DATE: Friday, July 25, 1997                 TAG: 9707250721

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   40 lines

CHESAPEAKE REQUIRES OK FOR TRASH STATIONS ORDINANCE FOLLOWS PROTESTS OVER PLAN FOR SOUTH NORFOLK.

Before an audience of about 100 South Norfolk residents, the City Council on Thursday unanimously passed an emergency ordinance requiring that any and all trash terminals pass through the city's approval process.

The emergency ordinance was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission on Wednesday and passed by the City Council after local residents learned that a Richmond business wanted to unload garbage on 23 acres along South Norfolk's waterfront near the Jordan Bridge.

News of the proposal in June surprised many residents of South Norfolk, who then accused city officials of attempting to sneak the issue through during a time when South Norfolk is trying to revitalize.

City officials denied this, and immediately took steps to control the facility's approval. Without Thursday's emergency ordinance, the facility would have required a simple administrative review and no public input.

Thursday's decision seemed to end the acrimony. Residents left satisfied, even giving the council's decision some muted applause.

But the issue is far from settled. The business - Environmental Solutions Inc. - has yet to formally submit an application for the facility.

Some at Thursday's meeting said the city's new ordinance was legally weak and could result in court challenges, a statement denied by City Attorney Ronald Hallman. Others said the facility should be outlawed altogether.

Del. Lionell Spruill Jr., a resident of South Norfolk, said he plans to introduce legislation forbidding the importation of all trash.

``How can God's country look good,'' he said, ``if the rose garden is messed up?''

Then there's the issue of the site itself. The owners of the property, Brenda and W.W. Phil Robinson, said they have invested close to $1 million in cleaning up the lead-contaminated property, only to be met with resistance to their proposed use, a use they say is environmentally friendly and could employ as many as 150 people.

``This is a very lonely job up here,'' Brenda Robinson said.

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