Officials outline options for land uses in plan

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By Elizabeth Wilkerson -- ewilkerson@nvdaily.com

STRASBURG -- The town Planning Commission continued outlining land uses it would like to see in the comprehensive plan's study area Tuesday night.

At Tuesday's meeting, the panel continued work on Strasburg's comprehensive plan and discussed the areas north of King Street on the east side of U.S. 11; at the far east end of town; and south of King Street from the town park to the town limits.

Town Planner Judson Rex said the area north of King Street on the east side of U.S. 11 included a planned continuing-care retirement community, the area known as the "Island Farm," and the Madison Heights subdivision. The land between the Island Farm and the retirement community is in a conservation easement, he said.

"This area has somewhat limited area for future development," he said, as significant portions are in the floodplain or have steep slopes. But, there is some limited frontage on U.S. 11, he said, and it makes sense to have commercial areas along the highway.

Commission Chairman Al Davis said Strasburg needed steep slope regulations. Commissioner Carl Rinker said he'd discussed the issue with Rex, who said he planned to work on such an ordinance once some other work was off his plate.

The development on King Street from the railroad tracks to the auto parts store is primarily residential, Rex said, but there may be some potential for mixed-use development in that area. Rinker said he thought Rex was heading in the right direction.

The area at the east end of town, from Bowman Mill Road and the town limits to the North Fork of the Shenandoah River and Cedar Creek, has "even more problems," Rex said. There's a significant amount of land in the floodplain and some really steep slopes, he said.

"There's not much up there now," he said, though there is some rural residential development. "There's a lot of sensitive lands here, too."

Rex said very little of the area in question was now within the town limits. Rinker said he didn't see why Strasburg would want to annex land in that area.

"Really, it's not conducive to development," he said, and if the land is not suitable for development, it shouldn't be in town. "I seriously doubt if you see anything developed there for years."

Most of the area south of King Street from the town park to the town limits has either already been developed as part of downtown or is in the floodplain, Rex said.

Once the commission gets further into the plan, it can discuss the area in more detail, he said, but "on a big level, there's not a whole lot to talk about."