Updated Facts About the Proposed Rezoning

The following facts were composed by Citizens for Positive Growth

About the Site

• Proposed asphalt plant would be located at 4127 West Main Street, the former Salem Water Treatment Facility.
• Currently zoned for light industry (I-1). Proposal is to rezone for heavy industry (I-2) and to request a special use permit to operate an asphalt plant and construction yard.
• If approved, this would become the only heavy industry site bordering the north side of Main Street between Salem City and Montgomery County. This 5-mile stretch is an important buffer that protects residents from any encroachment of heavy industries existing south of West Main Street.
• One-third of a mile from Richfield Retirement Center, with approximately 700 residents and 500 employees.
• 500 feet from the property line for Glenvar Schools (serving 1,470 students) and 1,150 feet from Glenvar Elementary.
• 350 feet from Fort Lewis Baptist Church, where 100+ children, ages 3-12, attend daycare and preschool.
• Next door to a popular family pizza restaurant.
• Surrounded by a densely populated residential area, with approximately 700 existing homes and around 200 homes under development within a one-mile radius.
• USA Today research based on EPA data found that over 75% of the nation’s schools have better air quality than the Glenvar Schools.
• The placement of an asphalt plant in this location will increase truck traffic and reduce driver visibility on an already congested section of West Main Street.

About Roanoke County Guidelines Relevant to this Issue

• The decision regarding rezoning is entirely in the hands of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors based on their understanding of appropriate land use.
• Current zoning ordinances for Roanoke County charge the Board of Supervisors with the task of evaluating whether a “specific proposal has a minimum adverse impact on the surrounding neighborhood.”
• Rezoning for an asphalt plant, from I-1 to I-2, requires that such sites have “relative remoteness and absence of substantial residential development which could be adversely affected by such development.”
• Roanoke County Code states that zoning regulations “are designed to achieve the general purposes of promoting the health, safety, and general welfare of the public…”
• Concerning economic growth, the proposed business would only yield 6-8 new jobs at this site.

About Asphalt

• Asphalt is known to emit toxic pollutants, including: arsenic, benzene, fluorene, formaldehyde, acenapthene, phenanthrene and many other toxic pollutants and carcinogens.
• Although it is commonly believed that DEQ and/or EPA will monitor all polluting emissions of an asphalt plant, the only monitoring that will occur at this site is the emission of fine dust particles, per EPA rules. The larger, more prevalent dust particles are neither monitored nor regulated, and the trucks hauling the asphalt are not regulated.
• The proposed use of recycled (reclaimed) asphalt products at this plant will dramatically increase the production of hydrocarbons specifically listed by EPA as known carcinogens.

About Citizens for Positive Growth

• CFPG opposes the proposal to allow rezoning for heavy industry on the north side of West Main Street, which would destroy the current 5-mile buffer.
• CFPG represents the residents of East Salem, Cherokee Hills, Glenvar Heights, Fort Lewis, Beverly Heights, Woodbridge, Poor Mountain, Harborwood, and surrounding areas.
• CFPG supports planned, positive growth. We would support the logical use of the parcel in question, but it must be in harmony with its surroundings. We would welcome light industry or commercial development at this site.
• CFPG is based in the western part of Roanoke County but recognizes that rezoning for heavy industry near residential areas is a countywide issue.
• CFPG is aligned with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL), which provides support for citizen groups with similar issues.

How You Can Help

• Attend the information session and rally at Glenvar Middle School on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:30 p.m. Bring your friends and neighbors.
• Urge people in other parts of the County to call or write their Supervisors to encourage them to vote “no” to the rezoning request.
• Make a cash donation or purchase a yard sign to offset costs of this awareness campaign.
• Attend the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, April 28th at 7:00 p.m. to show your opposition to the asphalt plant or any other heavy industry at this location.

Community Meeting Tonight

There is an important community meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Glenvar Middle School. Please come and bring your neighbor. We must stay together in our fight to stop the rezoning efforts of Adam's Construction. The meeting will only last an hour.

Fact Sheet from Citizens for Positive Growth

Click on the image to read the facts about the proposed rezoning in Glenvar that would bring an asphalt plant into the community. Please print the fact sheet and share it with all county citizens. Ask them to email their county Board of Supervisor and encourage them to vote NO to the rezoning.

Board of Supervisor's Meeting Postponed

Adam's Construction, the asphalt company seeking to rezone 4127 West Main in Glenvar, has petitioned the Board of Supervisors and asked to postpone the March 24th meeting. The meeting has been moved to April 28th at 7p.m.. Adam's noted that they need more time to assemble their experts and to reach out to the community to reevaluate other possible sites in the area.

Please share this news with all your neighbors and other county residents. This give us, as community members, more time to make our case why the rezoning is inappropriate for the proposed site.

Map of Glenvar

The image shows a map of the Glenvar community. The map legend references the location of our homes, schools, churches and the Richfield Complex in relationship to the proposed asphalt plant location.
Click the link below to view a google map with distances of each landmark from the proposed asphalt plant.

Google Map of Glenvar, Va

Glenvar, A Way of Life is Threatened

I've been a Roanoke County resident for 41 years with the exception of the 12 years I spent away at college, graduate school and a job in Blacksburg. My wife and two daughters and I recently relocated to the Glenvar Community. We were looking for a slow-paced, safe community with excellent academics and a small school atmosphere. We found that in Glenvar.

Most of my time as a citizen in Roanoke County was spent in Windsor Hills and Cave Spring. During my time in these other districts, I paid little attention to the Glenvar area. That all changed when it came to selecting the best place to raise my daughters and hopefully retire. Unless you live in Glenvar or know someone who does, it's hard to imagine how wonderful it is. And even though I've only lived in the area for 10 months, the people are welcoming, hardworking and very supportive of one another. It's a true community. It's a way of life.

It saddens me to think that this way of life and community is being threatened. If you don't know by now, Adam's Construction has proposed that an area along West Main in Glenvar be rezoned to heavy industrial to accommodate an asphalt plant. The current zoning is I-1, which is essentially light industrial and commercial. This wouldn't be such a threat to the community's way of life if the proposed site didn't sit 500 yards from our three schools, several hundred yards from a daycare and several churches, a half mile from Richfield Retirement Community, and 1/4-1/2 miles from several hundred homes.

This rezoning, if approved, will increase heavy truck traffic on the same roads that enter and exit our schools, churches, neighborhoods and the retirement community. Pollutants will also engulf our community. Everyone is aware of the pollutants that asphalt plants emit. There's no disputing that. Even the asphalt company acknowledges that there's no way to prevent all of the hazardous pollutants. The company is so aware of this fact that they have promised to "spray down" the asphalt with water and plant trees 12 feet high around the facility to reduce the large particulate matter. That action alone proves they know the risks of the chemicals to the health of the community. And lastly, this rezoning will add to the negative perception of the community, cause home values to fall, and open the door to other such zoning requests.

Let me be very clear. The Glenvar community is not against growth. We want growth, but we want responsible, safe and appropriate growth. What most people don't know is that Adam's Construction has other site options that are more appropriate. The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors will vote on this issue on March 24th at 7pm. I hope and pray they will choose to represent the people.

If you are a citizen of Roanoke County, please sign up here as a Glenvar Follower. And please contact your Roanoke County Board of Supervisor Representative and tell him or her to vote against the rezoning. They have the power to protect Glenvar's way of life as well as the quality of life for all Roanoke County Citizens.
Contact your Board of Supervisors!