Sunday, May 08, 2005
Development irks Bath County residents
"Our way of life is going to change so drastic," says a 30-year member of the board of supervisors.
The planned community could bring the number of housing units in pastoral Bath County to nearly 3,000. An estimated 450 houses, initially ranging in value from $750,000 to more than $3 million, are expected to be built on lots ranging from one-half acre to 10 acres over the next 10 years. Celebration Associates, a North Carolina limited liability company started by two former Walt Disney consultants, has sold 91 of the initial 139 lots in Homestead Preserves for a total of more than $40 million.
To the dismay of some Bath County residents, bulldozers began tumbling trees and removing dirt for roads at the end of April, after nearly five years of planning.
Still, the development caught some county officials off-guard. They're now rushing to update the county's comprehensive land use plan and to align with other localities that have encountered land use and growth issues.
Bath County is zoned primarily agricultural, and that, according to critics, is how Celebration Associates was allowed to come in and build on more than 2,300 acres around the Homestead resort. The county board of supervisors never had to act on the proposal because the use was allowed under current zoning regulations.
"We never dreamt" a project of this magnitude would come to the county, said Stuart Hall, chairman of the Bath County Board of Supervisors. "Our way of life is going to change so drastic."
"I consider this a cancer that's going to eat away at the mountains," George Persinger, a retired banker, said of the new community.
"There's so much wealth we can't comprehend ... a country boy like me," Persinger said.
"We're witnessing an extinction of culture and our way of life for the almighty dollar," Supervisor John Trees said of Bath County's metamorphosis.
"I'd rather there be no development, but this is better than a lot of subdivisions stashed all around."
Carl Chestnut, a retired auto mechanic for the Homestead resort, is skeptical. He said the Homestead Preserve has changed downtown Hot Springs, making it difficult for people to park, do their banking or pick up prescriptions.
"Our little town used to be Mayberry; they are trying to make it New York. We need to stop growth as fast as we can," Chestnut said.
"A lot of people think we are against people moving to Bath County, but we are not. We are against developers putting in nearly 500 houses."
And then there's the familiar refrain from Chestnut and other residents: "People come here because it's small; there is no stoplight."
About 60 percent of the land in the county is national forest and not taxable. Most of the remaining land has agricultural zoning, but a lot of it is mountainous.
Many people travel outside the county to work because the Homestead resort and a power plant are the biggest employers and taxpayers.
"Tourism is the attraction but unfortunately it's the lowest-paying industry," said Trees, who works for United Parcel Services in Staunton.
The median income in Bath County is about $23,000 and the median age is 43, said County Administrator Claire Collins.
Hall, a member of the board of supervisors for 30 years, said there are a number of skilled laborers. However, most of them are so busy working on jobs outside the county that county residents might wait a couple of weeks to get a local plumber or carpenter.
Nearly 20 percent of 5,048 residents in Bath County are younger than 18, about the national average, according to the 2000 U.S. census. Another 21 percent of the population is older than 65, just above the national average.
Chestnut, Persinger, Trees, Hall, Stevie Hodge, Buddy Cauley and Jay Trinca recently gathered at Chestnut's Mitchelltown home to voice displeasure over changes in their Bath County communities.
"Bath County has been discovered," Trees said. Real estate prices were escalating before Homestead Preserve; now they are becoming exorbitant, he said.
Trees said he knows of a 125-acre tract that was purchased 12 years ago for $225,000. It was recently assessed at $481,000 and was sold to a lawyer for $750,000, Trees said.
"That's a prime example of what's going on in the county," Trees said.
He and the others claim upscale housing will unfairly increase their real estate taxes and that they're against newcomers who'll not be full-time residents. They're also afraid residents with dual residency won't pay their share for public services in Bath County.
Steve Schneider, director of sales for Celebration Associates, said that some of the objections appear to be based on misconceptions. Property assessments in the county had been increasing before the Homestead Preserve was planned, he said.
"I think people resent the fact that you have outside people coming in trying to take over the county," professional golfer J.C. Snead said in a telephone interview from the PGA seniors tour.
Snead owns 1,500 acres in Bath County and bemoans the fact that "the population has decreased since I was a kid but the taxes keep going up."
He and Trinca also are concerned about school costs and needs, especially if some of the new residents stay year-round.
Hall, the supervisors' chairman, said he gets as many as five or six calls a day from people who oppose the development. Most residents fear they will be singled out if they openly voice their concerns, he said.
Their major concerns are the impact the Homestead Preserve will have on water and sewage and their tax bills, he said.
Hall and Trees said they would look into reducing the tax rate. But, Trees warned, that could also result in a reduction of revenue collected from the hydroelectric plant. Because of residents' concerns, the board of supervisors recently asked Collins to contact other localities for ideas on handling land use issues.
Collins said she thinks it would be good if those concerned residents and representatives of Celebration Associates "would have a face-to-face discussion on their concerns."
Staff writer Ray Reed
contributed to this report.
