Roanoke County is considering a series of changes with the goal of creating more housing for residents. Mason Adams has been following the story.
For months, consulting firm RKG Associates has been studying the county's housing market, and last week announced a series of recommendations.
The proposals would make it easier for developers to build denser clusters of cottages and townhouses in certain parts of the county, especially along its borders with the cities of Salem and Roanoke. They also recommended a new zoning designation to transform languishing commercial centers into tightly packed mixed-use developments. The consultants also suggest adding incentives to let people more easily adapt their homes for accessibility
David Radford is a third-generation builder who serves on the county board of supervisors. He says county officials are still in the early stage of evaluating the proposals, and that not every neighborhood will be right for this denser development.
"The trick is to find available land that we can get sewer and water to, because that allows a higher density," Radford says.
Many of the recommendations are targeted at creating more housing for seniors and lowering costs for builders. And so far, the proposals seem to be receiving a generally positive response from developers.
"I think they're all good topics to discuss, and I think there's no one answer, it's an all-of-the-above solution that we need to find" says Court Rosen, director of development for A. Boone Real Estate. "But Roanoke County being so proactive about it is really a great first step."
The market analysis has been in the works for months, but the process of adopting those recommendations into county code is just beginning. They still must go before the county planning commission and board of supervisors.
