Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 13, 1993 TAG: 9310130259
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a 3-2 decision, the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors agreed to a plan that Boone said would not distract from views along the scenic highway.
The supervisors went ahead with the vote despite a plea from retired Congressman James Olin to wait until everyone had a better idea of how many houses in Boone's subdivision will be visible from the parkway.
"I'm just not too optimistic of how this will look," said Olin, one of the final speakers during a 2 1/2-hour public hearing.
The board's decision was the first time in history that a locality along the 470-mile Blue Ridge Parkway tried to protect scenic vistas through zoning regulations.
What exactly was achieved may not be known for years, when Boone completes his subdivision off Cotton Hill Road.
Supporters say the agreement struck a workable compromise between a property owner's right to develop his land and the public's interest in preserving parkway views.
Boone's partnership, Boone, Boone & Loeb, agreed to limit development on part of the farm - an 8-acre grassy knoll - that sits directly on the parkway and is highly visible to passing motorists. Under a consent decree, the company would build five houses on the knoll.
In addition, Boone said he would not build any houses on the knoll for five years to give the Blue Ridge Parkway or preservationists a chance to buy the property.
The price, however, is a subject of dispute. Boone had said the price would be no more than $405,000, which would include his cost of $15,000 per acre and the cost of building a road and utilities through the knoll.
Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a volunteer group, has said the cost was too high for it to consider.
Tuesday, Boone said he could move the roads to offer preservationists a chance to buy the knoll and some adjoining land - 16 acres in all - for about his cost of $15,000 per acre.
Some preservationists questioned whether saving the knoll would be worth the effort.
County planners say as many as a dozen houses may be visible from the parkway - even if nothing is built in the knoll.
"You'll be able to see a little green area surrounded by a bunch of houses," said Olin, a Roanoke Democrat who established a reputation as a conservationist during his 10 years in Congress.
"I don't really know what you have achieved."
Windsor Hills Supervisor Lee Eddy tried unsuccessfully to delay a decision so that the board could get a better idea of what Boone was proposing.
Eddy noted the board had not even seen a development plan for the subdivision. He also said more consideration should be given to a cluster-home concept that would leave more open space along the parkway.
After his motion to delay failed, the board voted 3-2 to rezone the property from agricultural to residential. Supporting were supervisors Bob Johnson, Hollins District; Harry Nickens, Vinton District; and Ed Kohinke, Catawba District. Opposed were Fuzzy Minnix, Cave Spring District; and Eddy.
Johnson said he prefered to see nothing built on the knoll but added that the county had no right to take away Boone's property rights without compensation.
"We still live in a constitutional democracy, thank God," said Johnson, who is a real estate developer.
Johnson went on the attack when Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Gary Everhardt said that local governments, through zoning regulations, have the primary responsibility for preserving vistas of private property outside the narrow parkway corridor.
"I feel like I just watched Pontius Pilate washing his hands and passing the bowl," Johnson said. ". . . That is a bunch of garbage.
"Don't say to me that I am going to establish a precedent tonight. Where was the parkway 20 years ago, 10 years ago?"
Everhardt did not respond.
The parkway debate, which began nearly a year ago, is far from over.
Boone still is suing Roanoke County for the right to develop another 235 acres directly across the parkway from the property rezoned Tuesday. Another developer, L.T. McGhee, is seeking to develop a parkway property below the Read Mountain Overlook, near Vinton.
by CNB