DATE: Wednesday, November 5, 1997           TAG: 9711050456

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEWIS KRAUSKOPF, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   72 lines

CHESAPEAKE GROUP SEEKS GROWTH CONTROLS

The forest that Gail Stephenson remembers behind her home has been replaced by a concrete garden.

The Plantation Lakes woman has slowly seen the woods disappear from her back yard. In their stead, subdivisions have risen. And the 11-year resident yearns for the days of greener pastures.

``Chesapeake used to be land of trees,'' she said. ``Now it's land of buildings.''

That's why Stephenson signed a petition Tuesday that she hopes will lead to stronger controls over the city's booming residential growth.

On a day Virginians chose their governor, Chesapeake voters also got a chance to move toward the city's first advisory referendum - and a chance to give their opinions on managing growth.

Volunteers from the Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations manned 27 of the 45 precincts on Tuesday hoping to obtain the bulk of the 16,260 signatures needed to put the question on the May ballot.

George Barham didn't need any persuading to sign. The real-estate appraiser has lived in Greenbrier nearly 20 years and says he has seen developers run roughshod over the city.

``They give nothing back,'' he said.

``They don't put in infrastructure when they're developing.''

Barham signed at the New Life Fellowship church polling station, where about 300 had signed by about 11 a.m.

Loss of green space, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and too many portable classrooms were cited by residents as evidence of poorly managed growth.

Bryan Jones doesn't want to see Chesapeake turn into another Virginia Beach.

``I moved here to get away from that,'' said Jones, a Norfolk native who lived in Virginia Beach before moving to Chesapeake. ``Too many people are here now, too many cars. . . . It's losing the atmosphere.''

Teresa Lucas Cutter disagrees.

``It's too country,'' said Cutter of the city. She moved from Sacramento, Calif., to the Riverwalk neighborhood four years ago. ``I don't have a problem with growth. I think it's necessary.''

Cutter didn't sign.

Margaret Saunders said she doesn't want to stifle growth. But she signed the petition because she worries about residential growth outpacing services such as roads.

``I believe that we need to move with greater caution to determine the impact this will have,'' Saunders said.

The question that would be placed on the ballot is an advisory referendum, which does not obligate the City Council to act. It merely tells the city and state what the voters want.

The Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations has until the end of February to turn in the 16,260 signatures - one-fourth of the 65,038 residents who voted in the last presidential election.

The group was hoping to get about 10,000 signatures Tuesday. Members then plan to canvass public places - such as libraries and post offices - and solicit volunteers to go door to door to obtain the remaining signatures.

Adrian Mostoller, a Hunningdon Lakes resident, was one of those who signed Tuesday.

He believes in more stringent growth management, but regardless of one's opinion, he thought the question should be on the ballot to give citizens a voice on the issue.

``I'd think everybody would like to have their say, whether they agree with it or not,'' he said. MEMO: More information is available by calling the CCCO at 547-8885. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

RICHARD L. DUNSTON

The Virginian-Pilot

Charlie Johnson and Eunice Johnson... KEYWORDS: GROWTH CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCIL

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