
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 25, 1993                   TAG: 9308250272
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SUPERVISOR: `I'M NOT FOR SALE'

Roanoke County Supervisor Bob Johnson says his acceptance of a $250 campaign contribution from developer Len Boone will not sway his position on Boone's controversial plan to build houses along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

"I'm not for sale," Johnson said. "Len Boone has contributed to every political campaign I've ever run. I've voted against him, and I've voted for him."

Johnson, who faces two opponents in his bid to retain his Hollins District seat, said he opposes Boone's plan to build houses on certain sections of a Southwest Roanoke County farm bisected by the scenic parkway.

A Roanoke County panel has identified two sections of the farm - a 25-acre bowl and a 10-acre knoll - as critical to parkway vistas. Boone has sued the county for the right to develop the entire farm, known as the Beasley property.

"I am not for building in the bowl and the knoll," Johnson said.

A request to rezone Boone's property is expected to come before the Board of Supervisors this fall, possibly before the Nov. 2 election.

Johnson, himself a real-estate developer, has taken the position that Boone should be compensated if the county takes away his right to develop the parkway property.

One of Johnson's opponents, Republican Brenda Flora Wainwright, said she would not make an issue of the $250 contribution.

"I think the amount does not indicate any conflict," Wainwright said. "I would not look at it as someone trying to work a deal."

But Independent Charles Millican said he would be hesitant to accept donations from prominent developers who deal with the county.

"If you don't accept anything, you don't owe anything," Millican said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, has declined to take a position on the parkway vista issue.

The federal government may have the final say in the matter because Boone needs an easement from the National Park Service to get sewer lines to the southern - and largest - part of the Beasley property.

The National Parks and Conservation Association has called for the National Park Service to allow sewer lines to cross the parkway only if Boone agrees to preserve the bowl and knoll.

Tim Phillips, Goodlatte's administrative assistant, said the congressman is monitoring the situation but has not intervened with the Park Service.

by CNB