ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602210069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
Roanoke County planners will meet tonight to hear from West County residents who are worried about plans to rezone a large farm near their homes for an industrial park.
Many residents weren't satisfied with an informational meeting the county held in November and asked for another.
Tonight at 7, county planners and administrators and residents will meet in the Glenvar High School Auditorium. The county staff will let them in on plans for the 457-acre farm off Glenmary Drive as well as four other sites in West Roanoke County. Residents then will have an opportunity to air their concerns.
``We're going there to listen,'' said Roanoke County Economic Development Director Tim Gubala.
Six years ago, Gubala began looking for prime land in the county to turn into industrial and commercial sites. The idea was to rezone before residential developers could develop the land.
Land banking, as the practice is called, allows the county to rezone parcels for commercial or industrial development before the property has a prospective buyer.
Gubala and the county's Industrial Development Authority have submitted requests for more than 40 sites to be rezoned countywide. Five are in West Roanoke County.
Residents of Glenvar Heights Road, most of whose properties abut the farm, say an industrial park is not compatible with their residential setting.
Charles Landis, a government teacher at Salem High School and a former Roanoke vice mayor, has more than 70 signatures on a petition opposing any rezoning of the residential land.
``I can't express enough how upset the people are with the county,'' Landis said.
Landis points to past problems with industry polluting ground water in West Roanoke County. In a Big Hill neighborhood, for example, wells were contaminated by chromium from now-defunct Matthews Electroplating. The county had to install a public water line to serve those residents.
``The county is saying, `Trust us,''' Landis said. ``But based upon the county's history in our area, the people will not trust the county.''
Although the farm has raised the most concerns from residents, county Director of Planning and Zoning Terry Harrington said that citizens will be able to discuss tonight any of the proposed rezonings in West Roanoke County.
Other proposed rezonings include:
80 acres near West River Road and Dry Hollow Road. The land is zoned for agricultural, and is requested to be rezoned for industrial use.
42.6 acres near Virginia 419 and Virginia 311 in Hanging Rock to be rezoned from agricultural to commercial. Also, seven tracts, each 2 acres or smaller, are requested to be rezoned to commercial. Those properties are zoned either agricultural or residential.
11 acres east of Wildwood Road, north of Interstate 81, to be rezoned from agricultural to commercial.
7 acres in the Campbell Hills subdivision area near the Roanoke County-Montgomery County line, west of U.S. 11/460, to be rezoned from agricultural to commercial.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map by staff.by CNB