DATE: Thursday, November 13, 1997           TAG: 9711130506

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MATTHEW DOLAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   59 lines

PLANNING COMMISSION REJECTS CHESAPEAKE SEWER LINE PLAN

The Planning Commission unanimously voted against a new sewer line plan Wednesday that could have opened up more than 2,000 acres in the city for development.

Though the vote was solely over whether a proposed sewer line plan, known as the Southeastern Interceptor, was in compliance with the city's Comprehensive Plan, the commission's decision had far-reaching implications.

The timing and placement of the southeastern sewer line and another connecting line raised policy questions about the scope and pace of the city's sprawling suburban growth. The land affected by the sewer line was not slated for development for another 20 years, according to the city's planners.

Commission Vice Chairwoman Debbie Ritter said that approving the southeastern line would be premature.

The city does not have the projected $10 million in funding for necessary improvements to the water system, parks and recreation, police, fire, and schools for the development that could have been served by the new sewer line, Ritter said.

Approving the Southeastern Interceptor ``would fly in the face of the city's responsibility to provide for (capital facility) needs,'' Ritter said.

But the Planning Commission's vote could be appealed. The City Council would review the plan if a city council member or the Hampton Roads Sanitation District is dissatisfied with the commission's decision.

Officials with the sanitation district, which would fund and build the Southeastern Interceptor, have said they would not build another sewer line that the city needs until the city's planning commission approved the southeastern sewer line.

The city needs a sewer line known as the South Battlefield Interceptor to service the approved, but not-yet-built, development known as Edinburgh. Construction of the 220-home golf course community hasn't begun because it lacks city sewer service.

The sanitation district has only recently linked the sewer line projects.

The Southeastern Interceptor originally was planned to run in the city's rural and countryside districts, a position that made it incompatible with the Comprehensive Plan.

Then the sanitation district moved the line north through a more amenable suburban section of Great Bridge - a move thought to pave the way for Edinburgh to receive sewer connections.

But that realignment could also allow for up to 5,000 homes to be built in an area of Chesapeake not scheduled to grow until well into the next century.

If all of the land served by the two main sewer lines were developed, the bill could total $48.5 million in required capital facilities, such as new schools, road improvements and parks.

But if the growth in that region south of Great Bridge mirrors typical suburban densities in the city, the figure could approach $96 million.

Most of the capital projects required for development in that region have not been funded by the city.

A majority of the rural land in this part of southern Chesapeake is not zoned for residential developments and would require review of the Planning Commission and approval by the City Council. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

Area Shown: Chesapeake

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu