.
Hampton Roads' air quality blocks some industries that would provide jobs for thousands of people. In addition to the loss of potential jobs, our borderline air quality will cost all of us who operate automobiles because emission-control testing is likely to be imposed if the area gets worse.
Recently, the EPA has come under fire from Hampton Roads government officials for giving this area the air-quality assessment it deserves. In our opinion, the EPA is one of the few agencies that protect us from industrial pollution, which has a major impact on individuals.
Please come to the Suffolk Planning Commission/City Council meeting and tell our politicians we don't want them to compromise our health, safety, peace and quiet and air quality to accommodate one manufacturer and an automobile race track. MEMO: Ms. George is Suffolk co-chairperson and Mr. Walker is Chesapeake
co-chairperson of Citizens Against the Racetrack.
by CNB