Supervisors look at second entry in Botetourt Center at Greenfield area

Circled area reflects another entrance.

Botetourt County officials want to add a northern entrance to the Botetourt Center at Greenfield.

The Board of Supervisors at its April 23, 2024 meeting approved a request to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) for funding for design-only engineering plans for the new access road.

The funds would come from VDOT’s Economic Development Access Program and would not exceed $200,000.

The proposed access road would be between the new Appalachian Power Substation and the county’s historic preservation area. Eventually the road would connect with International Parkway to create a half-circle through the industrial park on International Parkway.

The road would serve additional businesses expected to locate in the industrial park and assist with traffic control at the current entrance to the Botetourt Center at Greenfield.

               In other matters, the supervisors approved major changes to the county’s sign ordinance. The proposed sign ordinance revisions related to electronic message board or “LED” signs and originated from a petition requesting changes that would allow for a convenience store to utilize “LED” for gas prices.

Other revisions address the topic of content neutrality to assure that the sign ordinance would stand against a constitutional challenge as a result of a ruling in Reed v. Town of Gilbert by the United States Supreme Court that unanimously invalidated a sign ordinance that treated signs differently

based on their content. Sign regulations could not be content-based restrictions on free speech.

               An example and in the case of an electronic message board sign, a sign ordinance can regulate whether or not to allow the use of “LED” signs, what use districts the sign would be allowed within, how large or what percentage of an overall sign that could be “LED”, but the sign ordinance should not regulate the content of the message or allow certain land uses to utilize “LED” and not others.

The changes in the ordinance addressed content issues mostly but were extensive changes to the sign ordinance.

The supervisors approved a number of proclamations, including Emergency Services Week (May 19-25), Building Safety Month (May), Economic Development Week (May 6-10), and Small Business Week (April 28-May 4).

 Additionally, the supervisors approved a six-year plan for the secondary road system. The proposed plan is:

1a. Rt. 645, Fringer Trail

1b. Rt. 767, Blue Ridge Drive drainage improvements

2a. Rt. 712, Stevens Road

2b. Hunters Green Subdivision

3. Rt. 685, Ball Park Road

4. Rt. 643, Mountain Valley Road

5. Rt. 658, Laymantown Road

6. Rt. 677, Roy Road

7. Rt. 638, Old Hollow Road

8. Rt. 728, Redbud Lane

9. Rt. 600, Haymakertown Road

                                                                           — Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee