Friday, April 30, 2004
There's more to Blacksburg election than the sewer
Town council candidates are also campaigning for affordable housing, neighborhood preservation and "smart growth."
The Toms Creek sewer has been the big, divisive issue in this year's Blacksburg Town Council race, but there's plenty more that the six candidates running for three seats would like to talk about.
"I'm glad it raised the prominence of the election," candidate Paul Lancaster said Thursday about the sewer. "But there are other things we need to be worried about."
The most immediate result of Tuesday's election, of course, seems certain to be the fate of the town's plan to build a conventional sewer through the Toms Creek Basin, the last section of town that remains fairly rural. Sewer supporters hope Tuesday's election will maintain or even increase the narrow council majority that has backed the sewer. Opponents hope to gain a majority on the council and pursue an alternative plan.
The result has been one of the fiercest Blacksburg election campaigns in years. A new citizens group is rallying residents behind candidates who oppose the sewer. A group of businesspeople - at least some of whom live outside the town - is helping sewer supporters. Two residents filed a lawsuit earlier this month that temporarily halted the award of sewer construction contracts while the court works out their challenge to the $7.6 million bond issue that is to pay for the first phase of work.
But remove the sewer from the discussion for a moment, and here's what the candidates say they stand for:
Lancaster, a member of Blacksburg's planning commission, says the council should show more respect for the thousands of hours of work that residents put into creating the town comprehensive plan and not be so quick to amend it, as was done to clear the way for the sewer. He wants to tailor town ordinances to minimize development's impact on neighborhoods and do more to encourage people to use bicycle and pedestrian routes. He lists increasing the town's stock of affordable housing as one of his top goals, saying the town's Lee-Roanoke street housing rehabilitation project is a good start and calling for a new committee of residents and housing agencies to brainstorm ideas.
"My parents couldn't have afforded to live here, and that bothers me," Lancaster said.
J.B. Jones, who is also on the planning commission and who was appointed to the council last year to fill out the term of a councilman who moved, also listed affordable housing as a top concern. Jones said he hoped to help preserve neighborhoods by having the town crack down more on speeding and on the over-occupancy of rental houses and apartments. Jones said he would like to see more businesses locate in Blacksburg, including more restaurants, but added that the nearly completed Kent Square complex downtown and the upcoming redevelopment of property on South Main Street seemed to be accomplishing those goals.
Don Langrehr, a Radford University education professor who is making his second bid for office in Blacksburg, was one of the organizers of a "smart growth" symposium in February and March. He advocates concentrating developmentdowntown and in areas where infrastructure already exists. He said the town should study how localities elsewhere steer growth through incentives such as "smart growth dividends," which might include allowing developers to build to a higher density if they work more closely with neighborhood groups and town planners. Langrehr said he hopes to scrutinize town spending to stabilize utility fees and taxes.
Frances Parsons, who has served 32 years on Blacksburg's council, planned to retire this year but changed her mind as it became clearer the sewer was in peril. She missed the deadline to file for the ballot and is running as a write-in candidate. An advocate of neighborhood preservation since her first campaign, Parsons said she is particularly concerned now about the upcoming redevelopment of South Main Street. Plans there should include measures to protect nearby neighborhoods with buffer zones. Parsons said the town also should continue expanding greenways and bikeways, and stay alert for possibilities for the old Blacksburg Middle School and possible development around University Mall.
Ron Rordam, who is seeking a third term on the council, lists affordable housing as a top concern and said he hoped to increase citizen participation in government. Rordam said he hoped the town could expand its recreation programs and trail network, revamp its neighborhood traffic control program and facilitate town-wide wireless Internet access. Rordam said the council will need to take a close look at the town budget since state contributions are likely to continue to dwindle.
Toby Rock, a remodeling contractor who said the sewer issue prompted him to run a write-in campaign, could not be reached on Thursday. At a candidates forum last week, he said he supported "positive and controlled economic growth" but distrusted mixed-use plans that might turn into another Virginia Tech student district. Rock said he supported expanding the town's infrastructure to prepare for Tech's future expansion and protecting the town's existing lower-cost housing from becoming student residences.
