Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 27, 1995 TAG: 9509270041
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
After hearing from a stampede of horse lovers Monday, the county Planning Commission voted 8-1 to recommend allowing horses to be kept in subdivisions on a limited basis.
The revised code - which would allow two horses per five acres, up to a maximum of four on 10 acres - was spurred by a dispute among landowners. After a neighbor complained, a resident of the Deercroft subdivision was told to remove his horse because the county's subdivision ordinance prohibited "livestock."
The county responded by placing a conditional endorsement of horses in subdivisions on the table, much to the satisfaction of a roomful of speakers who attended a joint public hearing with the planning commissioner and supervisors.
Horses, they said, are good for the county's rural atmosphere, real estate prices and agribusinesses. They also make good neighbors and keep children out of trouble.
"Please endorse the horse," said Janet Niewald, one of a number of advocates who spoke.
Although they were numerically overwhelmed, three speakers did ask officials to pursue the matter at a slower pace.
Members of the Planning Commission also bridled, despite their favorable vote. Asked earlier by the supervisors to review the matter, the commissioners replied that horses and houses should be regulated by a comprehensive animal control ordinance rather than through zoning codes.
In particular, the interpretation of language in the revised ordinance that says "sufficient" shelter and fencing will be required to keep horses might lead to trouble, commission member Harry Neumann said.
"What happens to the man who is caught with 4.99 acres?" asked commission member Joe Draper.
In the end, all members except Ray Alcorn voted to recommend the changes to the supervisors, who will have the final say at their Oct. 10 meeting.
The Planning Commission also voted 8-1 not to recommend rezoning 12 acres on Firetower Road from agricultural to industrial status. Hollybrook Sawdust and Mulch, Inc. had requested the change.
Owner J.E. Bolt said Hollybrook needs the site to expand its retail operations. Residential neighbors, brandishing a 132-signature petition, said during a public hearing that the Hollybrook plant is noisy, dusty and big enough already.
The commission voted last year to deny a similar rezoning request from Hollybrook after neighbors complained. Commissioner Richard Sullivan was the lone vote to approve the rezoning, which also will be considered by the supervisors Oct. 10.
During its own meeting on other matters, the Board of Supervisors voted to adjust overpayments by applicants for concealed weapons permits. They reduced fees for fingerprinting, a requirement for background checks, from $24 to $10.
A new concealed weapons law sets a $50 limit on local charges for permit applications. Montgomery County has been charging a higher amount - $63 - for processing fees to the clerk's office and state police, and for fingerprinting and criminal background checks.
The new charge of $49 was approved 6-1 with some grumbling by board members. Montgomery County is one of few localities that require a comprehensive national criminal check by the FBI, a more expensive procedure that Supervisor Joe Gorman called "a luxury."
"We should not have to go in the hole for someone to have a permit," he added. But he voted for reducing the fee, unlike fellow board member Jim Moore.
Moore cast his negative vote in protest of what he called a "ridiculous" new state law that allows virtually any law-abiding citizen to carry a concealed weapon.
The board also agreed to refund a total of $1,384 to 99 people who paid the higher amount when they applied for a concealed weapons permit.
In other business, the board:
Set a Nov. 13 public hearing to consider the impact of the proposed "smart" road's route through the 2,800-acre Wilson Run agricultural and forestal district;
Voted to renew two agricultural and forestal districts at Prices Fork and Catawba roads totaling 8,600 acres, add a total of 212 acres to districts at Little River and Elliston-Peddlar Hills, and to create a new Taylor Hollow district of 247, the county's 15th;
Heard a presentation from Supervisor Jim Moore about negotiations with a School Board committee concerning expansion and renovations plans for Blacksburg Middle School;
Heard complaints from Lafayette residents about a Department of Transportation plan to build a new access road to the community for emergency access when the nearby Roanoke River floods;
Had a brief executive session with Don Moore, the county's economic development director, about prospective new industries.
by CNB