Busy elves at work on the Tazewell Triangle! Looking good! Thanks to all the helpers!
Civic League Meeting January 11 at the Brock Center.
Holiday Light Bike Parade!! Huge thank you to Anita Montgomery for organizing this at the last minute so the tradition would not die! Thank you to OPVRS for the escort through the neighborhood! Thanks to all who joined in!
Fun in 2024! We will celebrate 80 years of the Ocean Park Civic League! Our wonderful Social Committee has great plans for events for 2024! Of course our awesome Chili Cook Off on Thursday, Feb. 8 at the Rescue Squad. More to come: Wine Tasting, Spring Fling April 20th, Movie Nights on the Beach, Piling Day (on Sunday,May 5!). Stay Tuned! (next Social Committee meeting at Taste, January 29th 6:00 pm. All are welcome! )
We had a good turn out for our December meeting. Shane Abell will succeed Blake Norris as Treasurer of the civic league. Thank you Shane for taking on this role and huge thank you to Blake Norris for his five year service as Treasurer for OPCL! We voted in a new member of the Board: Sandra Dawe! Thank you Sandra for joining and helping! The budget was passed.
President Danny Murphy gave updates on a few topics. The city will have to make a decision about choosing a new recycling contract which will include considerable increases in costs. The city has been seeking input on what citizens want:
Only a few Ocean Park sky blue hoodies left (sizes L, XL and 2XL)! Drop in to Beach Built on Shore Dr. next to Froggies and get yours! Payment in cash or check can be accepted. (or use the QR code and a credit card). All proceeds go to the civic league. Beach Built has generously given us a little space in their great little store! We still have t-shirts-short and long sleeve in both designs: live oak and sunset. Great gift for college kids to remind them of home!
Thank you to Peyton at Beach Built for collaborating with the civic league!
Huge thank you to all who came out on Friday for a great time at Froggies! Thanks to Debbie and Bill for hosting the civic league! Heartfelt thanks for all the generous donations! It took many folks to carry them all to await pick up!! Also thank you to the many who donated gift cards and also cash toward gift cards for the children in foster placements working with CASA. Collecting through December 17. Thank you to our wonderful neighborhood!!!
We are still collecting gift cards and donations toward more gift cards. You can bring them to the OPCL meeting at the Brock Center on Dec. 7 or donate on the website through December 17.
We would like to thank residents, city staff, the Bayfront Advisory Commission and City Council members, in particular our District 9 Councilman Joash Schulman, for the diligent work to pass the the Shore Dr & Pleasure House Rd Improvement funding amendment which passed under consent at the November 21 meeting. The allocation of these revenues, to include money for Shore Dr. Phase IV:
On Monday, November 6th, the committee from the civic league met with John Peterson, Delceno Miles and Mark Rosenfield representing the McLeskey and Browning families who want to develop the Marlin Bay property. Councilman Joash Schulman organized the meeting which included Mr. Bob Magoon, Design Chair for the Bayfront Advisory Commission, civic league board members and Ocean Park residents including subject area professionals: developers, architects, realtors.
The main outcome of the meeting was that the McLeskey and Browning families will not consider options which include developing for eventual sale. They have excluded commercial, single family and townhouse development. Their intention at this time is to move forward with the original project plan of 227 apartments. This of course flies in the face of all promises of ”community engagement” since the main concern of the community has been the high density of the project. The last proposal of the project which was withdrawn in October 2021 was for 197 apartments so this is a return to the highest density.
On Wednesday, November 8th, residents gathered at the Bayside Rec Center to give their input on the update to the Comprehensive Plan.On the plus side, residents heard about the themes and place types which yielded Big Ideas which came out of earlier focus group meetings: Innovative-Sustainable Businesses, Enhance Community Centers, Neighborhood Walking & Biking connections, Mixed Use & Walkable Corridors,Multimodal Corridors, Enhance Natural Areas, Linear Park System, Preserve Rural & Agricultural Lands, Protect existing Homes & Neighborhoods.
Each table was asked to discuss these and using sticky dots identify which big ideas they felt were the most important. In effect, the audience was being asked to rate pre-selected material. It was clear that people had come with questions and concerns and wanted an opportunity to voice those not just choose from a preselected menu. A limited number of questions etc were allowed before being cut off so the planned program could proceed. In practice, the room was too small for the number of attendees so discussion was difficult. Each group did report out and every single group identified the same two big ideas as the most important: Preserve Rural and Agricultural Lands and Protect Homes and Neighborhoods.
If you have comments on the process or substance of the Comprehensive Plan development, email the City Council.
Links for more information: Virginia Beach Existing Conditions: Demographics, Land Use, Housing, Sea Level Rise,Transportation, City Services.
Huge thanks to all who brought donations to the meeting! They were delivered to the 3rd Precinct on Independence to join in their campaign.
Or a monetary donation is greatly appreciated: “monetary donations allow us to purchase food that is needed but not always donated such as meats and fresh produce. Your monetary donations help provide balanced meals to our community!” DONATE now.
Danny Murphy comments for 
Ocean Park Civic League 