RONAOKE Co., Va. – Roanoke County leaders will vote Tuesday on the rezoning of land near in the Southwest Corner of the Interstate 81 and Interstate 581 junction.
About 100 acres along Wood Haven Road were purchased by the Western Virginia Regional Industrial Facility Authority. It's comprised of local governments working together to produce a desirable site to attract "high-tech, hight-wage" jobs.
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The zoning request is for a planned technology district. Neighbors haven't been the biggest fans of the idea since it was announced in late 2016, but leaders said they've listened to concerns through individual conversations and at four public input meetings. Half of the land is currently zoned industrial, and leaders said the new zoning actually reduces uses allowed by law from more than 60 to just nine, and that the buffer area around the land needs to be larger than what is required in industrial zoning.
"I think what we've tried to do is balance the concerns of both the property owners and the neighborhood to come up with the best alternative for the development of the property," Western Virginia Regional Industrial Facility Authority executive director Beth Doughty said.
The zoning request passed the planning commission earlier this month and is recommended for approval by the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors at its Tuesday night meeting. If approved, the authority will begin seeking funds for infrastructure improvements at the site that are expected to take a few years to complete.