Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 20, 1995 TAG: 9503200022
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FINCASTLE LENGTH: Long
Gwen Johnson's fighting spirit is rooted in her love of Botetourt County.
``I can't think of a place I'd rather live,'' she says. ``It's a special place. It's worth fighting to preserve it.''
In those few words, Johnson outlines the battleground on which county development will be waged. It is a classic conflict pitting the preservation of the county's rural charm against the commercial ventures that serve its growing population.
Johnson and her husband, Rick, have been in the forefront of the conflict. Since September, they have been urging Botetourt residents to get involved.
Now, the Botetourt Citizens For Quality Progress, which Gwen Johnson chairs, boasts a delegation 30 to 40 strong. They have caught the attention of the county's planning commission, which has been receptive to some of their ideas.
The citizens group is pushing planners to modify requirements for setbacks, landscaping, signs and lighting to make future commercial development less intrusive.
They realize that those restraints may come a little too late for portions of the U.S. 220 corridor around Daleville.
``If you live in Daleville and look up in the sky, you can't see the stars because of the lights,'' Johnson said.
Johnson realizes that a no-development stance by the group likely would mean rejection by county officials, who seem intent on pushing ahead with industrial development to help offset the increased cost of providing services to the county's growing population.
``We are not anti-development,'' she said. ``We just want to do it right the first time so we won't need a revitalization project 20 years from now.''
The key to that objective has been the group's ability to establish a working dialogue with county planners, who develop a blueprint for development and set the rules for developers.
Johnson's group has launched a research campaign that gleans information from communities dealing with growing pains in New England and North Carolina.
``Why do we have to go through the process of reinventing the wheel?'' Johnson asked. ``The information on development is endless.''
Equipped with that information, Johnson's group has become astute at talking about making projects visually harmonious with their surroundings and environmentally compatible with adjacent land uses.
That's pretty weighty stuff for a group that came out of the blocks just four months ago. But their efforts appear to be paying off already.
The planning commission appears headed in the direction of more regulations governing landscaping, lighting and signs.
Perhaps the citizens group just stumbled into the issue at the right time. Last year, the county revised its comprehensive plan - a blueprint for development. This year, the planning commission is working on its zoning ordinance, which outlines the rules on how development will proceed.
``Their timing is perfect,'' County Administrator Gerald Burgess said. ``I haven't seen anything but willingness on the part of the planning commission and board of supervisors to listen to their concerns.''
The problem comes in balancing individual property rights and preservation of the county's aesthetics.
In its comprehensive plan, the planning commission tried to address that concern. Industrial sites are pocketed along major highways such as U.S. 11, U.S. 220 and Interstate 81.
Commercial pockets are scattered along the U.S. 220 corridor around Daleville, Fincastle and Troutville. Most of the land remains agricultural, requiring developers to seek zoning changes to build houses or stores.
Still, there are worries. When Food Lion took out an option on land near Daleville, some worried that it would be incompatible with uses of surrounding land.
Peggy Davis, a member of Johnson's group, said the store would be bordered on one side by a historic cemetery.
``Can you imagine conducting a funeral on the Fourth of July while people come out of the store with beer and potato chips?'' she asked.
Developer Jim Hancock has offered to plant trees to buffer the cemetery from the shopping area. He also has committed himself to nearly a dozen restrictions to make the project more compatible with its surroundings.
Chuck Supan, the county's zoning administrator, said such testy issues will become more common as the county grows.
``Government by itself cannot solve these problems,'' Supan said. ``We are experiencing what Roanoke and other communities experienced 20 years ago.''
With growth issues as the focal point, the role of the planning commission will become more important, Supan said. The planning commission recommends to the board of supervisors which projects should be allowed.
``The planning commission is the lightning rod for the community at this particular junction,'' Supan said. ``They don't want to make a mistake. If you make a mistake in planning, it is forever.''
On that matter, Johnson agrees:
``Once you tear up the land and pour the concrete, it's pretty definite.''
by CNB