Evans Spring Area Plan

The Evans Spring Area Plan (9 MB PDF) was adopted by City Council with a 6-0 vote at its public hearing on Monday April 15, 2013 at 7 PM. Planning Commission voted to recommend approval to City Council for adoption as a component of Vision 2001-2020, the City's comprehensive plan, at its regularly scheduled meeting on March 12, 2013.

For more information contact Frederick Gusler at 853-1104 or frederick.gusler@roanokeva.gov








The Valley View interchange is slated to be finished and open in 2016. This interchange will complete the scope of the original project and will allow access to and from Valley View Boulevard and Interstate 581 in all directions. Upon completion of this project, the interchange will be a dead end on its southern side (the side across 581 from Valley View Mall).

This new interchange opens up possibilities for a future street connection to it on the southern side. Such a connection would provide access to roughly 130 acres that adjoin 581 and the neighborhoods of Fairland, Melrose-Rugby and Washington Park. It is anticipated that this land will be the subject of future rezoning requests in order to develop it.




Since most of this land is not part of any neighborhood groups’ boundaries or included in a neighborhood plan, the first step in addressing the future of this land was a public neighborhood planning process to establish a policy framework and development principles to guide its future. It is vital that the public continues to play an active role in this planning process, as this document will guide what happens with this land and will be used by staff, the Planning Commission and City Council to make future development decisions.

City staff met with individual neighborhood groups, various professional focus groups, and held two public meetings at Lucy Addison Middle School in 2011. Based on the input received in those meetings, In 2012 an Executive Committee of neighborhood leaders and Evans Spring land owners was formed and met five times.

Comments from all of those meetings are available below in chronological order from the most recent to the earliest. There may be additional meetings in the future (see the Next Steps section below for more information). Meeting dates and times will be posted on this web page.

After the three public meetings in 2011, staff evaluated the input and questions received from the public. It was apparent that there was a lot of confusion and misunderstanding among the public.

In order to communicate the process more effectively and build consensus on the plan, the executive committee was formed. The committee was comprised of leaders of the three adjoining neighborhood ogranziations (Fairland Civic League , Melrose-Ruby Neighborhood Forum, and Washington Park Alliance for Neighborhoods), Evans Spring land owners, Planning Commission members and City staff. Meeting notes from those meetings are provided below:





Public meetings were held on July 28, August 18 and October 13 at Lucy Addison Middle School.
Download the public comments & the presentations from the meetings:


Meetings were held October 16th and 25th at William Fleming High School to present the Evans Spring Area Draft Plan to the public. Displays, maps, and other information were available and staff was on hand to answer questions and receive input. Download the plan:

The Evans Spring Area Plan will follow the same process as any neighborhood plan or component plan of Vision 2001-2020. After the public involvement process, the plan proceeds to the Planning Commission (see www.roanokeva.gov/planningcommission for more information) for a public hearing. The Planning Commission’s vote is a recommendation to City Council. The final step is a City Council public hearing to vote on the plan for adoption as a component of Vision 2001-2020, the City’s comprehensive plan.

After the public meetings scheduled for October 16 & 25 are held, staff will evaluate the input received and determine if any additional meetings are needed prior to the public hearings noted above. The public may attend and comment at both the Planning Commission and City Council hearings. These hearings will likely be no sooner than winter 2012 - 2013.

Once the plan is adopted by City Council, it is anticipated that rezoning requests will be filed to develop the Evans Spring land. These requests will follow the same process as the plan as noted above, with Planning Commission and City Council public hearings. The requests will be evaluated based on the policies of the adopted Evans Spring Area Plan. Thus, the public will have opportunities to comment on the plan prior to any official action, and on any rezoning requests that follow.




As part of the planning for Evans Spring, staff researched recently developed town centers and mixed use developments around the country. Pictures and examples were compiled to present to the public, many of which were included in the third public meeting (see above). The following portfolio is a work in progress. As additional examples are found they will be added.