Minutes 02/27/1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27~ 1990 In a related statement, Mr. Ford states that, "members of our Administration have already been described in the local Press as admitting that certain street closings and construction were perhaps handled in an improper and/or illegal manner." I do not recall such statements but if such a statement was made I would like to see the exact quote before commenting on this statement. If, however, Mr. Ford is referring to the construction of the Industrial Access Road to Tultex from Liberty Street to Franklin Street by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the closure of Liberty Street Extension, I believe that the Access Road was built according to VDOT requirements and that Liberty Street Extension was abandoned as prescribed by law. It should be noted that the construction of the Access Road negated the need for Liberty Street Extension and, therefore, this street was closed. Having responded to Mr. Ford's general statements regarding the Administration's enforcement of subdivisions and land use ordi- nances, I wish to review the manner in which these laws were enforced and applied to Liberty Fair Mall. In order to do this there is a need to develop somewhat of a historical review of the Mall site. The Liberty Fair Mall is situated on three tracts of land. These were purchased by Lester Lumber Company as follows: A 28-acre tract from R. A. James, Jr., Trustee, on September 2, 1924, (no map recorded); a 50-acre tract from' R. A. James, Trustee, on March 15, ~926, (no map recorded); and a 70-acre tract from E. Stuart James Grant, et.als., on June 8, 1945, (no map recorded). These tracts were bought by Lester Lumber Company by metes and bounds with no maps having been recorded showing these three tracts. Therefore, there is no way that this land area could be considered a subdivision as defined in the City's Subdivision Ordinance. These tracts were later transferred to The Lester Group. Over the years, this property has been used for various purposes such as an air strip, swimming pool, concrete plant, fairs, com- munity events, etc., without any regard to tract lines. After agreement was reached by Diversified Developers and The Lester Group to construct a mall on the area comprising these three tracts of land, a site plan was developed and approved. Build- ing plans were then developed in stages. Building Permits were then issued as follows: 1. Wal-Mart - April 20, 1988 2. McDevitt and Street for remainder of Mall (except Sears) - September 28, 1988 3. Sears - June 1, 1989 4. McDonald's Corporation - January 11, 1990 2