Roanoke Mayor Nelson Harris called for a conservation easement to protect Carvins Cove, for a penny of the city’s real estate tax to go toward arts and for the school system to re-evaluate its attendance zones during his state-of-the-city speech this morning.

“By placing most of the 12,000-plus acres in Carvins Cove in a conservation easement, we not only protect our water supply at the reservoir but also keep the cove in its natural state,” Harris said.

Conservation easements are negotiated agreements that permanently restrict development and land use. Last month the Western Virginia Land Trust recommended the Roanoke City Council place an easement on Carvins Cove, as well as on Mill Mountain. Harris said after his speech that placing an easement on Mill Mountain would be “much more difficult” than putting one on Carvins Cove.

Protecting Carvins Cove would require the approval of a majority of the seven-member city council.

More controversial may be the mayor’s proposal to review school attendance zones. Harris said that taking another look at the decades-old zones could reduce transportation costs and strengthen “pride and sense of community” in the neighborhoods around schools.

At least one man in the audience, however, disagreed, telling Harris afterward that revisiting the zones is a bad idea.

The Roanoke School Board discussed the issue in broad terms nearly three months ago, after a consultant with MGT of America suggested the school system could save money by closing at least one underutilized elementary school. The consultant said the Roanoke City Public Schools cannot afford to maintain its 29 schools, many of which need significant repairs or modernization, as enrollment continues to drop. Last year the school system had approximately 12,600 students, down 500 students since 2002. That trend of declining enrollment is projected to continue. The consultant also said by updating attendance zones, which date to the court-approved desegregation plan of the early 1970s, the city could save money on transportation and other efficiencies by moving from three school start times to two.

During the 20-minute speech at the Roanoke Civic Center, the mayor also announced a “clean and green” initiative to target litter and encourage recycling, and he called for Washington Park to be refurbished and upgraded as a “signature park.” He also suggested the council increase local funding for schools by half a million dollars over each of the next five years, and he said the school board should develop financial incentives to place experienced teachers in low-performing schools.