Guard Dogs of the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp – meeting results

 

Guard Dogs of the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp

                                                        SAVE THE LYNNHAVEN BOAT RAMP AND BEACH FACILITY

And the adjacent OCEAN PARK NEIGHBORHOOD

OPPOSE THE DREDGE MATERIALS TRANSFER STATION

AGENDA   April 2, 2012

 

I.   Introductions

A.    The Ocean Park Civic League voted at the Nov 2011 meeting to oppose the DMTS and sent a letter to the Mayor and City Council expressing that position. At the March 2012 meeting the OPCL appointed a committee to represent Ocean Park Civic League as liason for information and inquiry to city agencies and others for all government funded development and redevelopment within and adjacent to Ocean Park waterways.

This committee is named: Ocean Park Waterways Development and

Redevelopment Committee (OPWDRC).  This committee will acquire all

pertinent information regarding waterway development from governing

bodies and present that information to Ocean Park Civic League, share

information with the Guard Dogs, request information via FOIA, and work

with city and state officials.

The Chair is Andy Broyles

Members are Mike Wills , Wendy Vaughn, and Johnathan Macy

Captain Lee Shuler is an Advisor

B.  The Guard Dogs of the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp will continue as the

representatives of ALL Stakeholders, Residents, LBR users, Fishermen,

Boaters, and will express opposition through letter-writing, petition, and

other activities.

II.  Understanding the Issues and the History

2007-2008    Opposition to a Dredge Materials Transfer Station at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Beach Facility– Guard Dogs of the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp was the group who led the fight (Andy Broyles, Lee Shuler, Mike Wills, Sharon and Jim Need, Tim Solanic, Todd Solomon, Dorinda Ennis, and many others), and the City of Virginia Beach told us they would use the Thalia site instead.  See http://www.Boatrampclosing.com

2010-2012 Maple Street Opposition and the Boatel choice – Win for Cape Story and

Bay Island neighborhoods.  Residents in Cape Story and Bay Island fought

the Maple Street site for a DMTS to serve the Eastern Branch of the

Lynnhaven River, and a site near the Boatel was chosen instead.

 

2012  Ongoing Clean Sand Dredging of Crab Creek Channel – Annually Oct – Feb

places clean sand from channel on sand storage area for future use by the city. When

needed, sand is trucked from the LBR for beach replenishment.

 

2012 – 2016  Current Lesner Bridge plan – three years of construction beginning 2013

using LBR for staging- completion in 2016. Bulkhead permit to be filed in 2013.

 

2012       Current city plan for DMTS and SSD at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Beach

Facility would begin when Lesner Bridge Construction completes.

The City of Virginia Beach has a plan form Special Service Districts to pay for neighborhoods in the Western Branch of the Lynnhaven River like Thoroughgood, Witchduck Point, to dredge “Spurs” off the main channel and then “Driveways” to individual properties. The Dredged muck would be barged to the LBR, transferred by crane to 15-ton dump trucks and trucked through the boat ramp parking lot, through Piedmont Circle, onto E. Stratford Rd, then East on Shore Drive, South on Great Neck Road to Virginia Beach Blvd. – ultimately to a borrow pit near Oceana.

 

Captain Lee Shuler will speak about Dredging and the SSD Special Services District plan of the City of Virginia Beach .

III.              GOALS:   THREE GOALS were established at a March 3rd organizational meeting to revive the Guard Dogs and plan communications for the OPCL meeting Mar 8th. The Three Goals are also shared by the OPWDRC. They are:

  • We  want the City of Virginia Beach to remove the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp from its  DMTS plan.
  • We  want the city to ensure that all permits for and construction staging of  the Lesner Bridge construction reflect temporary use only, and prohibit  permanent structures or use.
  • We      want the city to ensure that, other than the temporary Lesner Bridge  construction staging and the usual clean sand storage from Crab Creek  dredging, no additional use of the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp be made other than      recreational.

 

 

IV.   Next Steps for Guard Dogs

 

A.   WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. NEW PETITION and NEW SIGNS– The OPWDRC is drafting a new

Petition and designing new signs.

The  petition will be uploaded to:  iPetitions with links made available

for use on Facebook and websites. Volunteers will circulate paper

petitions.

Penny Lane and Cyndi O’Grady have agreed to collect the paper petitions

for submission.

The Signs will not be put on city property. We want to ask property

owners including businesses along the proposed truck route and in our

neighborhoods for permission to place signs on their property.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED for Petitions and Signs. Please sign

up to distribute petitions and signs. You will be notified by email when the

petition and signs are available.

B.    IDENTIFY other Stakeholders for Guard Dogs email list: send email addresses  to  wendyvaughn2@cox.net

 

C.  LETTER WRITING campaign to Mayor and City Council, Beaches and

Waterways Commission, Bayfront Advisory Committee – Please see

sample letter from Ocean Park Homeowner at

www.oceanparkcivicleague.org or write your own. A more generic

Stakeholder letter is being drafted that will be added to that website soon

for your use. Email addresses for Mayor and others are on orange handout.

D.  OTHER – see websites and links on orange handout

V.   Other  Future Action Items:

A.  Demonstration at Boat Ramp? Late June after high school graduations

should be a good time. We need a chair for that – we’ll utilize the contacts

we had last time with the dockmaster and the dump truck company. A

planning meeting will be scheduled in early June for that.

 

B.  Newspaper Radio and TV – please send ideas to me. The OPWDRC will

coordinate when we want to involve media. We don’t wish to stifle

individual initiative, but feel it is important to have a unified and

coordinated message.

 

c.  Those of us who are Ocean Park residents: please join the OPCL. It is

$15 annually– membership forms available. Please take them to your

neighbors. We CAN drastically increase our membership by personally

asking our neighbors.

 

d. Comments, Suggestions:

 

Next Meeting : in June unless otherwise needed.

There were 21 members in attendance Agenda is attached  – contains some information about the issues. Also attached is a flyer containing information about where to find information on the web including sample letter and email mailing list.
Takeaways from meeting :  1.  mailing letters to home addresses of City Council members, Bayfront Advisory Committee members, and Beaches and Waterways Commission should get more attention from recipients than email. SEE HOME ADDRESS MAILING LIST attached 2. a petition is being drafted. It will be published on iPetitions and made available to link to facebook, websites, blogs, etc. 3. yard signs will be created for use on private property. 4. The Ocean Park Waterways Development and ReDevelopment Committee (this committee created as liason between Ocean Park Civic League and City of Virginia Beach and other governmental agencies), is beginning dialog with city officials, VMRC.   Thirteen members signed up to distribute paper petitions and yard signs. If you would like to be added to that list, please email me.
I will send notice as soon as petitions and signs are available.
Tentatively, a June meeting will be planned to plan a late June demonstration at the LBR.
Please SEND LETTERS stating your opposition! Thank you all for your support Wendy

Virginia Beach City Council :

 

The Honorable Mayor William Sessoms

401 54th Street

VB  23451

 

The Honorable Vice Mayor Louis Jones

1008 Witch Point Trail

VB 23455

 

The Honorable Glenn Davis

1548 Stewards Way

VB  23453

 

The Honorable William DeSteph

2101 Turnstone Quay

VB  23454

 

The Honorable Harry Diezel

604 Rosater Lane

VB  23464

 

The Honorable Robert Dyer

1668 Lake Christopher Drive

VB  23464

 

The Honorable Barbara Henley

3513 Cherry Neck Road

VB  23456

 

The Honorable John Moss

4109 Richardson Road

VB  23455

 

The Honorable John Uhrin

515 Delaware Avenue

VB  23451

 

The Honorable Rosemary Wilson

1304 Wren Place

VB 23451

 

The Honorable James Wood

3778 Prince Andrew Lane

VB  23452

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beaches and Waterways Commission: (current term expiration shown, but many renew)

 

Mr. Thomas E. Fraim          6/30/13

2461 Sandfiddler Rd

Virginia Beach, VA 23456

 

Mr. Michael L. Clark          6/30/13

500 Winston Salem Ave.

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

 

Dr. George L. Grinnan            6/30/12

4041 Bridgehampton Lane

Virginia Beach, VA 23455

 

Mr. Charles W. Guthrie          6/30/12

2492 Haversham Close

Virginia Beach, VA 23454

 

Me. William A. Hearst         6/30/13

1004 Witch Point Trail

Virginia Beach, VA 23455-5634

 

Mr Kenneth D. Jobe             6/30/14

304 Croatan Road

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

 

Mr. Arthur L. Jones               6/30/14

1109 Ditchley Road

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

 

Ms. Patricia Keeley                6/30/12

1400 Powder Ridge Court

Virginia Beach, VA 23453-1809

 

Mr. Wesley B. Lane                6/30/12

526 Virginia Dare Drive

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

 

Mr. Brady S. Viccelio           6/30/12

616 Thalia Point Road

Virginia Beach, VA 23452

 

Mr. Rodney Allen Voelker    6/30/12

1640 Grey Friars Chase

Virginia Beach, VA 23456-5433

 

Note: This list is available at www.vbgov.com  click on Government, then Agenda and Document Archives, click on edocs, then choose Beaches and Waterways Commission

 

 

 

Bayfront Advisory Committee: (current term expiration shown, but many renew)

 

Mr. Kal Kassir            6/30/13

2009 Alpine Road

VB 23451

 

Mr. James M. Arnhold    6/30/12

C/O H.A.V., Inc.

3780 Shore Drive

VB 23455/2966

 

Mr. Scott Ayers       6/30/12

C/O Leading Edge Realty

3149 Shore Drive #A

VB 23451-1129

 

Mr. Joseph Bovee      6/30/13

C/O HBA Architecture & Interior Design

One Columbus Center, Suite 1000

VB 23462

 

Mr. Norman W. Carrick   6/30/12

2410 Whaler Court

VB 23451

 

Mr. Charles Gee Faison Jr.  6/30/12

P. O. Box 5643

VB 23451

 

Mr. Fred Hazelwood IV   6/30/13

C/O First Landing State Park

2500 Shore Dr.

VB 23451

 

Vice-Mayor Louis R. Jones   6/30/12

1008 Witch Point Trail

VB 23455

 

Mr. Charles R. Malbon, Jr   6/30/12

2904 Gaines Landing

VB 23454

 

Mr. Joseph A. Miller          6/30/14

HBA Architecture and Interior Design

One Columbus Center, Suite 1000

VB 23462

 

Mr. Stacey S. Patrick        6/30/12

1417 Rutland Dr.

VB 23454

 

Mr. David S. Redmond   6/30/12

C/O Divaris Real Estate, Inc.

One Columbus Center, Suite 700

VB 23462-5760

 

Mr. Martin A. Thomas   6/30/15

Decker, Cardon, Thomas, Weintraub & Neskis, P.C.

109 East Main St., Suite 400

Norfolk, VA 23510

 

Mr. Robert Thornton    6/30/15

Thalhimer/Cushman & Walkfield

5700 Cleveland Street, Suite 400

VB 23462

 

Mr. James L. Wood   6/30/12

3778 Prince Andrew Lane

VB 23452

Note: This list can be found at www.vbgov.com   click on Government, then Agenda and Document Archives, click on edocs, then choose Bayfront Advisory Committee

Pelican release – Sat 3/31/12, 2:00 PM

28 rehabbed Pelicans to be released Saturday at Shellfish Company

March 28, 2012

 

by

 

News from an email:

This Saturday 2pm a pelican release is scheduled…this is not a fundraiser. It is an opportunity to see 28 pelicans that were rescued, suffering from frost bite, be released all at one time, back into the wild.    where: Shell Fish Company (next to Bubba’s)     Louie Smith has agreed to entertain us…weather should be beautiful…..

Please promote this to  friends and neighbors.

Elyse

Bike path opens on Shore Drive

3.5-mile lane runs from Kendall to 83rd

Updated: Sunday, 25 Mar 2012, 8:02 AM EDT Published : Saturday, 24 Mar 2012, 7:42 PM EDT

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Bicyclists have a new and safer place to ride in Virginia Beach. Mayor Will Sessoms helped cut the ribbon to open the new Shore Drive Bike Lane.

It’s part of the city’s  Bikeways and Trails plan and cost the city $1.4-million to build. The new 3.5 mile bike lane runs along the eastbound side of Shore Drive from Kendall Street to 83rd street near the Fort Story entrance.

Vehicles hit several bikers along this stretch of road in the past and bicyclists are happy with the new safe lane to ride.

“There’s certainly no place to ride around here where I feel safe and comfortable. I certainly don’t use Shore Drive. I use this path right here, but it will be great to get the road bike out and come on down Shore Drive,” said biker Jim Royall.

The  Virginia Bicycling Federation presented Mayor Sessoms a check for $10-thousand to support the safety education and awareness program.

 

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Permanent Dredge Spoils update/issue for Crab Creek

Wendy and Sid Vaughan, active members of our Civic League, have asked that this information, and the attached letter, be passed along for both informational and potential action purposes.

Dear Neighbors, Sid and I attended Thursday’s Bayfront Advisory Committee meeting. The Assistant City Manager and City Staff  were there to present plans for the Lesner Bridge replacement AND Building a Permanent Industrial Site at Crab Creek.
There are several distinct issues that you should know about:
1.  The Lesner Bridge replacement is vital – the City plans to use the Crab Creek “spoils” site for construction staging for the bridge over the two or so years it will take for the project. I feel that we as homeowners should accept that. The Bridge’s condition is currently rated lower than the one in the Midwest that fell a few years ago. During the construction there will be up to 100 truck trips daily through the boat ramp and out to Shore Drive via Piedmont Circle and E. Stratford Rd. There will be a “temporary” barge docking station built for barging materials to the site.There will be noise and other usual construction site impact.  Beach access via the boat ramp facility will be curtailed during the construction. Boat launching will remain open. While this is unpleasant, it seems to be a necessary , but temporary, inconvenience.
2.Currently, CLEAN sand from dredging of the Crab Creek Channel occurs once every year or two, or when weather causes sand movement that requires it to keep the channel open for boaters. Again, I feel that since we, especially homeowners with boats on the creek, benefit from this, it is a necessary nuisance.  The city stockpiles this sand on the site for future use for sand replenishment along the bay or elsewhere in the city.We certainly also benefit when sand is replenished on our nearby beach.
3. THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON: The City has renewed its interest (that we fought in 2008) in putting a permanent dredge transfer site with Barge off-loading station at Crab Creek to receive and truck out the MUCK dredged from neighborhoods such as Witchduck Point, Thoroughgood Manor, Church Point, and Saw Pen Point, who want their channels dug for their boating pleasure, but do not want the inconvenience of the dredge transfer station in their own backyard.
If this is built, we will experience:  barges offloading 40-50 truckloads of dredge spoils a day, and those 40-50 trucks, averaging THIRTY-FIVE TONS traveling across the cross-walk between the boat ramp bath house and the boardwalk to the beach, and out to Shore Drive via Piedmont Circle and E. Stratford Road. Barges may impede boat traffic in the boat channel. The dredged muck in this process is thick and foul-smelling, not the clean sand that is dredged from the Crab Creek channel.  Beaches and Waterways Commission has recommended limiting to 30 trucks per day for no more than two 90-day cycles per year. It is unclear what the time-of-day restrictions may be for dredge transfer work. The City said, regarding the Lesner Bridge construction, that time-of-day work would depend on the contractor proposal… If the engine noise and beeping you heard during the Crab Creek sand dredging was troublesome to you, imagine adding the 30 or 50 large trucks per day  I personally found the noise alone to detract from my enjoyment of my porch. I wonder if those along the creek will be able to use their back decks.
4. THIS ALSO DESERVES OUR ATTENTION: The City Staff of VIrginia Beach now say they will use the future Permanent Dredge Transfer Station for other uses: possible staging for other construction, docking of working barges that currently moor in the Lynnhaven River for oyster reef work, dredges,etc.
The City, at Thursday’s meeting expressed assurances that they are sensitive to boaters and fishermen. They expressed no concern for homeowners.
I hope you all will join us in opposing a Permanent Dredge Transfer Station at Crab Creek.   Please email City Council and the Beaches and Waterways Commission and the Bayfront Advisory Committee members with your opposition to the proposed Dredge Transfer Station at Crab Creek. Use my letter (below) if you like.

Mr. Mayor and Honorable Council Members, Members of Beaches and Waterways

Commission, Members of the Bayfront Advisory Committee:

As homeowners in Ocean Park Virginia Beach, adjacent to Crab Creek, we want to

express our strong opposition to using Crab Creek for a Permanent Dredge Spoils

Transfer Site for the following reasons:

* Operating barges in close proximity to the recreational boating channel at Crab

Creek poses dangers to boaters, kayakers, and paddle-boarders. The channel is narrow.

The City Boat Ramp at Crab Creek encourages the use of the channel for these

recreational activities. This is a conflict.

* Use of dump trucks through the boat ramp parking lot, over the pedestrian

crosswalk from the bath houses to the beach, and through the residential neighborhood

poses dangers to adults and children, bicyclists, fishermen, and motorists.

* Use of barges in the Lynnhaven Basin creates a danger to the Lesner bridge. Over a

year ago a barge did hit the Lesner Bridge.

* Quality of water at the beaches surrounding the Crab Creek sand berm is

jeopardized by unloading of spoils. Quality of the sand the City currently reclaims from

the channel for use elsewhere is also jeopardized.

* Noise pollution from engines, trucks, and beeping disrupts the quiet in the

neighborhood. We currently experience this up to three months a year from the Crab

Creek channel dredging. And the noise pollution is late at night and early in the morning.

It is not equitable for us to be subject to it for many more months because those who will

benefit from the dredging in their neighborhoods do not want the spoils transfer to take

place in their neighborhoods.

* Quality of air is jeopardized by diesel equipment and odors from dredge spoils.

* Potential loss of equity in our home is unfair in order to benefit other

neighborhoods.

Our position has not changed since we voiced our opposition in 2008 along with the

Ocean Park Civic League and many other Ocean Park homeowners.

We ask that you complete the Thalia transfer station before determining the need for

additional stations, and that studies be done by an independent third party to evaluate the

concerns listed above.

We also ask that you review the Ocean Park Civic League objections and citizen response

to the 2008 proposal for a spoils transfer station at the Crab Creek site.

The Lynnhaven Boat Ramp at Crab Creek is a clean, safe, quality recreational facility – a

Virginia Beach success. Please consider the risk of damaging the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp.

And please consider the risk of damage to the quality of life in our neighborhood.

Respectfully,

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