Huge thank you to Froggies and Care-A-Lot for a great prizes, give aways and a fun event! See pics on OPCL Facebook.

Beautiful evening.. great music-thank you to Lewis McGehee!! .. great food-Thank you Pollards! Thank you to our oyster shuckers and First Landing Seafood .. thank you to the GREAT PEOPLE of Ocean Park! .. thank you local businesses for supporting us with great prizes for our raffle! Thank you to our beautiful Brock Environmental Center and Liz Gathagan! Special thanks to Kevin O’Hara for his tribute to our much admired and soon to be missed Rita Salazar and for his awesome photos! Thanks to all for coming and sharing the evening!

Huge thank you to all the volunteers who made it happen!!!!

WOW: The Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations Call: the Latest.
Also: Listen to Council member Henley discuss the ramifications with John Moss

The vote was TUESDAY, October 17. The call was to fill the auditorium. The answer is: yes we can! The question becomes: does the City Council care to listen (outside of Ms. Henley and Mr. Chris Taylor who did listen to the people)?

Appropriate development, appropriate redevelopment, appropriate infill development which fit with the surrounding neighborhoods can find support with neighbors but apparently NOT with seven members of the city council: Mayor Dyer, Joash Schulman who made the motion to approve the project, Mr. Berlucchi, Ms. Wooten, Dr. Ross-Hammond, Mr. Remick, Vice Mayor Wilson. Who, in spite of the unprecedented crowd that filled the auditorium, in spite of the hours of speakers who included city appointed advisory commissions, civic leaders and citizens from many districts, chose to approve the project which allows inappropriate density and allows transfer of development rights, exempts the developer from providing adequate parking, exempts them from following height restrictions and from including green space.

Four Planning commissioners cited a number of reasons why they would not support it. One commissioner said that since several city advisory boards-ITA (Interfacility Traffic) Commission, the Agricultural Commission (since the parcel is below the Green Line )and the Active Transportation Committee spoke against it, they would not support it. Another said they were persuaded that this development did not fit with the Comprehensive Plan and also did not agree with transferring development rights which this project does in order to achieve an effective density of 58 units per acre. One commissioner was concerned with the appearance of money (campaign contributions) playing a role. The Franklin Johnston Group has made substantial contributions to several Mayor Dyer’s and several council members’ election campaigns.

What gets developed in one part of the city directly impacts what can be developed elsewhere. When precedents are set, they can be used by other developers to justify development along the same lines. Fairness, as imposed by court cases or council decisions, will require that subsequent developers be allowed the same latitude to transfer development rights, manipulate density calculations to include land that cannot be built on to inflate total density, and the other accommodations being offered to this developer in this project. 

Ocean Park may soon face similar questions about the Marlin Bay development. Residents should have a say in what their neighborhood looks like, how crowded and congested it is allowed to become.

The choices are frequently framed as all or nothing. Since Virginia Beach has a need for more housing, supporters of this project say that the questions and concerns raised about this development should not be addressed but the only choice is to approve it. Why must we be offered only the option of developments that are super sized?  Why can’t reasonable, appropriate development be encouraged? Residents are not saying ‘don’t build anything’. Over and over again, the people who live in Virginia Beach say: build what is appropriate for the space. A good example of appropriate and reasonable development is the Kempsville Crossing Development. Not one person spoke in opposition when it finally came before the City Council and it was approved. True community engagement by the developer resulted, after a few months of negotiation, in community support of the project.  

The Ocean Park Civic League will be pleased to recognize Rita Sparling Salazar, beloved mail carrier for most of Ocean Park and member of OPCL, at our Fall Fest on October 21 at the Brock Center. Rita has been a fixture in our neighborhood for 14 years: brightening everyone’s day with her radiant friendliness and countless acts of kindness. The light of Ocean Park will dim a little as Rita moves on to be closer to her family. If you are a member of the civic league, please join us for Fall Fest and have a chance to say a good bye to Rita who will join us after her route!

A tribute from Jill “ I’m so sad. Other neighborhoods are jealous that we have you as part of our daily lives. Our mail delivery will never be the same, and there’s a high likelihood it will be entirely screwed up. Not only did you do your job well (above and beyond) but you KNEW us all. You’ve become a friend. You’ve been here to see a whole generation of children grow up and leave for college or their adult lives, you’ve seen our pets grow old and some even pass on, you’ve seen us grow older and some of us pass on, you’ve participated in our community events, you were helpful to those who truly needed your assistance when you didn’t have to be and you’ve always been so nice to everyone (except when they really didn’t deserve it). You’ve chided us for unemptied mailboxes, blocked mailboxes and I’ve even seen you push a trash can or two out of the way with your truck.
I’ll miss your witty banter, your sarcasm, your inside knowledge and just having you as a constant fixture in our lives. If you come back to visit, I volunteer to drive you around in my golf cart so you can say hi to everyone on your old route. Those people on your new route don’t have a clue what’s coming their way.”

A steady stream of concerned citizens attended the Information Session on Monday, October 9th organized by Council member Barbara Henley about the Silos Development which will come before the Planning Commission this Wednesday, October 11 at noon in the Council chambers. She urges all those who are concerned about the precedents that this development will set and then will be very difficult to turn away from to take action. Email the Planning Commission and ask them to NOT recommend approval until many outstanding questions are resolved. Sign up to speak at the Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday.

Copy the Staff Planner on each individual email: Staff Planner Hoa N. Dao HDao@vbgov.com (click name for email link)

District 1   Naomi Estaris (click name for email link)

District 2   Michael Clemons (click name for email link)

District 3   Michael Anderson (click name for email link)

District 4   Kathryn Byler (click name for email link)

District 5   George Alcaraz (click name for email link)

District 6   Bryan Plumlee (click name for email link)

District 7   Susan Hippen (click name for email link)

District 8   Holly Cuellar (click name for email link)

District 9   John Coston (click name for email link)

District 10 William Parks (click name for email link)

At Large   Donald Horsley (click name for email link)

A sign-up sheet for those interested in speaking in person on proposed applications is available in the Council Chamber prior to each Planning Commission meeting. 

To comment virtually, register for WebEx online and contact the Planning Department at (757) 385-4621 or mbharris@vbgov.com before 5 p.m. the day before the public hearing. 

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.

The mission of the Virginia Beach CASA is to support and promote court-appointed volunteer advocacy so that every abused and neglected child can be safe, establish permanence and have the opportunity to thrive. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for a child’s best interests. At the October 5th Ocean Park Civic League Meeting, Tiffany Arguello, Director of Development and Compliance talked to us about how this organization plays a vital role in helping children. Learn more about this extremely worthy opportunity! We thank her for speaking to us and also to our neighbor Tracie Cohen who is recent graduate of the training and new volunteer for this important work!

Do you love the Haunted House that OPVRS has put on for many years?

They need some help: folks to help with design ideas, setting it up and on the weekend-probably Oct. 28-29. If you can help, contact President Danny Murphy: president@opcl.org or come to the civic league meeting October 5th at the Brock Center 7:00!