The Short Term Rental (STR) ordinance proposed by City Council will be heard by the Planning Commission at their Wed. Feb. 10th Noon meeting.  Due to COVID restrictions, the meeting will be virtual only.  Anyone wishing to participate needs to sign up to speak by 5pm on Tuesday Feb. 9th.  You can sign up by clicking the following link https://vbgov.webex.com/vbgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e0aca5338abc082119d4666dda389d9a1

You can read the full meeting agenda here https://www.vbgov.com/government/departments/planning/boards-commissions-committees/Documents/PC/2021/02%20February/20210210-PLN-CUR-Agenda.pdf

The City Council proposed ordinance recommends a “by right” overlay district for East Shore Drive that covers 60% of the Cape Story by the Sea neighborhood.  “By right” means if approved, all 450 homes in this overlay can apply to run STRs through the City permitting process.  More information about the ordinance can be found here https://www.vbgov.com/government/departments/planning/Pages/Short-Term-Rentals.aspx

The Shore Drive Community Coalition opposes the current ordinance change that would allow all homes to be used as short term rentals.  Unlimited creation of STRs will lead to demise of the neighborhood character that is so special along Shore Drive.

The Cape Story by the Sea Civic Association, the Bayfront Advisory Commission and the SDCC have all voted to oppose “by right” overlays for any Shore Drive neighborhood.  Vice Mayor Jim Wood has stated he will request the removal of East Shore Drive as an overlay when the ordinance comes back to City Council from Planning Commission review.  

SDCC has sent the following letter to the Planning Commission asking for the East Shore Drive overlay to be removed.  The letter is copied below with the email from Vice Mayor Jim Wood as an attachment

January 27, 2021

Subject:. Request to Remove “East Shore Drive” as an overlay district from proposed STR Ordinance Amendment

Dear Planning Commission Members,

On behalf of the Shore Drive Community Coalition, I formally request that you recommend the removal of the East Shore Drive (ESD) “Cape Story by the Sea” Overlay District from the proposed Short Term Rental (STR) Ordinance amendment sent to you by City Council on October 21, 2020.

East Shore Drive, like any neighborhood in the Shore Drive Corridor, is not compatible for the large volume “by right” proliferation of weekly rentals that this recommendation would create.  There are many specific reasons why this overlay district is a bad idea, but I am just going to list a few of the most overarching ones.

• Vice Mayor Jim Wood, the creator of this proposed overlay, has stated he will ask for this overlay to be removed from the amendment.  Mr. Wood’s email has been attached for information.
• The West Shore Drive overlay, originally proposed by Councilman Louis Jones, was removed prior to the amendment being finalized and sent to the Planning Commission.  All of the same reasons the West Shore Drive overlay was eliminated are the same reasons the East Shore Drive overlay is unacceptable.
• The Cape Story by the Sea Civic Association voted unanimously to oppose the ESD overlay.
• The Bayfront Advisory Commission (BAC) voted unanimously to oppose the ESD overlay and any STR overlay in the Shore Drive Corridor.
• The Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC) voted unanimously to oppose the ESD overlay and any STR overlay in the Shore Drive Corridor.
• The Shore Drive Corridor Plan states, “The Shore Drive area is first and foremost a residential community, comprised primarily of residential neighborhoods…It is envisioned that this predominance as a residential community should continue to form the backbone of land use for the area.”

Thank you for your consideration of this request and I hope you see the wisdom in making the recommendation to remove the ESD overlay from the STR Ordinance Amendment.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at 667-8533 Cell or todd@sdcc.info

 

Sincerely,

Todd R. Solomon

Shore Drive Community Coalition, President

 

Attachment to SDCC Letter to Planning Commission dated January 27, 2021

From: James L. Wood [mailto:JLWood@vbgov.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 5, 2021 4:11 PM
To: emunden@aol.com; Todd Solomon <todd@sdcc.info>
Subject: Eastern shore drive overlay

I’m going to request that this area be removed from the overlay proposal.

 

Jim Wood, Vice Mayor

Virginia Beach City Council

757-366-1011 mobile & text

Sent from my mobile account