Clinton: “Our whole purpose in life is not to build apartments” in response to study
“It’s important to understand our whole purpose in life is not to build apartments,” Amsterdam Supervisor Steve Clinton said in response to a Countywide Apartment Market Analysis presented at the February 28, 2023 Board of Supervisors meeting. The meeting was held at the Botetourt County Administrative Center in Amsterdam.
The 44-page market analysis concluded that, “the demand for new rental housing in Botetourt County is strong and exceeds supply,” and that “based on the wages of new jobs Botetourt County and the region, alongside elevated mortgage interest rates, the current housing market is stronger for rental housing than for-sale housing. However, the development of new, quality rental housing would not negatively impact the local for-sale housing market.”
The marketing analysis used a regional comparison to reach its conclusions. (The study is available in full in the supervisors’ packet for the meeting at the county website.) The area of study included Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Salem, and Vinton as well as Botetourt.
The analysis noted growth in the Daleville area, including several planned businesses. Those new businesses or structures include a Road Runner Express car wash, currently under construction in front of Food Lion, an 8,010 square foot retail shell building, also being built in front of Food Lion, a Dairy Queen to be built in Daleville Town Center, a Popeyes expected to locate at the current closed Shoney’s location, and South Village. South Village is a four-story mixed use building that would include 4,830 square feet of restaurant space, 2,200 square feet of retail space, 6,530 square feet of office space, and five residential units and would be located in Daleville Town Center in the parking lot next to the Lewis Gale Imaging Center.
After hearing the report, Clinton disagreed with many of the conclusions. “The premise that we need to have multifamily housing within Botetourt County is inaccurate and disturbing,” he said. “These conclusions are based on jurisdictional trends. It’s a regional thing.”
He went on to say that not everyone has to live in the same locality as where they work. “A lot of people like to commute,” he said. “Living outside of the county or city [where you work] is not the end of the world.”
He also disagreed with statements within the study that implied that zoning regulations were a detriment to apartment building. “We have something good to offer, and potential developers need to be aware of that. We need to be judicious in the developments,” he said.
“Your report explicitly says we have to build, but the Board also has to look at patterns of development and quality of development,” he said, adding, “We’re not eliminating zoning standards.”
— Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee
