THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200394
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
It had to happen sometime.
At tonight's City Council meeting, a majority of residents from the Sunray and Colony Manor neighborhoods in western Chesapeake will probably get what they've been yearning for - 57-acre and 107-acre, 45-foot-deep, man-made, side-by-side borrow pits.
City planners and developers say this could be the first time in recent memory that any borrow pit had more support than opposition.
Southern Pines wants to dig the pits on 294 acres off South Military Highway near Colony Manor Drive. They are seeking a conditional use permit to start the work.
There are opponents, most of whom worry the borrow pits could drain nearby wetlands and water tables. But it appears that, unlike most borrow pit measures in this borrow pit town, most resident aren't overly concerned. In fact, they're looking forward to it.
Planning Commission Chairman Robert L. Briggs Sr. said he could remember recommending only one other pit for approval during his seven years on the commission.
When he voted to recommend these pits for approval in the commission's 5-4 vote, Briggs said the support of the community was ``a major factor.''
Three pages of city-mandated stipulations have more or less assured local residents they won't be affected too much by the proposed pits. And they'd rather see the borrow pits than development.
``We feel this will protect our community by putting holes in the ground,'' said Robert Lassiter, a supporter of the pits.
The stipulations say truck traffic will try to avoid residential areas. The developer will monitor and replace wells if necessary. A troublesome drainage system could be improved by the pits.
Residents have gone so far as to ask that the buffer between their homes and the borrow pits be reduced from 1,000 to 250 feet to help prevent future development. If the 1,000-foot buffer remained, it could be zoned for industrial use.
Borrow pits don't come without hassles. But residents say they're willing to put up with up to seven years of digging, hauling, noise and dust. Because in the end, the community sees not borrow pits, but beautiful lakes.
``We finally see some good for a change,'' said Robert G. Podruchny, who headed the drive for the borrow pits. ``We've spent a lot of years looking for it and it finally seems to be coming our way.''
The city benefits as well. Most of the fill from the borrow pits will be used on road projects funded by Chesapeake's ongoing bond referendum. And once the site is fully excavated and filled in, the city has the option of taking over the land as a city reservoir.
The borrow pits could have a life of seven to 10 years, said Grey Folkes, a consultant to the developer with Hassell & Folkes P.C.
Podruchny headed this tiny rural community's effort to win the stipulations and bring the pits to their back yard. He said Tuesday that residents of Colony Manor and Sunray have had city projects rammed down their throats in past years.
Bowers Hills, Colony Manor and Sunray's rural back yards were to be the site of a city amphitheater, a trash dump and juvenile detention facility over the last several years. All those efforts failed after facing tough local resistance.
You would think a borrow pit - reviled for depleting wells, ruining local water and endangering swimmers - would be the last thing these tiny communities would desire? But to Podruchny, ``This here is something that will be a good thing. They won't put a trailer park in there or trash dump or prison.''
Residents who enjoy the occasional jaunt into the outdoors have to travel to nearby Suffolk to get in touch with Mother Nature. Now, says Podruchny, they'll have only leave their back door.
But this future could be temporary. The city could take over the borrow pits in the future and make them part of the reservoir system in Western Branch. If that happens, residents' access to the lake could be restricted if not completely cut off.
Thus far, however, the city is not willing to commit to the reservoir idea, saying its future water needs remain unknown, say Briggs and city planners.
The lack of this promise has led Gary Szymanski to oppose the plans.
``My concerns are the environment and the impacts that it will have on the surrounding water table,'' he said. ``We could be left with an open scar there that will never fill up with water.''
However, even Szymanski is willing to admit that ``this may be one of the better uses, considering that something could be developed there.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK, The Virginian-Pilot
Robert Lassiter Jr., left, and Robert Podruchny are Bowers Hill
residents who want a borrow pit in their neighborhood. Chesapeake
City Council will discuss the plan tonight.
Map
by CNB