THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 21, 1994 TAG: 9412210271
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
For a few minutes Tuesday, it looked as if the man who built a Fortune 500 meatpacking empire would be stopped from building a small footbridge in his own back yard.
But after a passionate plea and some cajoling, Joseph W. Luter III once again got his way.
Over the objections of staff experts and protesting neighbors, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted 5-1 to allow Luter, the feisty head of Smithfield Foods Inc., to build a 10-foot-high bridge across narrow Tormentor Creek on his rural estate in Isle of Wight County.
Commission member Peter Rowe was the lone dissenter, saying he did not appreciate ``what sounded like a threat'' from Luter to turn hundreds of acres of country quiet into suburban sprawl if the commission barred his bridge.
Before the vote, a frustrated Luter - who rarely comments in public on business matters, let alone community squabbles - said of his 1,800 acres of pristine farmland and wilderness: ``If I can't use it for what I want, my alternative is to develop it.''
Luter told the commission he needs the 8-foot-wide, 450-foot-long bridge to fully enjoy his property, which is divided by Tormentor Creek, a thin, marshy stream that meanders into the Pagan River.
No one argued that Luter's bridge would hurt the creek or threaten water quality. But commission staffers recommended that the bridge not be built, citing the ``unique aesthetic qualities of this largely undeveloped waterway.''
Nine times out of 10, Luter said, he walks or gazes across his estate as relaxation from his harried days as chief executive officer of the largest pork-packing company on the East Coast.
However, the 10th time - and this is the one neighbors fear - he might use the bridge while cruising in one of his all-terrain vehicles, which he and his family and friends sometimes drive for fun.
Neighbor Rosa Lee Collins-Barlow complained that such noisy vehicles might tear up salt marsh and scare away birds. Coupled with the presence of a bridge near her home, Barlow said, the project would ruin the serenity she has enjoyed along the creek since she moved there in 1987.
Stressing that the commission routinely approves such small-item permits, Luter said he didn't object when piers were installed along the creek, nor did he complain when Barlow herself built a dock there.
Luter has had confrontations with environmental boards before. But never because of a footbridge.
He threatened to move his company's headquarters to North Carolina when Virginia officials told Smithfield Foods that it had to significantly reduce phosphorus pollution in the Pagan River. The dispute was later settled, and Smithfield stayed put. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Joseph W. Luter III, the head of Smithfield Foods Inc., may build a
bridge on his land over Tormentor Creek.
Color staff map
Area Shown: Footbridge crossing Tormentor Creek
by CNB