1990 Comprehensive Plan

PRICES FORK / BELVIEW PLANNING AREA

INTRODUCTION:

The Prices Fork/Belview Planning Area covers the northwestern quadrant of the County located north and west of Blacksburg and west of Prices Mountain. It includes the three small communities of Prices Fork, Longshop, and McCoy. The steeper slopes of Brush and Price Mountains are designated Conservation. Sizeable agricultural lands are found along Tom’s Creek and Walls Branch and on the Whitethorne Farm on the New River.

Significant residential development is anticipated for the planning area over the next 5-10 years. The four-laning of Prices Fork Road within Blacksburg and the improvements planned out to Prices Fork in 1990-91 will enhance access to Blacksburg in general and Virginia Tech in particular. Road improvements completed on Peppers Ferry Rd(114) and the New River bridge will improve travel to Radford/Fairlawn from both the Belview School area and Prices Fork.

Route 114 (Peppers Ferry Rd) serves as a major transportation route providing access to the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RAAP) and the commuting route between Radford/Fairlawn area and the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area. In recent years, the county has received requests for commercial development along Route 114. In addition, over the years, there has been considerable residential development in agriculturally zoned areas along Route 114. To address this changing portion of the county, the Route 114 Corridor Plan was prepared. It is a joint project of Montgomery County and the Route 460/114 Corridor Advisory Planning Council. The Corridor Plan was completed in January, 1992. After review of the Route 114 Corridor Plan, pages 52A-52D were added to the current Comprehensive Plan. These pages follow the discussion of the Prices Fork/Belview Planning Area. They are also applicable to the western portion of the Mid-County Growth Area.

ENVIRONMENT:

An outstanding feature of the planning area is the New River. In prehistoric times, the New River was the mainstream of the largest river on the continent. It flows through a relatively unspoiled area of Montgomery County and is very scenic with high bluffs, riffles, and rapids. At the end of 1986, Virginia Tech acquired the 1,100+ acre Whitethorne Farm near the confluence of Tom’s Creek and the New River. Although the plans call for the property to be developed for agricultural research, there is also the potential for recreational usage that would be open to the general public. Another site for potential public access to the New River is the proposed county park near the Pepper’s Ferry Rd(114) bridge.

In addition to the Whitethorne Farm, agricultural lands are found along Tom’s Creek and the Walls farm along Walls Branch. Approximately 2,100+ acres to the north and south of Prices Fork Rd(685) have been placed in Agricultural & Forestal District (AFD-1). This is the County’s first AFD. It was formed in 1980 as the County’s first district in order to protect farming operations from encroaching residential development. This competition between land uses will escalate in the years ahead due to development pressures along Prices Fork Rd(685).

Also of note is the Prices Fork Historical District (DHL #60-224). Prices Fork developed in the mid-nineteenth century in an area settled by the Price family. It is located on the Peppers Ferry Road at a fork with the road to Browns Ferry (Belspring). It shows up as a scattered collection of buildings on the 1964 Confederate Engineer’s Map. Most of the historic buildings date from the 1870’s or later. The village is situated in the center of a broad landscape of rolling hills and fields between Brush Mountain on the north and Price Mountain on the south.

Much of Brush Mountain is within the Jefferson National Forest. In Montgomery County 19,500+ acres are under federal ownership as part of the national forest. They include the Pandapas Pond recreational area off U.S. Route 460 north of Blacksburg.

WATER & SEWER:

The community of Prices Fork including the Montgomery Farms Subdivision is served by public water by the Montgomery County Public Service Authority (PSA). Two wells provide the water source and limit the number of future connections. Within the next five years, the PSA plans to "loop" the system together and interconnect the Prices Fork water system to the Blacksburg Town system. Using Blacksburg as a water source would alleviate limitations on future connections.

Public sewer service is more limited than water. At present, only the Montgomery Farms Subdivision is served by a PSA sewer interceptor flowing into the main interceptor which follows Stroubles Creek from Blacksburg to the Stroubles Creek Sewage Treatment Plant. The PSA is currently extending sewer service northward to Prices Fork Elementary School and plans to extend service to Virginia Tech’s Prices Fork Research Center within ten years.

Public utilities are also found in the Belview School area. Public water is available along Peppers Ferry Rd(114) from the water filtration plant eastward to Christiansburg. Public sewer, however, is presently available only to the elementary school. The PSA plans to extend sewer service east and west from the school within the next five years.

TRANSPORTATION:

Two important road projects impact the planning area. The first is VDOT’s recently completed new eastbound land and bridge on 114 from Pulaski County across the New River to the Radford Army Arsenal entrance. The second involved widening and resurfacing Prices Fork Rd(685) from Blacksburg west to Prices Fork.

The completion of both projects will improve travel conditions between Blacksburg and Radford/Fairlawn. When combined with increasing congestion and delay along the 460 corridor between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, it is easy to foresee that Prices Fork Rd(685/659) will become the preferred "short cut" between Blacksburg and Radford/Fairlawn.

There are a number of other road projects in the current VDOT 6-Year Secondary Road Plan for the planning area. Future projects in approximate order, include:

• Prices Fork Rd(685) from Blacksburg to Tucker Rd(736)--Widen and overlay with plant mix
• Big Falls Rd(625) from McCoy Rd(652) to Quartz Ln(768)--Reconstruct
• Old Creek Rd(784) from Mt. Zion Rd(655) to end--Reconstruct
• Whittaker Hollow Rd(744) from Mt. Zion Rd(655) to end--Reconstruct
• Coal hollow Rd(705) from Peppers Ferry Rd(114) to Prices Fork Rd(685)--Reconstruct and replace 2 bridges
• Norris Run Rd(708) from Lick Run Rd(781) west -- Reconstruct remainder of road to near Big Falls Rd(625) and replace 9 drainage structures
• Brooksfield Rd(654)--Spot improvements
• Mt. Zion Rd(655)--Spot improvements
• Centennial Rd(625) from McCoy Rd(652) to Fallam Rd(784)--Reconstruct
• Thomas Ln(737) from Prices Fork Rd(685) to Walls Branch Rd(1276)--Reconstruct

The County has also discussed the concept of an East-West Connector Road that could continue westward from the future South Gate Drive/Route 460 Bypass interchange in order to serve existing and future development in the Merrimac and Prices Fork portions of the County. Such a route could provide a second access from the County into the Virginia Tech campus and Corporate Research Center, thereby reducing future traffic that would have to use Prices Fork Road(685).

HOUSING:

Significant residential development is anticipated for both the Prices Fork and the Belview communities due to the planned extension of public utilities. The extension of sewer interceptors northward from Montgomery Farms Subdivision to the Elementary School and Research Center will, over time, open up approximately 200+ acres to development. In the 1983 Comprehensive Plan, the community of Prices Fork was designated a Rural Expansion Area. Increased residential development was anticipated to be primarily single-family homes and low density duplexes. High-density residential development was considered inappropriate to the rural character of the community due to its large size and scale. This concern will also hold in the years ahead. Planned development must be appropriate to the rural character of the larger community.

For the Belview School area, the extension of sewer service around the elementary school has the potential to serve a larger drainage area (400+ acres). Having both public water and sewer could support higher density residential development such as apartments, townhouses, mobile home parks and small-lot subdivisions around the intersection of Peppers Ferry Rd(114) with Prices Fork Rd(659) to the north and Walton Rd(663) to the south.

ECONOMY:

No significant industrial development is projected. Continuing residential development in the Prices Fork community will support community-oriented businesses.

Increasing traffic on Peppers Ferry Rd(114) and Prices Fork Rd(685) may attract a broader variety of commercial activities to the intersection such as car sales lots, convenience stores, gasoline stations, and others depending upon high traffic locations. The Route 114 Corridor Plan identified two nodes as appropriate for commercial development in the corridor. The first is centered on the Prices Fork Rd(685)/Peppers Ferry Rd(114) intersection and the second is centered on the Coal Hollow Rd(705)/Peppers Ferry Rd(114) intersection. Commercial development at other locations along the Route 114 corridor is to be discouraged.

COMMUNITY FACILITIES:

The Montgomery County Parks & Recreation Commission has proposed, for a number of years, the development of a county park near the Peppers Ferry Rd(114) bridge. This site is one of only a few where the public could gain access to the New River. This would complement Strategy EN 5.1.1 which calls for the provision of large regional parks, especially river parks.

There is also the possibility of working with other entities in the development of future recreational facilities. Potential projects include working with Virginia Tech on the Whitethorne Farm and working with the U.S. Forest Service and the Town of Blacksburg on Pandapas Pond. Other opportunities may present themselves in the future as a growing county population increases the need for a variety of recreational facilities.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE 114 CORRIDOR:

Manage Traffic Congestion It is important to manage traffic congestion on VA 114. Future improvements to VA 114 will only occur after other projects, such as Alternative 3A for the 460 corridor, are built. Therefore traffic on VA 114 will increase substantially prior to any four-laning. Steps need to be taken to prepare for the eventual VA 114 upgrade, to preserve traffic flow, and to improve highway safety. Such steps include:

• Establish an additional, variable setback from the existing right-of-way to allow for anticipated four-laning of VA 114. This would be similar to the Christiansburg Zoning Ordinance where setbacks are measured from future right-of-way lines or lines shown as construction limits on adopted highway plans.
• Subdivision of property abutting VA114 occurring after a designated date would be allowed a maximum of one entrance within the total frontage of the lot existing on the designated date, unless in consultation with the VDOT Resident Engineer’s office and county Subdivision Agent, it is determined that additional entrances onto VA 114 are necessitated to address safety concerns. If future subdivision occurs, entrances will continue to be allotted to parcels based on the frontage on record on the designated date.
• Small parcels will be grandfathered. However, if the owner of such parcel(s) applies for a permit that allows conditional approval, consolidation with adjacent parcels must be addressed. Consolidation with adjacent parcels must be seriously considered, regardless of adjacent parcel ownership and documentation of such effort must be provided with the permit request.
• Monitor the intersection of VA 114 and Prices Fork Road in order that additional traffic measures can be put in place as soon as VDOT requirements are met.
• Develop alternative routes through the Corridor area by improving the following streets (listed in priority order) to arterial street standards:
  • Chrisman Mill Road(661)
  • Crab Creek Road (660)
  • Walton Road (663)
• Also improve the following streets (listed in priority order) in order that they can safely handle more traffic:
  • Vicker Switch Road(659)
  • Switchback Road(719)
  • Coal Hollow Road(705)
• Actively lobby VDOT, the State Transportation Board, and the General Assembly to promote the rapid initiation of the VA 114 upgrade as soon as traffic congestion on 460 is alleviated by Alternative 3A. These efforts should recognize that an active lobbying effort will be necessary, but that this effort should build upon the solution to the 460 congestion rather than compete for funding.
• In the platting and development of subdivision streets, the road network design should address the construction of through streets of appropriate design standards. The road network design should also include walkways/bikeways connecting the subdivision with adjacent subdivisions and with common destinations such as commercial developments, schools, parks, etc.

Provide Guidance for Locating Commercial and Higher Intensity Residential Development - VA 114 should not be allowed to become a commercial strip. Commercial development should be encouraged to locate at specific nodes. Higher intensity residential development should be handled through a Planned Unit Development (PUD) approach.

• Permitted uses in the Agricultural (A-1) zoning district should be significantly reduced. Allowable uses should focus on agricultural uses and associated housing/facilities, public/semi-public uses, and natural resource extraction.
• Develop a Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning district as a way of promoting orderly growth in the 114 Corridor. A PUD is a land development project which is planned as an entity, grouping dwelling units into clusters, allowing an appreciable amount of land for open space, mixing housing types and land uses, and preserving useful natural features.
• Commercial development should be encouraged to locate at the following two nodes:
  • Prices Fork Road/VA 114 Intersection
• Coal Hollow Road/VA 114 Intersection
• Develop a Planned Commercial District zoning district as a way to address any commercial development outside of the two designated nodes.
• Seek funding to upgrade sewer systems in existing mobile home parks as a first step towards bringing existing mobile home parks into compliance with the current Planned Mobile Home Park (PMR) zoning district.

Protection of the Environment A majority of the 114 Corridor is underlain by karstic rock. Although sinkholes are an obvious measure of karst, countless fractures in the bedrock beneath soils are hidden from view, and the thickness of the soil cover through which percolation and filtration occur often is deceptive.

• Public water and sewer service should be extended to the following locations:
  • Prices Fork Road/VA 114 Intersection
  • Areas with health and safety problems due to failing septic systems such as the Dudley Village Subdivision
• Modify zoning ordinances ‹ all districts ‹ to require best management practices and engineering principles when constructing any permanent structure within the surface expression of a sinkhole or within 50 feet of a stream. Disallow grading and filling activities within active sinkholes.

Assure Timely Emergency Response

• Montgomery County Fire Fighters Association expand on their current efforts to utilize the Fairlawn Fire Department’s mutual aid response. A more formal alternative would be designation of a dual first response area with the Fairlawn Fire Department. Likewise, rescue squad response in the 114 Corridor can be supplemented by the Pulaski County Rescue Squad, the Fairlawn crew, through similar measures.

Suburban Corridors are not Appropriate Places for all Types of Signage

• Billboards and other off-premise signage in the 114 Corridor should be prohibited.