THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 9, 1995 TAG: 9506090531
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Commissioners of this Roanoke Island community have reached an apparent compromise in a dispute over a proposed soccer field for Manteo High School.
The Manteo Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday night to grant the Dare County Board of Education's request for a conditional use permit.
That will allow the removal of a portion of a buffer between the school and residents on nearby Scuppernong Road to accommodate the construction of the new sports facility.
However, the commissioners made clear that they support the school's proposal but said the interests of nearby homeowners should be protected.
Under the agreement, the School Board was granted the conditional permit as long as it maintains a 50-foot buffer of vegetation between the soccer field and homes on Scuppernong.
``That neighborhood deserves to be protected in a conditional use,'' former Mayor John Wilson IV said. He urged the commissioners to look at the entire site plan, and find a way to construct the soccer fieldand provide a buffer.
Others argued that the new field would lead to increased noise and traffic in the neighborhood.
Supporters, including past and present members of the Manteo High soccer squad, said the new facility was needed to accommodate the growth of soccer at the school.
The Redskin team has earned a berth in the North Carolina High School playoffs for the past three years.
Jason Summerton, the newly elected Student Government Association president at Manteo High School and co-captain of the soccer team, said the team needs and deserves a new facility.
``Every other team, save golf, has a facility at Manteo High School,'' Summerton said. ``The only one neglected is soccer.''
Betty Blanchard, the mother of three children in the soccer program and part of a group that in 1980 worked to have the buffer built, said a compromise should be reached between the school and the residents.
Commissioner Bill Daniels agreed. ``I think we all want a buffer, and we all want a soccer field. We want to protect our citizens.''
Commissioner Edward Etheridge questioned the need for a field, and said the desires of Scuppernong residents should be met.
``There are people who have lived there all their lives,'' he said. ``I think they deserve the utmost consideration.''
School officials sought to assure the board that they would be good neighbors.
``It's not our intent to hurt our neighbors,'' said Steve Holden. ``It's our intent to educate our children academically and athletically.''
The next step is up to the Board of Education, which must find funding for the project.
The soccer debate was not without a heated moment. Manteo businessman Uli Bennewitz spoke out against an anonymous communitywide mailing critical of the School Board's request.
Bennewitz said the mailing was ``whipping up emotions to a level that is ridiculous.''
``I'm afraid this goes well beyond the level of what is acceptable in this community,'' he said.
In other action, the commissioners unanimously approved the town's 1995-96 $1 million general operating budget. Taxes will remain unchanged at 37 cents per $100 of property value.
Also, the commission appointed Gary Oliver of Pirate's Cove to the town's planning board. Oliver was approved on a 4-2 vote, with Commissioners Edward Greene and Edward Etheridge voting no.
Another nominee, Terry McDowell, lost a seat on a 4-3 vote. Mayor Bill Buell joined Commissioners Lee Tugwell, Melvin Jackson and Rocky Midgette in voting against McDowell's appointment. Buell's vote broke a 3-3 deadlock.
The commission also approved returning the portion of Uppowac Street between Budleigh and Sir Walter Raleigh Streets to two-way traffic. by CNB