THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 16, 1997 TAG: 9701160247
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 56 lines
Today is the last day that civic activists can collect signatures on a petition aimed at stopping a new development between Kempsville and Butts Station roads.
Organizers from adjacent neighborhoods and the Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations must gather nearly 10,000 signatures in their attempt to overturn City Council's approval of the rezoning.
The tactic, allowed by Chesapeake's charter, permits citizens to collect signatures - 15 percent of the number of voters from the last presidential election - and ask the City Council to reconsider the zoning change. If the council affirms its position, the residents will have a chance to vote on the issue themselves.
The approved project, called Warrington Hall, has a special ``planned unit development'' zoning that allows for denser and mixed development. It will include houses, townhouses, condominiums, parks and commercial and office space. Units for the elderly will also be provided.
The petition was filed in Chesapeake Circuit Court the day the council voted for the rezoning. Those who support the petition drive fear city services cannot keep pace with the growth. Roads and schools are already overcrowded, opponents of Warrington Hall say, and a development with increased density won't help local matters.
The petition drive cannot stop development altogether at the site, which was zoned for single-family houses before the denser housing community was approved.
Gene Waters, president of the Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations, said council members have the power to stall development through separate action - and should delay building near all of the city's crowded roads.
``We're not saying they shouldn't ever build, just that they should wait until the road is widened,'' Waters said. ``At 7:30 a.m., Butts Station Road is backed up a quarter-mile. Imagine what will happen with 2,700 more cars.''
The widening of Kempsville Road could possibly begin in 1998 and end in mid-2002. There are no immediate plans to widen Butts Station Road.
Waters said he had no estimate of the number of signatures gathered so far because petitions from the 100 residents circling neighborhoods were not due until Wednesday night or this morning. By early Tuesday, he counted about 1,000 names.
Supporters of the planned unit development say buildings would go up in phases to allow the city time to absorb new people and cars. The property's owner, Carroll Williamson, said the bulk of housing would probably go up before the road widening - but not more houses than would have been built there if the site was not rezoned.
Supporters also said it would provide an alternative housing style for the city. Residents could choose from a variety of housing and walk to some parks and shops along sidewalks.
Williamson, a Chesapeake native who now lives in Boston, said he designed the project to create a neighborhood feeling. He aims to reduce traffic by providing recreational opportunities and services inside the complex.