DATE: Thursday, September 4, 1997           TAG: 9709040456

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   49 lines

PROPOSED FOOD LION FAILS TO SWAY MOST AT MEETING

Residents got their first chance to see detailed site plans for a proposed Food Lion supermarket near Chesapeake Square Mall Wednesday night.

Many didn't like what they saw.

Nearly 40 people attended a meeting of the Western Branch Council of Civic Leagues with a representative of the project's engineering company.

The proposed Food Lion would be built on 4.8 acres of the 11-acre site, said J. Randall Royal, vice president of Engineering Services Inc., which has drawn up plans for the project. Food Lion is the development's only tenant so far.

Residents expressed concerns that an all-night supermarket could attract noisy trucks to residential streets in the middle of the night. Others bristled at the idea of increased traffic, or unsightly loading docks within sight of their homes.

There were also questions about landscaping berms and frontage space and calls for more upscale development.

Jolliff Woods resident Sylvia Watson said she is tired of seeing Food Lion supermarkets on every corner. The area is now home to three Food Lion stores within a square mile. What she wants is a Harris Teeter or Hannaford supermarket.

``People want the super deluxe, high-quality store with the bakery and the cheese shop,'' Watson said. Others warned that upscale shopping districts - such as those in Greenbrier - create problems.

``When you want those stores like Hannaford, you have to take what comes with it - four-lane, bumper-to-bumper traffic,'' said Manette Britt. ``We have to be careful what we ask for, or we just might get it.''

The supermarket is the second new Food Lion to be proposed in Western Branch this year.

The developer of another Food Lion, to be built on Dock Landing Road - a two-lane street - withdrew the rezoning application after complaints from civic leagues and residents.

The developer of a proposed hotel in Western Branch also recently withdrew an application from the city planning department after a citizen outcry.

Those projects may be resubmitted to the Chesapeake Planning Commission, planning commissioner Larry W. Radford said.

Another neighborhood battle may be developing. Gary Szymanski, president of the Council of Civic Leagues, predicts strong opposition to a new Home Depot, proposed for Raintree Road and Hanover Lane.

The planning commission is scheduled to discuss the Food Lion's site plan Sept. 10, Radford said. But discussion of the development will probably be rescheduled for Sept. 24.

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