Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 7, 1993 TAG: 9310070317
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Nearby residents opposed the request on the grounds that an AutoZone store would be incompatible with the lot, which serves as a "gateway" to the neighborhood.
The Planning Commission's 3-1 recommendation now goes to the Board of Supervisors, which has scheduled a public hearing Oct. 26.
The same lot was the site of a rezoning fight in 1979, when owner Floyd T. Critcher applied to use an existing house on the property for a home-interior business.
The Board of Supervisors in 1979 applied strict limits for commercial use of the property after residents voiced concerns.
Critcher wants to lift the conditions so he can sell the property to AutoZone, a Memphis-based company looking at several potential sites in the Roanoke Valley.
According to a preliminary site plan, AutoZone would remove the house and build a 5,400-square-foot store and a parking lot.
In his application, Critcher said an auto parts store would fit along the Brambleton Avenue commercial strip.
But residents who live off Pinevale Road say the store would dump traffic onto their streets and disturb the gateway to their neighborhood.
Their complaints are supported by a Roanoke County Planning Department staff analysis, which concludes that an auto-parts store would not be a suitable transition from the commercial strip to a residential neighborhood.
by CNB