Another 90 acres at the top of one of the Roanoke Valley's most prominent mountains will soon become public property, protected by a perpetual easement against development.

Alfred and Beth Durham have donated the tract on the upper slopes of the south side of Read Mountain to Roanoke County to be incorporated into its system of public parks.

The Durhams donated a conservation easement on the property to the Western Virginia Land Trust in 2002. Such an easement doesn't transfer ownership of the property, but places strict limits on its future use, generally designed to preserve its natural state.

"It is through the generous, civic-minded efforts of private corporations and citizens such as Dr. and Mrs. Durham that the county can hope to be successful in our efforts to protect this national park [the Blue Ridge Parkway], open spaces, mountainsides and ridge tops," Janet Scheid, the county's chief planner, told the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

The property extends to the ridgeline, Scheid said, and is visible from the parkway, which has an overlook specifically to view Read Mountain.

The tract is the second on the mountain to be donated to the county in about a year. In November 2006, Fralin & Waldron donated 152 acres to the county. That acreage also is protected by a conservation easement and is contiguous to the Durham property.

The easements allow such uses as hiking and picnicking, but prohibit most construction, including any within 100 feet of the ridgeline.

"Four years ago, Scenic American named the Roanoke County stretch of the parkway a 'Last Chance Landscape' -- a dubious distinction at best," Scheid said. "That designation has encouraged the county to renew efforts to preserve this beautiful and unique stretch of national parkland."

"I know a lot of people are going to enjoy the vista once they get to hike to the top of that mountain," said Richard Flora, Hollins District supervisor. "It's a wonderful gesture."

The donation will receive final acceptance at the board's Nov. 13 meeting.

Public access to such natural places was the subject of several items on Tuesday's agenda of the board of supervisors, including adopting an update of the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission conceptual plan to the county's comprehensive plan.

The board also gave permission for county parks, recreation and tourism staff to apply for two grants related to trails and greenways.

One would be used to begin design, engineering and land acquisition for a five-mile stretch of the Roanoke River Greenway in the eastern part of the county from the Roanoke city limits to Explore Park. That is expected to cost $465,608.

The county will seek $372,486 from a Virginia Department of Transportation grant, and would cover the remaining 20 percent of the cost with a split of cash and in-kind services.

The county also will be seeking a smaller grant of $77,700 to help pay about half the cost of the creation of a greenway trail and park at the site of a new county library off Merriman Road near Penn Forest Elementary School.

Plans include a raised boardwalk trail over wetlands on the site. The greenway will link the library to the school, Darrell Shell Memorial Park and Starkey Park. It also will include a small parking lot and picnic areas.

The new South County library also was on the agenda, one of three projects that received formal appropriations by the supervisors for construction. A new county garage and a North County fire station also received allocations.

Those projects will cost a total of $29.2 million, of which $26.23 million will be borrowed in the form of a revenue bond issue.

In other action, the board approved an emergency resolution changing the location of the Northside voting precinct polling place in November's election. Renovations at Northside High School forced the relocation of the polling place to the former Public Safety Building, 3568 Peters Creek Road.

The supervisors are holding their meetings in that building, also, while renovations to their board room at the county administrative center on Bernard Drive Southwest are being completed.

During the evening session, the board denied a special-use permit to McNeil Asphalt Maintenance for its business on Jae Valley Road. The business owners contended that they had verbal assurances for the county that they could operate at the site, which is zoned as Agricultural/Village Center, when they moved there six months ago.

The county has since ordered their operations to cease unless a special-use permit was granted by the supervisors.

With the denial, the owners now have 60 days to decide whether to appeal the decision to circuit court.

The board also rezoned property at Valleypointe Industrial Park for a new customer service center for the Department of Motor Vehicles that is scheduled to open in late summer 2008.

The board adjourned until Nov. 11, when they will meet in a retreat at The Homestead resort in Hot Springs.