THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 1, 1995 TAG: 9505270212
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
It is called Willoughby Spit. But for many residents, the neighborhood has become ``Willoughby split.''
Members of the Willoughby Civic League are disputing whether to become a Neighborhood Conservation Area, a community improvement program supervised by the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
But with the league nearly equally divided on the issue, it could be some time - if ever - that the designation is made.
The conservation program is designed to spark neighborhood upgrading by providing low-income mortgages, rehabilitation loans and blight removal.
In an April vote by more than 300 league members, the pro-conservation faction won by 15 ballots. Afterward, anti-conservation members said the vote was illegal because the meeting had not officially been called to order.
The validity of the ballot has been a flash point of discord at meetings of the league's executive board over the last two months.
A new board, mostly pro-conservation, was elected in early May. On May 24, the board voted to pursue conservation status, 9-1.
Laura Lyons, former president of the civic league, cast the dissenting ballot and said that anti-conservation members are considering legal action.
``I'm sure this is not over,'' Lyons said. ``Many people are very upset. Not only was the vote illegal, but the members hadn't been fully informed of what they were voting on.''
Lyons said that the ballot was written in a way that residents thought they were voting on acceptance or rejection of conservation status.
Joanne Runyan, current league president, said the vote stands and that the members knew that voting ``yes'' meant approving the start of the process that would lead to becoming a Neighborhood Conservation Area.
Runyan said the board will send a letter to ask Mayor Paul D. Fraim to direct the NRHA to study the proposed designation.
To become a conservation area, Willoughby first must meet NRHA criteria. The proposal then would be subject to approval by the civic league and a review by the planning department and Planning Commission. After public hearings, any final decision would lie with City Council. The process could take a year.
For now, though, anti-conservation residents question the effectiveness of the NRHA in nearby communities.
``NRHA's been in West Ocean View for eight years, and the neighborhood has deteriorated even more,'' Lyons said. ``They board up houses and just leave them there. I don't think that's a good track record.''
Some opponents also say that the NRHA is a government bureaucracy that they don't need.
``I'm against any further government encroachment on our liberties,'' said Lee Singer, a Willoughby homeowner. ``The NRHA will impose restrictions on property owners' rights and for what? They can't increase property values, reduce crime or blight. They don't arrest people, and they don't do code enforcement.''
NRHA community development director R. Patrick Gomez disagrees and said that the organization has been a ``big plus'' for neighborhoods.
``I think conservation area status will improve any community,'' Gomez said. ``West Ocean View has not declined. We've bought deteriorated properties, made land available for the construction of new homes and loaned money to property owners to rehabilitate their property. There has been noticeable improvement.''
Gomez said that the program has a positive impact on property values over the long run. He said that although there is not always enough money and that projects do take time, the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Robert Bayliss, president of the West Ocean View Civic League, said the designation has been a benefit in his neighborhood.
``It's been good for us, and I told the Willoughby people that,'' Bayliss said. ``But if they don't want conservation, that's OK with me. It means more money for us.''
In addition to doubting the effectiveness and need for conservation, foes say there is a group of Willoughby insiders that has been conducting secret meetings with the NRHA to promote the designation.
``In past years, we've defeated this thing,'' Singer said. ``There have been a lot of behind-the-scenes meetings between residents of influence and the NRHA.''
Gomez said that ``talk about secret meetings is ridiculous.''
``The NHRA has been contacted by homeowners in Willoughby,'' Gomez said. ``(Conservation is) not something we've been promoting or trying to convince the neighborhood to do. It's their choice.''
Jim Weaver, vice president of the Willoughby civic league, is one resident who contacted the NRHA.
``I've been going door to door getting input,'' Weaver said. ``I found people very interested in PACE, neighborhood watches and conservation. I've put the word out and sent out letters out as a resident, not as a vice president. We held several meetings with other Norfolk civic league leaders and staff from the NRHA. We had 140 people at the March meeting, and there were only 15 dissenters.''
Runyan said she hopes the process goes on in an orderly fashion.
``We want everyone to be educated in the procedure whether the neighborhood is designated or not,'' she said. ``I want everyone to have had input and be involved in an open discussion.
Singer has a different attitude.
``There used to be a lot of community pride here,'' he said. ``Now we're split wide open, with a lot of subterfuge and behind-the-scenes manipulating.'' by CNB