THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 5, 1995 TAG: 9512050278
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
For more than three decades, development in the city meant chopping down trees or putting cement over farmland.
But now, the City Council warns, growth may require tearing down houses and even neighborhoods.
The council is struggling to find ways to foster development without threatening neighborhoods. Today, the council is expected to vote to ask the General Assembly to give it the power to condemn land for economic development.
Virginia Beach is the only city in South Hampton Roads that cannot condemn property for such purposes, because it is the only city that does not have a redevelopment authority. The council does not want such an authority - used in other cities to run public housing - but it hopes that condemnation power will spur growth.
The council has not decided how much power it wants.
In a discussion last month, several council members said the city would stagnate without broad power to condemn land. Others argued that condemnation is so dangerous that it must be tightly controlled.
``It's just something I'm really afraid of,'' council member Barbara M. Henley said then. ``I don't want to have to live in fear that some City Council will decide (my) property should be industrially developed, and I don't want our citizens to live in fear.''
``As the city grows older, it's just going to be necessary,'' said councilman W. W. Harrison.
Harrison said Monday that the Beach would have more safeguards than other cities, because the power to condemn would rest with council members, not with an appointed redevelopment authority.
``Those people in control of the city government at the time the power is being considered have to go after it soberly,'' he said. ``Abuse of the power should be a ticket out of office.''
The test case is the Burton Station neighborhood, a small residential area between Northampton Boulevard and the runways of Norfolk International Airport.
Nearly 10 years ago, after neglecting the neighborhood for decades, the city decided to demolish homes and build an industrial park.
Progress has been extremely slow, in part because land in Burton Station has passed through so many hands that it's nearly impossible for the city to locate owners.
All three versions of a request to the General Assembly would allow the council to clear up title problems in Burton Station. Two would grant broader powers. The requests will be made public today.
To target an area for redevelopment, the council would first have to try to buy the land outright, hold public hearings to designate it on the city's master plan and provide relocation aid for any displaced people or businesses. The council could not condemn land solely to help a private person or company.
The council's discussion will air live on VBTV, channel 48, beginning at 11 a.m. At 2 p.m., the council will hold a public hearing on its entire legislative agenda, which includes the condemnation request, and then vote on the package.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL by CNB