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!

At the Thursday Sept. 21 meeting of the Bayfront Advisory Commission, we heard from Bill Purcell and Jason Wilson , Public Works Transportation Program and Project Management for a Shore Drive CIP (Capital Improvement Project) updates. There will be public information meetings about the Pleasure House Road Phase I and II projects in mid November which will bring street and safety improvements to Pleasure House Road: sidewalks, curb, gutter and drainage improvements north and south of Shore Dr.

There was news about the temporary (!) sidewalk project which will include ADA compliant sidewalks and curb ramps (concrete). The ‘sidewalks’ will be on both sides of Shore Dr. and consist of asphalt in places and when crossing parking lots will consist of striping. The expected cost is $2.0 million. There is $1.4 million available which can fund the design and site acquisition. Design and preliminary work will take 6-12 months and construction might begin in July of 2024. Mr. Jason Wilson acknowledged that it might be 20 years until Phase IV is implemented so these ‘temporary sidewalks’ may be in place for a long time. Councilman Schulman pledged to work towards moving up the timeline for this project.

The Draft Engineering Plan for Shore Drive Phase IV (west of the Lesner Bridge in Ocean Park) is under review and will most likely be approved this month. Shore Drive Phase IV was defunded in last year’s budget and monies were diverted to Phase III. The original contract for Phase IV was signed in 2008 and has been delayed and funding diverted multiple times.

Questions about how actively the city is pursuing federal funding for Phase IV have come up at the last BAC meeting and again this month. Mr. Wilson reported that in the Public Works Dept the Project Support Group is the entity that actively pursues grants and that at least one was being applied for.

You can sign up to get the newsletter from the Bayfront Advisory Commission!

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Did you see the dumpsters on the beach? Question came up: are they for cleaning sea weed off the beach? Jill Dozci gives us an answer: “It’s not for seaweed. It’s for that accumulation of grass sticks, probably phragmites, which is an invasive non-native that clogs up waterways, creates a fire hazard when it’s dry, has no nutritional benefit for any native animals and rots when it piles up after storms. Additionally, it’s beneficial to remove it when it goes washing up on beach so it can’t continue to float off after storms and establish itself in other unwanted areas. It’s known for floating off and clogging storm drains as well, which we certainly don’t need happening around here. People unfamiliar with the plant probably think of it as “sea oats” or something that’s supposed to grow here. You often see it around the pond at Loch Haven Park and the city keeps removing it.” Thank you Jill! More info

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