ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 11, 1996 TAG: 9611110001
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO A CUPPA JOE
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY
Residents of the Williamsburg Manor rental complex in Southwest Roanoke love to watch the animals and look at the trees.
They enjoy the sight of the deer, squirrels and foxes that come from the surrounding woods.
But these are difficult days.
Big yellow 'dozers and scrapers have been rolling across the land above them, making way for Southwoods of Roanoke, a housing development.
"There's not a tree there," lamented Dawn Mathews, who used to sit out back and watch the woods. "Everything is leveled. There's not a tree standing."
"They've taken the top off this daggone ridge between the top of Williamsburg Manor and Moore's," said Jack Light, another resident. "They've taken the whole top off."
"It's difficult," said Gilbert Butler Jr., a partner in Williamsburg Manor, "because at the upper edge of our property, there used to be solid woods, and now it's like a moonscape."
Each weekday when the weather is good, the machinery clanks and roars. Coming soon: the first of 214 units in a settlement of courtyard homes, town houses and condominiums costing up to $300,000 and providing a "secure, non-maintenance lifestyle."
The builders have said the complex will offer the advantages of a single-family living on a private lot, behind security gates, without exterior home or lawn maintenance.
What about the animals?
The neighbors at Williamsburg have no quarrel with that. The owners of the Southwoods property - 60 acres - can do as they choose. They wonder, though, why so many trees had to go.
And some worry about the wildlife, particularly the deer.
Ruth Ratliff said she recently saw a handful of deer "gathered up like they were scared to death." She and others wonder what will become of them.
"There's no question in my mind that they will adapt," said Jim Parkhurst, extension wildlife specialist at Virginia Tech, who is involved in a study of people-deer problems across the state.
"If there are some green strips left, I would not be surprised if you still have deer hanging on."
And if not?
"They'll go someplace," Parkhurst said.
In Roanoke, conflicts between development and deer are rare.
"We don't have any local ordinances that require a developer to consider wildlife as part of the normal development process," said John Marlles, the city's director of planning. State and federal laws cover endangered species, but deer don't fit that profile.
When development comes, they either adapt or move on.
Lots of landscaping promised
Dennis Cronk, the Realtor who is managing the construction and marketing for the project, said that despite appearances, only 11 of Southwoods' 60 acres have been cleared so far. Eventually, 20 acres will be cleared.
The remaining land either has been set aside as green space - a big selling point - or is unsuitable for development.
Phase one of the project calls for construction of 27 courtyard homes and seven town houses over the next three years. Eventually, 78 courtyard homes, 40 town houses and 96 units in a condominium-style building will go up. The development will be heavily landscaped, Cronk said. The purchasers wouldn't have it otherwise.
Butler says he welcomes the addition of "tasteful, well-designed" homes, and he assumes that the community will be a good neighbor.
Cronk said Southwoods will build up the land bordering the top of Williamsburg's property and retain it with a wall 15 feet high and 183 feet long. The wall will be made of material "prettier than stone," and plantings will line the top of it.
Whatever the outcome, the construction has caused Williamsburg's 107 residents, who tend to be older, longtime occupants, to do some adapting. They talk of the heartbreak caused by the destruction of plants and trees, and they wonder what the future will bring.
"Everybody is concerned over the little animals," said a protective Dot Hatcher, property manager at Williamsburg Manor. But Southwoods "is going to be beautiful when they finish it."
The deer could not be reached for comment.
* * *
What's your story? Give me a call at 981-3256, or send a letter to P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010-2491. Or e-mail me at kennxc2roanoke.infi.net
Where the deer and 'dozers play
Residents of the Williamsburg Manor rental complex in Southwest Roanoke love to watch the animals and look at the trees.
They enjoy the sight of the deer, squirrels and foxes that come from the surrounding woods.
But these are difficult days.
Big yellow 'dozers and scrapers have been rolling across the land above them, making way for Southwoods of Roanoke, a housing development.
"There's not a tree there," lamented Dawn Mathews, who used to sit out back and watch the woods. "Everything is leveled. There's not a tree standing."
"They've taken the top off this daggone ridge between the top of Williamsburg Manor and Moore's," said Jack Light, another resident. "They've taken the whole top off."
"It's difficult," said Gilbert Butler Jr., a partner in Williamsburg Manor, "because at the upper edge of our property, there used to be solid woods, and now it's like a moonscape."
Each weekday when the weather is good, the machinery clanks and roars. Coming soon: the first of 214 units in a settlement of courtyard homes, town houses and condominiums costing up to $300,000 and providing a "secure, non-maintenance lifestyle."
The builders have said the complex will offer the advantages of a single-family living on a private lot, behind security gates, without exterior home or lawn maintenance.
What about the animals?
The neighbors at Williamsburg have no quarrel with that. The owners of the Southwoods property - 60 acres - can do as they choose. They wonder, though, why so many trees had to go.
And some worry about the wildlife, particularly the deer.
Ruth Ratliff said she recently saw a handful of deer "gathered up like they were scared to death." She and others wonder what will become of them.
"There's no question in my mind that they will adapt," said Jim Parkhurst, extension wildlife specialist at Virginia Tech, who is involved in a study of people-deer problems across the state.
"If there are some green strips left, I would not be surprised if you still have deer hanging on."
And if not?
"They'll go someplace," Parkhurst said.
In Roanoke, conflicts between development and deer are rare.
"We don't have any local ordinances that require a developer to consider wildlife as part of the normal development process," said John Marlles, the city's director of planning. State and federal laws cover endangered species, but deer don't fit that profile.
When development comes, they either adapt or move on.
Lots of landscaping promised
Dennis Cronk, the Realtor who is managing the construction and marketing for the project, said that despite appearances, only 11 of Southwoods' 60 acres have been cleared so far. Eventually, 20 acres will be cleared.
The remaining land either has been set aside as green space - a big selling point - or is unsuitable for development.
Phase one of the project calls for construction of 27 courtyard homes and seven town houses over the next three years. Eventually, 78 courtyard homes, 40 town houses and 96 units in a condominium-style building will go up. The development will be heavily landscaped, Cronk said. The purchasers wouldn't have it otherwise.
Butler says he welcomes the addition of "tasteful, well-designed" homes, and he assumes that the community will be a good neighbor.
Cronk said Southwoods will build up the land bordering the top of Williamsburg's property and retain it with a wall 15 feet high and 183 feet long. The wall will be made of material "prettier than stone," and plantings will line the top of it.
Whatever the outcome, the construction has caused Williamsburg's 107 residents, who tend to be older, longtime occupants, to do some adapting. They talk of the heartbreak caused by the destruction of plants and trees, and they wonder what the future will bring.
"Everybody is concerned over the little animals," said a protective Dot Hatcher, property manager at Williamsburg Manor. But Southwoods "is going to be beautiful when they finish it."
The deer could not be reached for comment.
* * *
What's your story? Give me a call at 981-3256, or send a letter to P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010-2491. Or e-mail me at kenn@2roanoke.infi.net
LENGTH: Long : 155 linesby CNB