THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 15, 1995 TAG: 9508150253
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Larkspur is a pleasant community of brick homes and towering old trees, a place where people enjoy the benefits of quiet suburban living without the hassles of city life.
It is also bordered by two of the city's most heavily traveled thoroughfares - South Independence Boulevard and Holland Road.
These facts came into sharp contrast Monday evening when residents spoke out against a plan that they believe could add thousands of cars to some neighborhood streets that many already consider overcrowded.
At issue are city plans to move the departments of social services and health from their Virginia Beach Boulevard to a 7.7-acre lot on South Independence - along with 562 to 610 parking spaces.
In doing so, the city would get a new building for its departments. It could sell at a profit the land on which the old building stands.
The plan also would return the Larkspur parcel to the tax rolls. Olympia Development, the developer, would buy the property from the city. The city would lease the building, and Olympia would pay taxes on the property.
It could also generate untold amounts of anger in the process.
``The Traffic Engineering Department has not done its job on this one,'' said Elizabeth Gold, president of the Larkspur civic association. ``There are a lot of disappointed people here about this.''
Gold and other Larkspur residents are upset because the new departments will add thousands more cars to the area. Exactly how many is open to debate.
Robert Guy, a traffic engineer called upon to answer residents' questions, said the new building would generate about 1,500 cars a day.
In the city's defense, he said South Independence is under capacity and could easily handle the extra traffic. Not all the cars would be coming or going at once, he said.
But some in the crowd rebutted his point, arguing that while the 1,500 figure may be accurate for most days, an additional 4,000 people will come to the building at least once a month to pick up welfare benefits or to inquire about them.
More important, the residents argue, is how people will leave the building once they've completed their business. The building's site plan does not allow for a clear exit north, they argued, and that makes all the difference.
Given that health and social services customers would have no choice but to turn south out of the proposed building's parking lot, they would head south on Independence and turn right at Silverleaf Drive. They would then wind their way back through Larkspur's tree-lined neighborhoods until they got to Edwin Drive, which has a traffic light that allows traffic to enter Independence and head north.
``You have to think of the children,'' said Maxine G. Carey, the president of Larkspur Meadows Civic League, a companion group to the Larkspur Civic League. ``With all the traffic we have now, it's already backed up in the mornings and the evenings. How are we going to accommodate more traffic?''
If the community has a champion, it is Councilwoman Louisa M. Strayhorn, who represents the Kempsville Borough. Strayhorn said she opposes the project and believes she has four votes on council that agree with her. She needs six to kill it.
``The traffic in this area is already overloaded,'' Strayhorn said. ``The answers we've gotten from traffic engineering and Olympia are not satisfactory.''
But she was clear on the need for a new building for the departments of health and social services. The current building needs a new roof. Its heating and air-conditioning systems are overworked and inefficient. Space inside is cramped, while the demand for services provided by the departments of health and social services is growing.
``They have to have a new building,'' she said. ``I've been in them. They're awful. But having a major municipal services center in your neighborhood is a worrisome thing, especially if you have not considered the impact.''
Residents of Larkspur will get another chance to make their voices heard. The City Council is expected to vote on the project next Tuesday. ILLUSTRATION: Color staff map
Area Shown: Site of new departments of Health and Social Services
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES by CNB