Another eventful year in Ocean Park! It’s hard to believe that in January and February, we were not yet back to in person meetings amid concerns about virus resurgence. The Marlin Bay developers expressed interest in working with the civic league in their development of a new plan for the Marlin Bay property project. OPCL formed a committee and met with Jon Peterson in February for an open discussion about what the community would like to see. We have not been contacted again for input or meetings. We did have our Chili Cook Off in March in the (a little drafty) ambulance bay at OPVRS due to continuing concerns about the corona virus but the weather did not cooperate!

In June our George and Louise Lyon Four Year Scholarship was awarded to Carly Lundgren.

In August the issue of private use of the Lynnhaven Transfer Station came up when the city introduced an Ordinance change without input from the OP community. President Danny Murphy worked with Council members Moss and Miles and Public Works Director Hanson to generate protocols ensuring safe operation for the neighborhood.

During the 2022 election season, OPCL hosted School Board and City Council candidates for District 9 at our meetings in August-October. We thank John Moss for his strong support of Ocean Park and his many years of dedicated service to the city. Also we thank Delceno Miles, interim City Council member replacing Louis Jones, for her active support of our community. We welcome incoming City Council member for District 9 Joash Schulman and look forward to working with him!

We look forward to another great year for Ocean Park in 2023!

At the City Council Meeting on December 6th, the Ordinance to “AUTHORIZE temporary encroachments into a portion of City right-of-way” was deferred indefinitely by the City Council.

A number of speakers spoke to make the point that this is a larger issue than one particular case. Clay Bernik, President of the Friends of the Live Oaks, noted that there is no current policy on encroachment into dune areas which are vulnerable to flooding and sea level rise and asked the city to develop guidelines which would address how the city can protect these sensitive areas. (And noted that there is no mechanism to preserve our city tree-live oaks ). Steve Gibson, Vice President of the North Virginia Beach Civic League, described how these activities are becoming more common and described 4 cases in the North End where residents are building large areas into the dunes. He also requested a change in process since currently these requests go directly from Public Works to City Council. Todd Solomon, Cape Story Civic League, also noted the lack of civic process since these requests are addressed piecemeal allowing little or no notice to the public. President Danny Murphy requested a postponement saying that the issue is that the short notice allows no time to for community input on issues like this one and others like the Lynnhaven Dredge Transfer Station. Robert O’Neal spoke to clarify the timeline and points about the right of way and echoed objections about short notice and lack of transparency.

Council member Henley said she recognized that there were a number of issues concerning waterways and encroachment and she would support a holistic approach. Council member Wilson suggested that the Beach and Waterways Commission be reactivated to help clarify these issues including a lack of process and oversight. City Manager Duhaney suggested a moratorium which Mayor Dyer supported and was agreed to by the Council. District 9 Council member Moss suggested that the City leverage the digital infrastructure that has been paid for in terms of extensive data on the beaches to see the whole picture and adopt a comprehensive policy because “just because it’s been there forever doesn’t mean it gets to stay there.” He asked that City Manager Duhaney be tasked with coming back to council in the new year with recommendations on organization and timeline. Bayside Council member Delceno Miles noted that these requests do not go through advisory boards so a more comprehensive plan is called for. She made a motion to defer the ordinance indefinitely which was carried unanimously by the Council.

The North Virginia Beach Civic League has identified encroachment into the dunes as a problem in their October Newsletter and has taken the step of advocating the prevention of encroachment activities.

This is the article from the North Virginia Beach Civic League Newsletter: October-2022-Newsletter.

Warm (!) wishes to everyone for a happy and peaceful holiday season! Good health to all our families and friends in Ocean Park and all places near and far!

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram : .instagram.com/oceanparkcivicleague

At the December OPCL meeting held on Zoom on December 8th, President Danny Murphy offered several updates. He hit the highlights of the District #9 Bayside Town Hall meeting organized by Council member Delceno Miles, noting that Parks and Rec plans to fix the washout area on the trail at Pleasure House Point. Third Precinct Captain Wilkinson described new technologies in use by the police dept. and underscored the importance of residents reporting incidents. With the increased use of analytics to parcel out scarce resources.. patrols won’t be allocated to an area if there is not a perceived need. QDR codes were provided for access to further information about additional topics.

Danny also had an update concerning the berm grass planting on the dunes. Jim White has communicated that the city has contacted contractors for them to submit bids on the project. Further updates about the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp, Beach Access, and details on all items are in the Minutes for the meeting.

Tentative Meeting and Event Dates for 2023:

Thursday, January 5, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, February 9, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, March 9, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, April 6, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, May 4, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, June 8, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, July 6, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, August 10, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, September 7, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, October 5, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, November 9, 2023	7:00 pm
Thursday, December 7, 2023	7:00 pm

Chili Cookoff	February 9, 2023
Scholarship deadline	March 31, 2023
Spring Fling	April 22, 2023
July Fireworks	July 3, 2023 (tentative)
Fall Fest	October 21 confirmed

Residents and OPCL board members have met several times with city staff concerning various issues with the Ocean Park beach access points. There has been considerable interest in these issues and the Ocean Park Civic League takes its role of providing information about the community seriously. In a surprise move, the city has proposed an ordinance concerning the Raleigh Ave. Beach Access with essentially no public notice. On December 6th, the City Council will vote on the new ordinance.

OPCL is pursuing a request for deferment of this agenda item to give residents and stakeholders an opportunity to participate. A deferment would only be granted at the City Council Meeting not ahead of time so those interested parties should register to speak at the December 6th City Council Meeting if they want to be heard. (​​​”A citizen who wishes to address the council concerning an agenda item must register with the city clerk or deputy city clerk at 385-4303 prior to the meeting.“) Residents may also send an email to the council members: CityCouncil@vbgov.com. Any updates regarding this issue will be posted here on the website.

The new ordinance: “Ordinance to AUTHORIZE temporary encroachments into a portion of City right-of-way known as Windsor Crescent re maintain existing stone patios, stone walls, PVC fence, brick steps, fire pit, wood fence and grassy area at the rear of 3868 Jefferson Boulevard.” Details of the agreement with the city can be found in pages 172-199 of the Bookmarked City Council Agenda .

On Tuesday, November 29th from  6:30-8:00 pm, Council Member for District 9, Delceno Miles hosted a Bayside District Town Hall Meeting and invited everyone to hear updates from city staff on Public Works, Storm Water, Economic Development, Planning, Police, Housing and Neighborhood Preservation.

Thank you to residents for attending the November meeting at the Brock Center! Joash Schulman was kind enough to attend as he is starting right off getting to know his constituents! We passed the budget and voted in Christy Allen as the new Secretary of the civic league. Read all the details in the minutes! November General Meeting Minutes. President Danny Murphy moves things along efficiently keeping the meeting to less than an hour! Mission accomplished! The Zoom link is working well and we had folks join us on Zoom as well. As always send any questions or comments to president@opcl.org.

If you lost this scarf at Fall Fest contact: communication @opcl.org

So many people to thank for the great time at the OPCL Fall Fest! Thank you to the Brock Center for their support and partnership as they provide a beautiful venue for this event and our monthly meetings. HUGE thanks to the volunteers who made the event happen: first and foremost Joanne Lappin Parker who kept 100 balls in the air to bring it all together!

Kudos to Jenny Snyder and Natalie McIntyre for lassoing great raffle prizes donated by local businesses. Jenny is also our Instagram artist keeping us up to date! Thank you to our generous sponsors who donated our raffle prizes!

Thank you to the volunteers who set up, manned the bar, food, t-shirt and raffle tables: Dave and Maribeth Gamble, Jennifer Jackson, Anita and Josh Montgomery, Tim Lindemann, Karen Urban, Merle Younkin, Chris Lewis, Jason and Margaret Cascio (Peggy wins BEST face paint! And led the children’s costume parade!) Janna Gentler, Christy Allen, Blake Norris, Betty Dierstein, Brian Snyder and Debbie Cohen! Thank you to the Membership volunteers: Shane Abell, Sharon Grossman, Andrea Lindemann, Jill and Dan Speasmaker! Cookie bakers: Patsy Hassell-Garris and Charlene Cerza!

Thank you to our president and oysterman: Danny Murphy- also chef of the smoked jackfruit bbq!

At the Tuesday, October 18 meeting City Council Meeting, City Councilman John Moss thanked President Danny Murphy, Todd Solomon and Public Works Director Mr. Hansen for working toward a solution that would address residents’ concerns about private use of the Transfer Station.

The ordinance to allow private use of the Lynnhaven Transfer Station was passed. A number of people spoke in favor including a group of 17 neighbors on Crab Creek who have gotten together to pay for the dredging of Crab Creek. In addition to the boating access, they describe how silted in the area has become noting the impact also on wildlife and the marshes. The contractor who will do the work also spoke noting that using the Thalia Transfer station adds almost 30% to the cost of dredging and the use of much more fuel since it is much farther away.

Thank you to President Danny Murphy who pushed for these guidelines! And also thanks to all who helped put them in place including Councilman John Moss, Council Member Delceno Miles, Mr. Hansen and Mr. Solomon.