ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – A new development approved at Roanoke County Board of Supervisors Tuesday night hopes to help with the need for housing in the area.
The project was proposed by Dale Wilkinson, a developer who has other projects in the region. Part of the development project is in Botetourt County, but the majority of the development will be in Roanoke County.
The approval from the board of supervisors clears the way for 117 townhomes and 30 single-family houses. The project, which involves rezoning the property from industrial to medium-density residential, faced vocal opposition from local residents, primarily over concerns about increased traffic.
“A traffic study was done and VDOT concurs that traffic will be impacted in the area but it‘s going to get worse anyways. One of the biggest things I would say is before it gets worse anyway, can we do something to make it better,” one resident said at Tuesday‘s public hearing.
The project has been through a few revisions, but the supervisors ultimately approved it 4-0 during Tuesday’s evening session. Supervisor Paul Mahoney was absent.
Wilkinson added four proffered conditions to the application, the first of which states that the property will be developed in general conformance to the final concept plan, which shows a maximum of 147 lots in Roanoke County. Out of these lots, 117 will be townhouses and 30 will be detached single family residences.
The second proffer states that the townhomes and detached homes will be constructed in general conformance to the elevation examples provided in the application.
The last two proffers regard the road connecting the subdivision to Stonegate, Phase 3 and the right-of-way designation along Sanderson Drive for the left-turn lane. Under the proffered conditions, construction of the connector road will begin once the 110th building permit for the development is issued.
Fred Huber and his wife live over near the development site. Both of them spoke at Tuesday’s hearing in regards to traffic and the density.
“I would prefer to see the property be all patio homes and that kind of thing, that would be more appropriate for the area and more useful for the people that need that kind of thing,” Huber said.
The project’s developer, Dale Wilkinson, attempted to address these concerns, explaining that while initial plans show some townhome clusters of nine or ten units, the final layout could be revised to reduce this number.
Despite these objections, the Board of Supervisors approved the rezoning request unanimously, with members emphasizing the pressing need for housing in Roanoke County.
“This is what we have today. We have a need for housing in Roanoke County. If we don’t have the housing they’re going to go to adjoining counties or they’re going to get an apartment and stay there for a long time. This is an opportunity for workforce development housing,” Phil North, Chairman of the supervisors said.
Though the rezoning approval is a significant step forward for the development, the project still requires final site plans and engineering work before construction can begin.
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