Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 4, 1993 TAG: 9311040588
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY BELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"It took a lot of thought and we apologize for the delay," Councilman Don Davis told developer Dale Wilkinson.
During an Oct. 5 public hearing, Council had deferred action on Wilkinson's request for a special exception to accommodate the assisted-care facility he wanted to build along Hardy Road.
Council members toured similar facilities in the area and obtained more detailed architectural information prior to Tuesday's vote.
Dillon Woods residents had sought to preserve the undeveloped strip along Hardy Road near their homes. But developers and others warned that other businesses could be placed on the property that would be much more disruptive to the community.
Satisfied that the facility would be more residential than commercial, council voted unanimously to grant a special exception for the assisted-care facility, similar to Roanoke's Our Lady of the Valley.
"One of the objectives of this project is to create a residential feel," Developer Dale Wilkinson said.
"We look forward to serving the people of Vinton." Ground breaking may take place as early as spring, Wilkinson said.
In other action:
Council denied the request of Louis A. Somma to operate a video game arcade at 1322 Washington Ave.
"Video game arcades draw undesirable persons like drug dealers and hand-gun salesmen," said Joyce Jenkins who circulated a petition against the business.
"The crime rate in Vinton will escalate," she said.
Vice Mayor Roy McCarty opposed the project because of the potential for youth loitering outside the facility. Councilman Buford Barton felt the project would create too much traffic for the area.
Somma, who did not attend the public hearing, had agreed to certain stipulations imposed by the planning commission when it approved the project, including limiting the hours of operation and providing adult supervision.
But council members unanimously agreed that was not enough to head off potential problems at the arcade.
Somma owns a similar facility in Salem.
Council denied the request of a landowner to keep a pair of Arabian horses on residential property.
Faced with the dilemma of changing Vinton's zoning and animal control ordinances to accommodate the animals, council denied the request of Roger and Debra Wade to keep the animals on town property.
The Wades recently obtained the animals as pets for their children and built stables and fencing before learning they were in violation of town code.
Appealing to council to make an exception, the Wades described the farm-like atmosphere of their property. Several neighbors said they did not object to the animals being located on the Wade's property.
Because of limited land area, Vinton restricts livestock from town limits. Councilman Joe Bush said the town is already too densly populated to alter the ordinance.
The Wades will be required to move the horses outside of Vinton within a reasonable amount of time, Town Manager Clay Goodman said.
by CNB