
DATE: Sunday, September 7, 1997             TAG: 9709070090

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  104 lines

IN PORTSMOUTH: VISIONS CLASH ON STORAGE FACILITY CITY FORSEES GROWTH; RESIDENTS FEAR CRIME

Citizens on West Norfolk Road and in the nearby subdivisions of River Pointe and Hunters Point have a vision for their community.

They'd like a quiet place that will attract retired military personnel and wholesome families.

They'd like a place where their grandchildren can play safely.

Their vision doesn't include storage facilities beyond their back yards.

Such commercial facilities, they contend, will harbor crime and devalue their homes.

But the city of Portsmouth has a vision, too.

The city fathers want to attract more jobs to the area. They want economic development in a city that doesn't have the potential for much growth.

That's why the Planning Commission endorsed a rezoning for a piece of residential land sandwiched between West Norfolk Road and the Western Freeway to build storage facilities. City estimates predict the project could earn Portsmouth more than$22,000 in taxes annually.

Robert C. Barclay IV, a planning commissioner who voted to recommend approval, said his decision was a hard one. But he's trying to balance the needs of the overall city, not just the residents in the nearby communities.

``We're always talking about how cash-strapped Portsmouth is and how we don't have room for growth,'' Barclay observed. ``It's a tough balancing act. This is not Virginia Beach.''

But neighbors say the Planning Commission ignored the city's own vision for the parcel.

The Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 1989, recommended the property remain residential.

``It's not going along with their vision,'' said Nancy L. Kelly, president of the Hunters Point Civic League. ``I can't envision any military personnel wanting to come here if they do that.''

The final decision will be made by the City Council.

Tuesday night it will deliberate the rezoning request by C. Raeford Eure, the engineer on the project. Eure is asking to change the land use from single family and multi-family residential to commercial so a developer can build several storage facilities.

The matter was deferred at council's last meeting Aug. 12.

Some on council, such as Councilman Cameron C. Pitts, said the city should stick to the intent of the Comprehensive Plan.

``It's my feeling that the leadership of this city wants to enhance the livability and tranquility of their communities,'' said Pitts. ``If the Comprehensive Plan has no teeth in it, then why do we adhere to it?''

But City Planner Mike J. Kelly noted that the Comprehensive Plan is merely a blueprint for development and is not binding.

Kelly said a number of areas near the site are already zoned for commercial uses.

It isn't just the aesthetics that concern neighbors. They also are worried about the effect the storage facilities could have on their community.

Civic President Kelly said she began studying crime and storage facilities earlier this spring when the matter was presented to the Planning Commission.

She said she has found numerous crime reports and statistics showing that thieves have used storage facilities elsewhere to deposit corpses or conduct drug buys.

And many neighbors don't want to see the narrow stretch of woods disappear.

`We have a lot of memories out there,'' Peggy McManus said wistfully. ``My children used to have swings out there in the woods.''

Said Kenneth McManus: ``It would only be an insane person to want something so ungodly in their back yard.''

Builder Kenneth R. Gill, however, said his storage facilities will provide a service to the nearby subdivisions, especially retirees who live in River Pointe townhouses who need the additional storage for furniture.

Gill said he is willing to work with the residents. He said he will beef up security measures and the facilities will have a Colonial Williamsburg-type facade, as well as flowers. He said he also has scaled down the facility to ensure that he could keep a number of the pine trees the residents cherish. Gill projected that 56 vehicles will travel in and out of the facility a day. A couple will be hired to live on site and monitor the security system and grounds, he said.

``I have a right to develop my land,'' Gill said. ``It should be developed to the highest use for Portsmouth in order to broaden the tax base.''

Neighbors have packed previous council meetings in opposition and promise to turn out in force Tuesday. It is a community that has a history of successful protest.

In the 1980s, it fought to get rid of a go-go bar. Several years later, citizen protests forced Cogentrix to find another route for moving its coal trains.

But blocking the rezoning may not be the end for neighbors.

Real estate records show that the property is owned by Hampton Roads Affordable Housing Corp., a nonprofit organization that provides low- to moderate-income housing. The organization owns several moderate-income townhouses near the site.

Glenn Yates, president of the nonprofit organization, said he and Gill plan to close on the property later this month.

If it isn't rezoned, Gill said he hasn't figured out what he will do with it.

``Whatever will conform to being sandwiched between a railroad and an interstate,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

JOHN H. SHEALLY II/The Virginian-Pilot

Kenneth McManus doesn't want trees behind his house cut down for

storage facilities.

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[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]