HopeTree rezoning opponents hold signs asking for a vote delay at Monday night’s Salem City Council meeting.
By Meg Hibbert
Contributing Writer
Despite opponents’ last-minute pleas to postpone a decision, Salem City Council voted 3-2 to approve Planned Unit Development for HopeTree Family Services’ acreage at the north end of Broad Street.
It was the required second reading for the proposal, passed 3-2 at the June 10 Council meeting. Once again, those voting for the change on what was the Virginia Baptist Children’s Home campus were Councilmembers Randy Foley and Bill Jones and Mayor Renee Turk who attended the meeting remotely while on vacation in North Carolina.
The PUD proposal by developers Stateson Homes would build up to 340 houses, patio homes and apartments as well as a small hotel, coffee shop and corner market on 42 acres. Developers promise they will retain greenspace and walking trails open to the public.
Current vacant brick buildings on the campus will be incorporated into development, developers say, and thereby retaining the campus’ history. The construction will probably take up to 10 years, according to Stateson representatives.
Opponents waved signs saying “No PUD,” “Hey, hey, where’s Renee?” and “Postpone the vote.”
A motion to postpone failed, with Vice Mayor Jim Wallace and Councilman Hunter Holiday voting for it.
Before the vote, the mayor said she had read all the emails, met with citizens and done her homework on the HopeTree proposal. “Whether I am here or there, my vote would be the same. I don’t see the necessity in delaying.”
In making the motion to postpone, Holiday said, “The only win will be for Stateson and HopeTree. The losers will be the City of Salem. There are things that we need to address,” he said.
After the vote, 20 people who made up half the crowd left the meeting. As she went out the door, one woman said of the mayor, “I hope he enjoys her seat as long as she has it. We’re going to the best we can to unseat her.”
Turk is up for reelection in November, as is Wallace. Jones is not running again. Four candidates have filed to run for those three seats.
On Tuesday, Turk called the Salem Times-Register to reiterate the work she had done before deciding her vote. “There is no perfect solution. I am weighing what is best for Salem as a city as a whole.”
She continued, “There is so much concern about what will be. I don’t think it will be as bad as a lot of people fear.”
And she added that she is pleased that the Stateson proposal will renovate and preserve Virginia Baptist Children’s Home history in its buildings.
In other matters at the June 24 meeting, Council:
- Appointed Macel Janoschka to fill out the unexpired portion on the School Board of Rachel Thompson that expires December 2026. Thompson resigned after being named a Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court Judge this spring. See separate article in this week’s STR;
- Denied a rezoning request for a house on 324 Pennsylvania Avenue to have three rental units instead of two. The vote was unanimous. Neighbors Karen Walker and Laura Richards spoke to oppose the rezoning. Richards said property owners wanted to capitalize on the beauty of their historic neighborhoods;
- Authorized the city manager to enter into an agreement with the regional fire training center;
- Passed a resolution rescinding a June 10 resolution and changing dates to new ones for miscellaneous fees.
The meeting ended at 7:26 p.m.
