THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507190218
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
A City Council discussion Tuesday about whether a seafood processing plant should be allowed to continue operating in the heart of South Norfolk turned into a larger debate: how best to rehabilitate the aging neighborhood.
Many South Norfolk residents say the city needs to force businesses and property owners to comply with laws and guidelines designed to protect the neighborhood from further deterioration, and to help it rebuild.
Pro-industry groups and some members of City Council, however, say a business-friendly attitude is key to South Norfolk's well-being.
Council members will debate the issue more over the next several months. They ordered city staff to accelerate a study of South Norfolk, originally planned for the coming winter, which is likely to raise questions about whether codes need to be updated or changed to help the rehabilitation effort.
The study will be too late for William Mall, owner of Ocean Foods Inc. Mall, who has been processing and packaging conch and fish illegally on Chesapeake Avenue, requested a change in zoning that would have allowed him to continue operating. Mall's property is for retail shops; he needs industrial zoning.
The council voted 5-4 against an idea posed by Mayor William E. Ward to postpone a decision on Mall's request, to give city staff time to find some other zoning that Mall could fit under and continue operating. Councilman John W. Butt suggested issuing Mall a special permit.
Their concern stemmed from a point raised by Mall's engineer, Frank Driscoll, that many South Norfolk businesses were not complying with city laws. If council shut down Mall, they'd have to shut down many others to be fair, Driscoll said.
Ward suggested conducting a sweep of South Norfolk to cite violators, but other council members opposed that idea, saying such a heavy-handed approach was not necessary. That's partly how the discussion about how best to rehabilitate South Norfolk surfaced.
Voting against giving Mall a reprieve were councilmen John M. de Triquet, Dalton S. Edge, Alan P. Krasnoff and W. Joe Newman and Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance Jr.
Council then voted 8-1 against granting Mall's request for new zoning, with Councilman John E. Allen dissenting.
The city Inspections Department likely will begin working with Mall immediately to shut the plant, said city Planning Director Brent R. Nielson. by CNB