Bedford officials OK more development

BEDFORD — A town home development on Perrowville Road was narrowly approved by the Bedford County Board of Supervisors on Monday night.
The 4-3 vote gives the developers of Perrowville Townhouses a land use permit to construct 94 units, priced from $180,000 to $230,000, and a clubhouse facility on 13 acres off U.S. 221 just west of the intersection with Perrowville Road. Plans to build 104 units on 14.2 acres were recently reduced.
As a condition of the approval, Perrowville Townhouses developers will build a public road that would connect U.S. 221 at the entrance of Forest Middle School to Perrowville Road at the entrance of Jefferson Forest High School.
Forest District Supervisor John Sharp said that road is what the area desperately needs to improve congestion in one of the county’s most traveled spots.
“I look at the road being a benefit to the community,” Sharp said. “I’m getting a valuable road that will probably never come into existence absent this
(development).”
County Attorney Carl Boggess said the developers had agreed to have the road built and would start within a year. The state would keep up the maintenance, he said, and install signals at intersections.
Sharp said along with easing traffic around the three local schools in that vicinity, it would make rescue availability faster in case of a major catastrophe.
Earlier that evening, the board rejected a rezoning request from a developer who wanted to add 57 more town units about a mile further down Perrowville Road.
A 6-1 vote denied Robb Egel, owner of Jefferson Ridge Apartments, a zoning change that would have allowed him to do that. He said he wanted to clean up the 70 existing apartments there and convert them into condominiums, and the additional units would help him do that.
Egel had initially requested 91 units, but recently scaled down to 57. By right without rezoning, he could build 37 more town homes there.
“I think the neighbors around that property would appreciate the fact that it would be cleaned up,” Egel said to the board.
A traffic impact study showed that the rezoning would have no impact on Perrowville Road, said county planner Brad Robinson.
“Some impact may occur to schools, as well as fire and rescue services,” Robinson said.
Supervisor Chuck Neudorfer, who voted against the request, said he was concerned about increased density and did not want to introduce multi-family residential zoning in that area.
Supervisor Gary Lowry, the lone yes vote, said he liked the effort Egel put forth and he wants to keep his business in Bedford County.
Sharp, who reluctantly made a motion for denial, said he appreciated what Egel wants to do and the community would be better in the long run, but he agreed he didn’t want to instate a higher density zoning.
“Once we have R-3 zoning there, we open up the floodgates,” Sharp said.
Supervisor Annie Pollard said the schools in Forest are overflowing as it is and the county cannot afford to bring in more children to the area.
“I have a problem with it, too,” said Supervisor Roger Cheek. “We’re constantly trying to keep classrooms in Bedford … every time we approve something like this, we shoot ourselves in the foot.”
One person, a representative from Barr Laboratories, spoke during a public hearing for the Jefferson Ridge Apartments expansion. He said the company, located next to the complex, didn’t oppose or support the project, but had concerns over construction to utilities that may impact the firm.