Why are Ocean Park residents upset about how the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp is managed? What’s going on?
Problem #1.
Since approximately 2021 car clubs and sport bike groups have congregated in the boat ramp parking lot and used the area to stage racing activities late in the night waking residents in Ocean Park and all along Shore Dr. with disturbance from excessive loud racing engines. In July of 2023 a car drove up and shot into the crowd wounding two. The case remains unsolved. Residents have contacted 3rd Precinct Captain Guevara, Parks and Rec Dept. Director Michael Kirschman and City Councilman Joash Schulman. President Danny Murphy and many residents have contacted and worked with these department heads who have appeared before the civic league. Car Racing Video.
Attempted Solutions: Police have told residents to call the non-emergency number so that incidents can be documented. Over the years, residents have repeatedly made reports and shared pictures and videos of incidents in progress. These meetups often occur late at night, so providing this evidence has required great effort on the part of OP residents. One resident who has spent a lot of time working with the city on this describes how effective this solution has proven: “As far as calling, I’m tired of it. You sit on hold for so long and then you seriously have 20 or more questions to answer – it takes forever. All the calls I’ve made, the pictures and videos I’ve taken AND given to the police (with license plates) has done nothing to help. When I asked the Captain what they did with the video I provided to them (the one that ruined my evening plans with my grandson and took 3 hours of my time) he didn’t even know what I was talking about – said he’d get back to us, but he didn’t .”
In August temporary cameras were installed and Mr. Kirchman stated: “Police have access to the video”. But more incidents followed in December and January 3. Permanent cameras have now been installed January 2024. How have cameras helped?
How often does this go on? Racing was documented with videos posted on these dates: July 28, Aug 12 2022. In 2023 April 4, April 10, April 11, April 12, June 19, June 20, June 22, Oct. 6, Oct 22, Nov. 11, Dec. In 2024 so far Jan. 3, March 1 and 2. Many posts have been taken down so there were many more incidents.
Problem #2 Ocean Park’s neighborhood was not designed to accommodate traffic overflow from the LBR.
This results in traffic gridlock, blocked driveways, damaged property and unsafe conditions. Due to poor signage and poor direction from P & R employees, those turned away from the LBR must attempt to navigate out of the neighborhood on their own. They frequently attempt to turn around at unsafe intersections including the Tazewell Triangle in an attempt to get in line for the entrance to the LBR. this results in further gridlock, blocked driveways and damage to the Adopt-a-Spot, to which neighbors have donated substantial time and money. The streets around the LBR are not adequate to support this volume of traffic, especially considering the size of many of these vehicles towing boats and trailers. More available parking for boaters at the LBR, better direction for and by Parks and Rec employees and better signage could improve conditions.
On Tuesday evening June 17, an incident took place at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. There were reported shots fired and a large police presence at around 9 PM. A community meeting is being organized by Councilman Schulman when the facts of the incident are clear. As more information becomes available, we will post it immediately.
At around 7 pm on Sunday evening March 30th at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp there was a very large gathering of cars racing and spectators rallying with them in the LBR parking lot resulting in large scale disturbanceand damage. Police were on the scene.
This letter was sent to the City of Virginia Beach City Staff and Leadership, the City of Virginia Beach Police Department and Councilman Joash Schulman on Monday, March 31 at 9:30 am. Recipients of the letter included:
- Kenneth Chandler, Deputy City Manager
- Michael Kirschman, Parks & Recreation Director
- Michael Parkman, Parks & Recreation Operations Manager
- Amanda Parrish, Parks & Recreation Coordinator
- Colin Jesse, Parks & Recreation Facilities Supervisor
- William Chisolm, Virginia Beach Police Department Lieutenant
- Colin Elliot, Virginia Beach Police Department Marine Patrol Officer
- Brian Ricardo, Virginia Beach Police Department Community Engagement Officer
- Joash Schulman, Councilman
Good morning,
As you know, there were a multitude of incidents along Shore Drive, specifically in the Ocean Park area, including a large “street takeover” at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp facility. Social media is rampant with scenes of chaos and personal accounts of what can only be described as carnage. These incidents have raised significant safety and quality of life concerns among residents and those traveling on the roadway. While the accuracy of all incidents cannot be verified, here is the list from social media:
1. Saturday- Serious traffic accident (potentially DUI-related)
2. Saturday afternoon – 3-4 gunshots near Pleasure House Point
3. Sunday evening – Massive “street takeover” at LBR facility
4. Sunday evening – Multivehicle (motorcycle) accident on Lesner Bridge (related to LBR street takeover?)
To better understand the situation and ensure appropriate measures are taken, I request a detailed report of all activities reported to the police during this time. I also emphasize the need for transparency and accountability in this report. Also, I would appreciate access to any footage captured by video surveillance systems at these locations.
If possible, please include:
- A detailed summary of all reported incidents, including time lines of notification and response.
- Any actions taken by law enforcement or city staff in response.
- Specific recommendations or plans for improving security along Shore Drive in these areas moving forward.
Please let me know if further information is needed from my side to facilitate this request.
I appreciate your cooperation. Your role in ensuring community safety is invaluable, and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Very respectfully,
Danny Murphy,
Ocean Park Civic League President
Saturday, November 23,2024 LBR staff is aware of an incident last night and is reassessing efforts to mitigate over the off-season
- Staff found evidence of tire marks in the trailer parking lot this morning.
- Security footage shows a single car entering at 2:53 am and leaving at 3:00 am after doing donuts.
- Staff is investigating additional actions (redeployment of speed bumps, perhaps).
November 9, 2024 activity:
There was activity at the LBR Saturday evening. Here is what was reported:
Additional camera footage from 6 PM to midnight showed no further disturbances and VBPD was seen patrolling later in the evening 11PM
Around 5:30 PM on Saturday, 10-12 cars and a couple of motorcycles arrived at the facility and parked in the trailer lot.
The vehicles were not revving engines, racing, or being loud; they were just parked and looking at each other’s cars.
A call was made to the 3rd precinct to request a patrol car.
Live video was monitored from 5:30 PM until 6:05 PM, during which no negative activities were observed.
As the cars were leaving, VBPD arrived and stayed until all vehicles had left.
Follow-up with 3rd precinct resulted in additional patrols being sent through the area for the rest of the evening.
August 14: Councilman Schulman followed up with a chart on where to turn:
We have established the following protocol for reporting issues and concerns regarding the Facility:
- Emergency (life, health, property, etc.): Contact 911 (ECCS)
- Non-Emergency Issue/Concern: Contact 311 (ECCS)
- Non-Emergency Issue/Concern: Contact VB Police non-emergency tel:7573855000
August 8, 2024 Deputy City Manager Ken Chandler visited the Ocean Park Civic League Meeting with Councilman Schulman with updates on where to turn when problems arise.
From Kenneth Chandler at the member meeting: Use 311 or 911 for urgent issues. Drag racing is a 911 call and it is a public safety emergency. Call 311 for stacked up boat trailers in the neighborhood or non-emergency incidents.
On July 21, 2024 District 9 City Councilman Joash Schulman addressed the community concerns in his letter:
City Councilman Joash Schulman reached out with updates concerning the issues at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. Regarding traffic concerns for the days/times when the boat parking lot fills, Parks and Recreation staff have taken great strides to mitigate the impacts both on the neighbors and visiting boaters. Staff will continue to close the parking lot when full, place signage and barricades and notify patrons that the lot is full, and they should exit the neighborhood back to Shore Drive. If it comes to the staff’s attention that boat/trailer traffic congestion is severely impacting the neighborhood, they will use best efforts to contact the nonemergency public safety line for assistance, but not at the expense of impacting their primary duties of managing traffic in and out of the facility itself. In the event that boat/trailer traffic is impacting the neighborhood, we would welcome and encourage neighbors to call the non-emergency public safety line as well, since our staff may not always be able to see what is going on outside of the facility, especially at peak times.“ In the neighborhood, it has been requested to have the streetlights checked. Parks and Recreation (P&R) staff have reached out to Dominion with this request. In regard to the commercial launch pass process, in summary if a boat operator identifies themselves as a commercial operator, they need to apply for a commercial launch pass, pay the commercial launch fee, provide proof of insurance naming the City as additional insured, and provide a business license. This process is strictly for the additional protection of the City’s asset (the boat launch), as well as the protection of the boater, in the unfortunate event of damage to City property. This process has been fully vetted through the City’s Risk Management office. However, it should be noted that there is no legal requirement for this process, and in fact for many years the department did not issue commercial passes, impose a higher fee for boat launch use, or require proof of insurance or a business license prior to launching. All of these are relatively new processes the City has put in place, again to add an additional layer of protection to the City’s asset. We do not impose these requirements on any of the other City P&R boat launches, nor do we have staff at any other boat launch areas. We understand residents can get confused about who is responsible for monitoring business licenses in the City of Virginia Beach, especially if they are mobile or operate on the water. While the VBPD Marine Patrol enforces numerous local ordinances and Commonwealth of Virginia statutes, VBPD does not have jurisdiction to stop and inspect commercial businesses, whether engaged in commercial fishing or charter operations, unless they observe a violation of a local or state “ode. Once they address the violation of the local or state code, we rely on our partners, such as the U. S. Coast Guard, Virginia Marine Resources Commission (Virginia Marine Police), or Department of Wildlife Resources Conservation Police, to address and enforce those commercial businesses who are operating their respective businesses on the public waterways.““To ensure businesses operate legally, business owners must obtain a business license from the Office of the Commissioner of Revenue. If staff believe a commercial operator is operating without a business license, staff will notify the Commissioner of Revenue. Residents who have concerns about illegal businesses operating anywhere should call the Office of Commissioner of the Revenue, Investigations Division at 757-385-8784 and the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-552-9963.““Moving forward, in an effort to streamline communication and ensure accurate and timely information is provided, we ask that any future concerns regarding operations or issues at the Lynnhaven Boat and Beach Facility be directed to Virginia Beach Police 3rd Precinct Captain James Gordon JJGordon@vbgov.com . The Lieutenant will serve as the central point person for the City with any future issues or concerns.“ |
Ocean Park Civic League 