DATE: Wednesday, November 12, 1997          TAG: 9711120495

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MATTHEW DOLAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   69 lines

SEWERS: A LIFELINE FOR CITY'S GROWTH? CHESAPEAKE BOARD CONSIDERS EXTENDING SERVICES TO SOUTHERN REACHES; BUILDING SPURT COULD FOLLOW.

The Planning Commission is scheduled to vote tonight on a sewer line plan that could open more than 2,000 yet-untapped acres for development in the city's southern reaches.

``I see it as a defining moment for growth in the city of Chesapeake,'' said Debbie Ritter, the commission's vice chairwoman. ``Suburban development, as we know it, follows the city's sewer service. Any time there is a large expansion, the possibility always exists that suburban development will expand in the near future.''

Extending the sewer lines, known as the South Battlefield Interceptor and the Southeastern Interceptor, could cost the city $100 million in new capital needs, according to a staff analysis of the project.

But that's money the city doesn't have, officials said.

The planning staff has recommended that the lines be approved, but only if the path not be moved and if hook-ups are allowed just in suburban areas.

``The extension of sewer by means of the South Battlefield Interceptor and the Southeastern Interceptor would introduce sewerage into areas not previously envisioned for development,'' Assistant Planning Director Karen E. Shaffer wrote to the commission last week.

In practical terms, the two lines could mean that between 1,900 and 5,000 new homes could be built on properties they serve. The sewer extension also could prompt a need for $49.7 million in new and expanded schools and $8.8 million in water system improvements.

Planning officials said only a portion of the sewer line and land for an additional high school in southern Chesapeake have received city funding.

Tonight, the commission will consider only whether the Southeastern Interceptor is in compliance with the city's Comprehensive Plan for development. The commission's vote can be appealed to the City Council for further review or to the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, which would build the sewer lines.

The Southeastern sewer line would extend along Centerville Turnpike from Fentress Road to Etheridge Manor Boulevard. It would then follow Etheridge Manor west to Hillwell Road and south to Battlefield Boulevard, eventually connecting to a sewer line along Battlefield.

Ritter, who recently was not reappointed to the commission but is an outspoken advocate for managed growth, said she expects that at least 93 acres would be opened to development from the Southeastern Interceptor alone.

That line could yield anywhere from 93 to 242 new homes based on existing and surrounding zoning requirements.

``That could be over $10 million in city services,'' she said. ``That's a lot of money for taxpayers.''

The spark for these new sewer lines was generated in 1989, when the City Council approved a rezoning for the Edinburgh development.

Edinburgh is planned for a 277.8-acre site across Battlefield Boulevard South from Southeastern Elementary School, but construction of the 220-home golf course community hasn't begun because it lacks city sewer service.

Under an agreement with the city, that project also can't begin until the new Route 168 is complete, which isn't expected for another three to four years.

The Edinburgh developers have offered to pay for the $1.33 million South Battlefield line, which would run south to the site from the Great Bridge sewer service area. That line will need approval only from the HRSD, which officials said they would grant if the Southeastern line is approved by the planning commission.

HRSD officials, who asked the city to review the proposed sewer lines, have acknowledged that the two sewer lines could speed up development of the area.

The Southeastern Interceptor would be an extension of an HRSD line that ends at the intersection of Fentress Road and Centerville Turnpike. It would not be built until Chesapeake needed it, officials said.

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