Call to Action!

At Thursday’s OPCL meeting, we heard about an issue raised about a development being proposed in Virginia Beach and a call to action raised by the VBCCO. The Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations has the mission of bringing together the 171 civic leagues and neighborhood associations of Virginia Beach in order to have a stronger voice in advocating for the residents of Virginia Beach. The Ocean Park Civic League is a member. From time to time the VBCCO becomes aware of issues that have city wide impact and engages with its members. Here are some Resources with more info.

The Silos at Southern Pines presents such an issue. The Franklin Johnson Group seeks to build 176 apartments on property that straddles the AICUZ (Aircraft Installation Compatability Use Zone) and the ITA.

Why is this concerning? Especially to residents of Ocean Park which is not near this parcel?

• Question of Density Calculation. The property is 6.2 acres but because part of the property lies in the AICUZ which cannot have residences built on it, the structures will be built only on the 3 acres that lie outside but the total area is used in the density calculation even though half won’t actually be built on. The result is an effective density of 58 units per acre. (Sound familiar? The Marlin Bay development that has proposed in Ocean Park also included adjacent property that was not to be built on and in fact was not integrated in the project, in order to allow for much higher density.) Mrs. Henley, District 2 Council Member, rightly argued that this circumstance is not provided for in the zoning code and needs to be clarified. Approving this development will set a precedent which will be very difficult to get out from under. Other developers can seek redress in the courts to be treated the same and allowed the same density calculation. Which leads to the second concern:
• Fast Tracking by Mayor Dyer. The project was only recently briefed to the City Council at their informal session. Mrs. Henley raised her concerns. In spite of her request to proceed more deliberately, Mayor Dyer has fast tracked this. The project will go before the Planning Commission on October 11. Normally there is a month at least before it is then on the City Council agenda. Mayor Dyer has fast tracked it so that it will come before the City Council on October 17, 6 days after the Planning Commission hearing. Why the rush? Why is the zoning issue not being looked at?
• Concern about the precedents being set. At the Information session, Council member Henley emphasized the consequences if precedents about density and how it is calculated and other aspects of this development are set by the approval of this project. She recalled the period of rapid growth in the city when developers many times sued the city when their project was not approved and routinely won if they could show that another approved project had similar density. Ocean Park also faces the prospect of precedent setting development and density.
• Concern about breaching the BRAC 2005 agreement. There was an ITA Master Plan incorporated in to the Comprehensive Development Plan that addresses some of these items and there is a current TA/ITA Committee who is strongly opposed to these apartments in this location.

Call To Action: Call, write, email now! Show up on Wednesday, Oct. 11 and ask the Planning Commission to Defer This Application. In order to gauge opposition/support, the emails are literally counted. Your email will count. It doesn’t have to be long- the main thing is that the strength of the opposition is clear.

City Council also needs to hear how people feel about this development. Call, write, email the City Council asking them to defer this issue in order to first resolve the zoning unclarity. There is no reason this development should be fast tracked. citycouncil@vbgov.com.