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

DATE: TUESDAY, December 14, 1993                   TAG: 9312150306
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: KAREN BARNES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

BEDFORD BOARD SINKS BOAT-SHORE `BUFFER'

In an unusual split vote, the Bedford County Board of Supervisors Monday night vetoed a proposal to limit how close Smith Mountain Lake boaters can come to the shore and docks.

The measure called for a buffer zone between boats and docks. Boats with engines of more than 20 horsepower would be required to remain below planing speed within 50 feet of the shore or docks. The violation would be considered a misdemeanor with a possible $250 fine.

The supervisors voted 4-2 to kill the measure, with supervisors Dale Wheeler and James Teass supporting the motion. Supervisors Tony Ware, Gus Saarnijoki, Henry Creasy and Lucille Boggess voted against the measure, and supervisor Calvin Updike was absent.

But the distance proposal has been dead in the water for weeks. Any proposal affecting Smith Mountain Lake must be approved by Bedford, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties. Despite the endorsement of the Smith Mountain Lake Policy Advisory Board, Franklin County's Planning Commission opted to veto the measure, while Pittsylvania County officials have yet to make a decision.

Elizabeth Parcell, executive director of the policy board, recently told Bedford officials that requests for no-wake buoys have increased dramatically over the last several years - from two in 1987 to 12 two years later.

The leading reasons for disagreement among the supervisors seemed to be enforceability and compromising on an alternative. Wheeler voted for the proposal, saying that although he recognized the problem of enforcing the measure, he thought boaters might respect and heed the law. "I've had problems swimming," he said. "I know what it's like to be buzzed."

But the opposition suggested alternatives, such as mandatory safety instruction classes or licensing boat operators. "I don't see that you're going to put speed-limit signs in the lake," Saarnijoki said. "So people who come from other places won't know."

\ BEDFORD COUNTY SUPERVISORS\ IN OTHER ACTION

Factory construction: Approved construction of a fuel-pellet factory in the Little Otter Industrial Park. Montcalm, a Michigan-based company, will provide fuel for the Big Island Georgia Pacific plant and could create as many as 20 jobs. The company is hoping for a winter groundbreaking.

Mixed-use development: Gave the nod to an almost 100-acre mixed-use development in Forest. Jefferson Park, developed by Forest resident Don Reber, will include single-family and multifamily housing, as well as light industrial and commercial tenants on 97.9 acres.

by CNB