The People Speak

The Petition

For months now, we’ve been trumpeting the message: “SAVE COUNTRYSIDE!” All we can say is that Roanoke has responded! Our community wants to save the course and utilize the green space as a golf and recreational area for the entire city.

Our online petition offers a unique public comment area. We’ve taken those comments and presented them here.

Countryside is an incredible asset to the entire Roanoke Valley and needs to be preserved and developed as a recreational facility for the Northwest section of the city. "Developing" the Countryside property as a residential/business area is shortsighted and destructive.

This is the perfect use for this property. Adding more people under will create liability for any builder, realtor, and the city in the future as I have seen it happen elsewhere with a crash and as planes get nosier.

THE ONLY REASON WE MOVED TO OUR LOCATION WAS THE GOLF COURSE. WE ARE CERTAIN WITHOUT ANY DOUBT THAT KEEPING A GOLF COURSE INTHIS LOCATION WITH SWIMMING AND TENNIS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL POSSIBILITIES WOULD BE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE SURROUNDING CITY AREA AND FOR OUR FUTURE CHILDREN GROWING UP. THIS REALLY WOULD BE A WASTE TO DESTROY THE POSSIBILITIES.

Save the course!

Having a municipal golf course would be a great addition to the Parks and Rec. Dept!

No comment should be necessary; it obvious that the area should remain a golf course and other amenities updated and upgraded.

We definitely need indoor tennis courts on that side of town

Whether or not Countryside has a name change - the city of Roanoke would lose out by not keeping it as a public golf course. I've noticed that the staff at Countryside is afraid to spend any extra money to maintain the upkeep on the course now because they don't know what will happen there next.

I grew up in NW and have never moved far from my early beginnings. We need a recreational area in the NW, Why are we being left out from the city planning?

One of the things that was mentioned regarding the uniqueness and genuine beauty of Roanoke, when being named All American City, was the allure of the Countryside gold course. Located so snugly, yet effortlessly convenient, but it adds a nuance to a city the size of Roanoke, that most Major cities NEVER achieve. When I supported the 'development' of countryside, I as many of my friend ASSUMED they meant, taking our jewel of a golf course, and developing it into a diamond of a golf course. New club house, fixing the wonderful pool and indoor tennis courts to their previous luster. NONE of us THOUGHT the city was thinking of creating anything other than a better golf course. With what we have seen in areas of Roanoke where some of the most beautiful homes ever built are starting to fall into decay, or be destroyed, (another beauty that made Roanoke what it is),... we need to go back and review ways to save those precious works of art. Somehow, the leadership of Roanoke seems to believe that the only way to generate revenues, improve our ability to draw in new business etc, etc,....is to destroy the things that MADE Roanoke considered "the best kept secret in the US'.... and SHOEHORN as many new projects as possible, into the smallest spaces. (i.e. New Art Museum) A project that ballooned from a few million to over 40 million I hear? Wouldn't make more since to build a Five million dollar museum, and put 35 million dollars of great art into it? Same mentality is being used for the golf course. If we can shoehorn several hundred houses into it, we can get this amount of revenue. I have run business' since I was 20 years old, ...and I can tell you, ... Smart use of money collect beats rampant spending every time. Stop this direction, use my tax money in a way that IMPROVES the STANDARD of living for each resident, ...and no the NUMBERS of residents living. This too will provide the revenues needed.

This is the best use of this land.

Don't forget that they can still turn the course into an Arnold Palmer signature course and bring in The PGA & LPGA for tournaments which the revenue would be astronomical just for the City motels alone.

I remember Countryside very well from my undergraduate days at VT. It would be a shame to lose it.

Please pay attention to us and do the right thing for once. The lovely thing about the Roanoke Valley is that we have so many wonderful amenities within minutes, Countryside being one of the major assets. Please don't turn Roanoke into another no class Podunk town.

Keep the property as a golf course. Improve it and its associated amenities and it will pay for itself many times over, as well as providing a recreation area for area citizens and an attraction for visitors. Imagine ...a city owned entity that pays for itself and provides many avenues of recreation.

Keep the property as a Golf Course and improve on it.

I live on the golf course, so I have a personal interest. The City should not be in the Real Estate business to begin with.

I think the Name should remain Countryside and Name the signature hole after Roy Stanley.

I am in full agreement with this petition. Keep the golf course alive! It is always a pleasure to play there, and who better to name the course after than Roy Stanley. He gave so much to this community.

This is a great opportunity for Roanoke City to have a great Municipal Golf Course near the Airport and a major shopping area for Southwestern Virginia. It will not only be a good recreational area for Roanoke City citizens but an additional draw for tourism.

I live in Vinton now, but grew up in Roanoke and graduated from Fleming in 1978. Roanoke Country Club is only about 1 mile from Countryside. Why don't they put new housing and businesses there?

I agree with what was written and will be glad to sign any petition to keep Countryside.

ROANOKE CITY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A STATE OF THE ART GOLF COURSE THAT COULD BE THE ENVY OF ALL LOCALITIES. IT CAN BE A TOURIST ATTRACTION BY OFFERING GOLF PACKAGES ALIGNED WITH ONE OF THE NEARBY MOTELS. THE PACKAGE COULD EVEN INCLUDE DINNERS AT ONE OR MORE OF THE FINE RESTAURANTS NEAR BY AND COULD EVEN INCLUDE TICKETS TO A PLAY AT THE MILL MOUNTAIN THEATRE. GOLFERS LOVE TO TAKE TRIPS TO GREAT GOLF COURSES AND THEIR WIVES WOULD LOVE THE SHOPPING AT VALLEY VIEW MALL. THE OPPORTUNITY IS THERE TO PUT ROANOKE ON THE MAP FOR ANOTHER VENUE OF TOURISTS. SALEM CITY HAS ATTRACTED TOURISTS WITH THEIR STATE OF THE ART BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL FACILITIES. ROANOKE HAS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY IN THEIR HANDS. ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS TAKE IT! PLEASE!

Countryside is a Maples design. He designed 30 or 40 golf courses, mostly in North and South Carolina. He is acknowledged in golf circles to be one of the top American golf architects. What a shame it would be to destroy one of his great works.

I learned to play golf as a 13 year old at Countryside and continue to play there to this day, it's the best course for the money in town and is also a great layout, we're short on affordable courses in the Valley. It adds a lot to the community and should be preserved!

I learned as a child how to play golf at countryside and i still play today at countryside and do not want it to go anywhere!!!

I have played the course regularly for many years and consider it a very positive recreational outlet for the Roanoke valley.

I think the city should consider operating the golf course as a public course and a source of revenue.

Keep the course as it was intended--GREENSPACE.

With the lack of recreational facilities in this quadrant of town, it would be a shame to lose Countryside Golf Course, pool and tennis club. With the "proposed" Wm Fleming stadium/track this could become a recreation hub for the northern portion of the city. Properly run this area will be a revenue generating entity for the city. If the City can allow a methadone clinic to be located in this area (less than 1,000 yards from a middle and high school) it seems entirely fair to work with the area on something positive that would increase livability and recreational opportunity in this area.