DATE: Wednesday, October 29, 1997           TAG: 9710290651

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TONI GUAGENTI, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   41 lines

LAST CHANCE: BEACH HOLDS ITS FINAL PLANNING FORUM

Citizens had their final chance Tuesday to speak in a public forum about what they want their city to look like someday.

The City Council heard from 12 people during its final public hearing on its Comprehensive Plan, a blueprint meant to guide future development.

The council could vote on the plan as early as next Tuesday.

About half of the people who spoke endorsed the city's efforts to maintain the rural character of the city's southern section and the urban flavor of the north.

The city has been working on the 600-page, two-volume document for nearly two years, receiving input from citizens throughout the process.

Two parts of the document include saving the rural portion of the city by prohibiting large-scale development, and rebuilding the blighted areas and aging housing in the north.

In other business, the council approved a proposal making it easier for residents to build additions onto their homes for elderly relatives.

The proposal, approved by a 10-0 vote, is a change in the zoning code that would allow people to build an addition onto a single-family home on any size lot. The additions have been dubbed mother-in-law suites, granny flats, accessory apartments or flex suites.

The law now says the suites must be built on lots of a half-acre or larger. These units include a kitchen area with a stove, which sets them apart from most home additions.

People would not need a special-use permit to build the suites.

The zoning changes were part of a recommendation made in August by a committee studying senior housing issues.

Before asking that the changes be approved, Councilwoman Barbara M. Henley, who chairs the ongoing Senior Housing Committee, recommended that the council review the changes in one year to make sure the law isn't being abused.

Some people feared the single-family character of residential neighborhoods would be destroyed by the changes. Officials say they have built safeguards into the law to prevent that from happening. KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL

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