As one of more than 60 residents who support the rezoning of a portion of Solar Hill as residential, I wish to correct some errors in your July 17 editorial.
Solar Hill was developed for residential use, not mixed land use. It was developed strictly as a residential area as the population of Bristol began to boom in the 1870s. The neighborhood was desirable for many reasons, including being adjacent to and within easy walking distance of all downtown amenities.
After first claiming that the rezoning affects all of Solar Hill, your editorial flip-flopped and later criticized it for affecting a limited area. In fact the rezoning would not shift the neighborhood to “one that is exclusively residential.” More than 30 percent would remain zoned for business, and that area is already appropriately zoned because it contains numerous businesses. The change does not affect the entire district, only approximately five acres of 27.06 acres, and all dwellings in the area to be rezoned are residential in use.
Services you say residents “want and need” are already located in or contiguous to Solar Hill. Within only a few hundred yards from its borders are dozens of retail and service establishments including but not limited to banks, gas/convenience stores, a pharmacy, the library, a theater, schools, law, real estate and insurance offices, a variety of restaurants, retail stores and clothing, florist and coffee shops.
Rezoning parts of Solar Hill to lower density residential is supported by Bristol’s comprehensive plan, which also acknowledges citizen interest in historic zoning ordinances that spell out appropriate property uses within historic districts. These facts and more can easily be obtained through Bristol Virginia city offices or the Virginia Department of Historic Resources Web site: www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/Bristol.
Susan Long
Bristol, Va.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement