ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, November 26, 1996 TAG: 9611260124
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WINDMILL POINT
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A proposal to build a 625-foot public fishing pier has drawn opposition from residents of an adjacent community of expensive town houses.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission will consider the project today.
The issue pits residents at the tip of an isolated peninsula against pier advocates who say Virginia needs to improve access to saltwater fishing sites. The Lancaster County Board of Supervisors and a VMRC advisory committee have endorsed the project.
Charles Bernhardt, one of many owners of $170,000 town houses near the pier site, said the project is good, but the location is undesirable.
``If we had the space here for it, I wouldn't object to it,'' Bernhardt said. He said the sliver of public right-of-way, which once was a steamboat landing, is inadequate to hold the number of cars the pier would attract.
County leaders say VMRC has no business considering issues such as parking. ``If we're wrong with this, I think we'll find out at election time,'' said Howard Whay, the county supervisor who represents the district where the pier is proposed.
Since requiring saltwater fishing licenses in 1993, VMRC has collected about $1.3 million a year and spends it on projects to improve saltwater angling and the population of saltwater gamefish.
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