THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, July 20, 1994               TAG: 9407200387
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                           LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines

STATE'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FORMS COALITION WITH CITIES THEY HOPE TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO URBAN PROBLEMS THAT COULD HAMPER VIRGINIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH.

Saying the state's economy cannot be healthy if core cities are ailing, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and a dozen urban areas joined forces Tuesday to find a cure for inner-city problems.

The Partnership for Urban Virginia - led by chamber executive Jean Clary and Hampton Mayor James L. Eason - will present its recommendations to the 1996 General Assembly.

Eason said the partnership's success will depend on its ability to make the case that festering crime, unemployment and social ills in core cities are choking the state's economic vitality.

``For us to be successful, we must prove they are having a direct impact on the competitiveness issue,'' Eason said during a news conference in the courtyard of the Valentine Riverside museum.

Urban representatives were quick to reassure suburban counties that they are not trying to boost their fortunes at their neighbors' expense.

``This is not about annexation,'' Eason said. ``. . . There is no hidden agenda.''

But the urban leaders refused to rule out seeking renewed annexation powers for cities in search of expanded tax bases and land. Since 1979, core cities have been barred from expanding their boundaries.

Some organizers of the urban partnership, most notably Mayor David Bowers of Roanoke, said Virginia's system of independent cities has hurt the state's ability to compete with neighboring states, such as North Carolina.

Bowers said Tuesday that the partnership should not be cast as an urban vs. suburban contest.

``These are extreme social and economic problems that know no boundaries,'' he said.

Jim Campbell, executive director of the Virginia Association of Counties, said his organization would try to assist the urban initiative, provided the partnership does not tinker with annexation or otherwise hurt the interests of counties.

In addition to Hampton and Roanoke, localities that have joined the partnership are Arlington County, Charlottesville, Danville, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Petersburg, Portsmouth and Richmond.

Neal J. Barber, a former director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, has been named executive director. The partnership plans to hold two summit meetings, in December and May, to develop a legislative agenda. by CNB