A very busy and chaotic weekend at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp: boat ramp parking full by mid morning resulting in turned away boaters and visitors. Boaters had to circle the neighborhood while waiting for an opening at the ramp and visitors parked wherever they found an inch in the Ocean Park narrow streets. Residents turned to the contact suggested in the letter from Councilman Joash Schulman: Virginia Beach Police Lieutenant Jackie Geluso only to find a dead end, on vacation? wrong number? Residents attempted to report the parking and traffic problems to the non emergency number and were transferred time after time. LBR staff said they didn’t report neighborhood traffic safety concerns because “they couldn’t get through”. That about sums it up: nobody can get through on the streets or on the phone.

District 9 City Councilman Joash Schulman has reached out with updates regarding the issues around the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp. Here is his letter to the Ocean Park community.

“I know that the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp has been a topic of concern for the community, and as you are aware, I’ve been actively working with City staff on some solutions to help improve the situation. After convening with staff from multiple departments on the various issues we’ve encountered, I am providing you below with a synopsis of the actions taken to-date to help address the various concerns raised regarding the facility and its impacts on the surrounding neighborhood. In addition, please note at the bottom the request to have any future concerns directed to Lieutenant Geluso.“

“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.”

“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 Lieutenant Jackie Geluso at JJGeluso@vbgov.com or 757-385-2775. The Lieutenant will serve as the central point person for the City with any future issues or concerns.”

Shout out to the neighbors and friends who have funded and worked so hard to improve the Tazewell Triangle! Their efforts have been going on for years- since 2018! They have taken on the city, who was less than responsive, and put in a lot of sweat equity! Hats off to them!! The Tazewell Triangle is now an official Adopt a Program!

Your $20 membership matters! Ocean Park Civic League works hard to put on fun activities throughout the year that bring our neighborhood together: Chili Cookoff, Spring Fling, Fall Fest, Easter Egg Hunt, Holiday Party, Movie Nights on the Beach, Wine tastings and there seems to always be something new! In addition, the civic league stays on top of issues and advocates for the neighborhood, gives out scholarships, supports Lynnhaven River Now and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Join or Renew today if you live in Ocean Park! Thank you!! Please support this organization if you live in Ocean Park: only $20 for 2024 membership in the Ocean Park Civic League.

Please stay tuned as there may be updates. Currently the planned Tuesday, July 30th committee meeting will go forward at OPVRS at 5:30 pm. (if you have not registered your interest in serving on the committee, email President Danny Murphy. ) An informational meeting for OPCL members will be on Thursday August 8th 5:30-6:30 pm (before the regular membership meeting) at the Brock Center to inform members who have not attended previous meetings.

The civic league will host meetings to review the rezoning ( from Residential to B1A Community Business) and Conditional Use Permit (Restricted to ‘ Assembly Use’) application for the proposed renovation/restoration of the Ocean Park Baptist Church. The objective is to assess the benefit to the community of the application based on facts and planning guidelines.

In addition there are public forums where residents can express their personal concerns and thoughts. Bayfront Advisory Commission Special Session (TBA). VB Planning Commission Wed. August 14th at noon in the City Hall Council Chambers.

The civic league will host meetings to review the rezoning ( from Residential to B1A Community Business) and Conditional Use Permit (Restricted to ‘ Assembly Use’) application for the proposed renovation/restoration of the Ocean Park Baptist Church. The objective is to assess the benefit to the community of the application based on facts and planning guidelines.

On Tuesday, July 30th the committee will meet at OPVRS at 5:30 pm. (if you have not registered your interest in serving on the committee, email President Danny Murphy. ) An informational meeting for OPCL members will be on Thursday August 8th 5:30-6:30 pm (before the regular membership meeting) at the Brock Center to inform members who have not attended previous meetings.

In addition there are public forums where residents can express their personal concerns and thoughts. Bayfront Advisory Commission Special Session (TBA). VB Planning Commission Wed. August 14th at noon in the City Hall Council Chambers.

The BAC will review the application for a Re-Zoning and Conditional Use Permit for the Ocean Park Baptist Church property at a special session to be scheduled soon. The BAC has purview over considering the project in light of the Shore Drive Corridor Plan, Design Guidelines and the Comprehensive Plan and can make a recommendation to the Planning Commission and City Council based on those parameters. The decision will be made by the City Council on whether to approve the zoning change and the CUP.

What are your top 3 concerns about development guidelines in Ocean Park? The BAC will take up this discussion and needs to hear from you! Email: communication@opcl.org

Shore Drive Corridor Plan

Shore Drive Design Guidelines

COVB Codes and Ordinances: Article 17 Shore Drive Overlay District

While the Shore Drive Corridor Plan and the Shore Drive Design Guidelines may be more familiar, the Urban Land Institute study that they were based on is also available. The study was done in 1997 and does contain outdated information. Several suggested developments: Waterman’s Walk, Fisherman’s Village did not prove viable.

“The questions the panel was asked to address were divided into four major topic areas: market potential, development and marketing strategies, planning and design and implementation. The panel was asked to evaluate potential development in the corridor and how these sectors differed from markets in the oceanfront resort area.” The Executive Summary shows that many of today’s issues were already clear then: “The absence of a vision results in unclear plans for the future and a tendency toward hodgepodge development patterns. The city has many of the tools necessary to implement a plan but in the absence of a clear vision it is hard to find the basis for consistent administrative action and strong political will, especially when pressures to accommodate narrow interests are significant. ” Issues listed for the west side of the bridge (Ocean Park) include: Density, Development Standards, Road and Parking Standards, Future development impact on wetlands.” In 30 years not much change.

The final recommendations called for the city to better control development by requiring compliance with environmental regulations , site design criteria and landscape and parking design regulations. The city “should use these tools aggressively to improve the overall quality of development in the area. The city has the capacity to better communicate with developers regarding design issues and show endeavor to work more closely with the development community to achieve better design outcomes. The Bayfront Advisory Board could be instrumental in this effort.” It draws a parallel between the powerful Resort Advisory Committee and the Bayfront Advisory.

As a part of the Comprehensive Plan update, the Shore Drive Corridor Plan will also be updated. The same consultant firm will address the Shore Drive part of the Comprehensive Plan later next year. In the coming months, the BAC will work toward laying a foundation for that work by reviewing the old plan: its vision, goals and purpose and welcomes input from residents. Many opportunities will be planned for public engagement. The Ocean Park community is invited to review the current guiding Shore Dr. documents included in this post and think about needed changes.

Comments: president@opcl.org

• Experts recommend never digging a hole deeper than the knee height of the shortest person in your group – with 2 feet being the maximum depth.
• When either the sand forming the hole dries out or someone stands near the edge of the hole, adding extra weight, the sand hole collapses in, and the heavy grains fill all open spaces in the hole. This leaves no air available for a trapped person to breathe.
• While skiers trapped in avalanches can cup their hands to form an air pocket because snow is light, but that’s not the case when sand collapses.

After much nail biting about the weather outlook for the July 6 Firework Show, our Fireworks Wizard Jill Doczi was again proven right- the only constant about our weather is its unpredictability! It was a beautiful show BEST EVER (we say that every year). The whole community joins in thanking Jill for all she does to make it happen: permits, barge/tug shopping, envelope distribution and paperwork paperwork paperwork! (see earlier post: What Does it Take-list too long!) . Thank you to all who helped stuff those mailbox flags: every street-every house; to the civic league for handling the money and getting the word out and to a wonderful audience who behave and clean up!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO DONATE ! (it’s not too late!). This show is paid for one dollar at a time with contributions by so many- big and small! Thank you neighbors and visitors! Thank you also to Westminster-Canterbury on the Chesapeake Bay for their generous donation this year.

Thank you also to Virginia Beach Police Department for providing traffic safety to those crossing Shore Drive! Thank you to the Virginia Beach Special Events Office– Zack our new best friend!