DATE: Monday, June 9, 1997                  TAG: 9706090027
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   70 lines

WITH WHALEYVILLE ZONING, MAKING YOURSELF AT HOME CAN BE COSTLY, MAN LEARNS

Long branches of huge trees hang over the road - barely a mile long and lined by small houses with neat porches.

Welcome to Whaleyville Business District.

Twenty years ago, city planners forecast that parts of this peaceful world would bring economic development dollars to city coffers.

Time forgot it. Until two weeks ago.

City officials and Whaleyville resident Charlie E. Yates were shocked then to learn of its zoning.

Yates wanted to build a home on Mineral Springs Road, just off Whaleyville Boulevard (U.S. Route 13). But he wanted to be sure he was doing things right.

``I had been away since I was 18,'' said Yates, now 59, ``so I wasn't sure what the city had done. But I wanted to go through what they told me.''

What Yates learned was that it would cost $500 to rezone his 1.1 acres from business to residential. The Planning Commission endorsed his request unanimously - a decision that's subject to City Council approval - and then asked city planners to look at the area and its future.

Commissioner Howard C. Benton said Yates should not have hadto pay to rezone land to build a home when it already should have been classified as residential.

Except for a small part of Whaleyville Boulevard and Mineral Springs Road, the community has been zoned residential since the mid-1970s.

``Everything has been status quo there for years,'' said Benton, a Whaleyville native and resident.

City officials say they want Whaleyville's rural flavor preserved. Even as Suffolk grows, they say, this area shouldn't house many businesses.

``It's not correctly zoned,'' said Councilman Curtis R. Milteer of the Whaleyville Borough.

In the 1950s and '60s, Milteer said, the business zoning made sense.

Whaleyville got its name more than a century ago, when it had a thriving lumber business. The town - which had a mayor, town council, judge and police - was named after Seth M. Whaley, who had moved to the area and opened The Jackson Lumber Co. More than 15 businesses prospered in what is considered downtown Whaleyville, a three-block stretch of Route 13. Today, only a few businesses - including a convenience store and a seafood market - are there.

Residents of the community, about 10 miles south of downtown Suffolk, frequented the stores in the '50s and '60s, some paying their grocery bills when they cashed in their crops.

``Good golly, things back then were hopping,'' said Richard Forehand, a Whaleyville resident who owned a small store there until the early '90s. ``Most of the residents made their living from those local businesses.

``But that time has long gone. I don't think Whaleyville has added more than 15 houses since 1935.''

Its residents now travel to Suffolk or nearby North Carolina to shop. The area is still served by septic tanks and water wells. Its chances of getting city water and sewerage any time soon are slim.

Planning Director Paul E. Fisher said he agrees that a business designation is probably not appropriate for Mineral Springs Road.

He's unsure whether the city will study the area now or wait for its new comprehensive land plan, which is under way.

In the meantime, Yates' request will go before the City Council on June 18.

Benton said he hopes no one else has to pay to build a home before the city can rezone Mineral Springs Road to what it should be: rural residential. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

JOHN H. SHEALLY II/The Virginian-Pilot

Charlie Yates, who wants to build a home, was stunned to find his

lot zoned for business. That hasn't been appropriate for many

decades, longtime residents say. Getting the land rezoned could cost

him $500. KEYWORDS: REZONING

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