The Gateway to Virginia Beach, which is located on the Chesapeake Bay, has now become a high priority on par with the Oceanfront.
Woo hoo!
Not to bury the lede:
Shore Drive is a major east-west arterial in the northern portion of the City. The existing roadway carries 38,800 vehicles per day with a current capacity of 36,900 vehicles per day. Without this project, the roadway will continue to experience vehicular, bicyclist, and pedestrian safety incidents, and restrict traffic volume due to inadequate stormwater drainage.
🟢 The City Manager’s Proposed City Budget at VBGOV.com.
A few highlights of Proposed City Budget include:
Economic & Tourism Development
EV-22-0001 $200,000
Shore Drive Study Update
This project provides an update to the Shore Drive Corridor Plan (2000) and the Shore Drive Corridor Design Guidelines (2002). Flood mitigation strategies from the Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) for JEB Little Creek and JEB Fort Story (2019) as well as the bond referendum projects will be integrated into the update creating a broader, more comprehensive Shore Drive Plan. The Bayfront Advisory Commission will be utilized as a steering committee for the development of the update, public input, coordination, and engagement with the local community. The updated plan/guidelines will include: determination of existing conditions; development of a community wide public input survey; identification of issues and opportunities; development of specific land use recommendations by corridor segment; and development of architectural/landscaping/signage/public infrastructure guidelines.
To bury the other lede:
By the way, with this current proposal YOUR real estate taxes will probably jump over 10% based on recent new assessments.
Congratulations OPVRS!
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad is proud to announce that it has earned the Candid (formerly Guidestar) Platinum Transparency rating for the year of 2023. This puts OPVRS in the top 0.1% of nonprofits globally.
Check the news on their blog. Start here to DONATE.
Thanks to Hank for Agenda & Draft Minutes.
Edit: New Business addition “presentation from Monty Heath, who represents a group that raises awareness of veterans with PTSD and other sustained disabilities”.
The link for the new still being improved Capital Improvement Project (CIP) dashboard.
Be gentle though as it appears the new CIP Dashboard isn’t fully operational yet.
Here’s a link to a previous CIP Project Dashboard page: https://cipstatus.vbgov.com/ProjectDetail.aspx?id=4361.
Thanks to Hank for getting the info from Dan Adams!
Staff is hammering out final scheduling details on some pending Bay Beach projects, here is the skinny:
Cape Henry Beach – A truck haul is planned to haul the sand stockpile form the Lynnhaven Dredge Material Management area to west end of Cape Henry Beach by truck. Approximately 70,000 yards of sand will be placed along the beach starting at the Point Chesapeake Gazebo. Dune reconstruction will occur in front of the high-rise condos where dune erosion has been most severe. Bids have been received and contract execution is underway. Public Notices will be sent out in the coming days with specific project start and schedule information. Work should start around mid-March and run through late May. The Jade St. beach access will be closed and/or restricted during this work.
A larger placement of approximately 150,000-200,000 cubic yards of sand along Cape Henry Beach is planned to occur Winter 23/24 as part of the USACE dredging of the Lynnhaven Federal Channel. This will be hydraulic (pipeline)dredging and placement. This project is schedule to advertise for bids fall of this and be awarded and executed in early 2024.
Chesapeake Beach Restoration – This project is for the renourishment of Chesapeake Beach from Little Creek Amphibious Base to Baylake Beach. The first nourishment was completed in May 2018 placing approximately 350,000 cubic yards of sand from a nearshore shoal to reconstruct a severely eroded beach and dune system. A renourishment is anticipated every 4-5 years to re-establish the design template and add advance maintenance sand for anticipated erosion. This first re-nourishment cycle will utilize the same sand source as the initial respiration project in 2018 and will be placed hydraulically(pipeline). The renourishment project will be advertised for bids this spring. To incentivize the number of interested bidders, a period of performance of 300 days is provided to allow contractors sufficient time to schedule and plan the work. The actual duration of the project should be closer to 4-8 weeks. The exact construction schedule will be determined after bids are received. A public information meeting and communication to the neighborhood and civic leagues will occur. Current status: Plans are 100% complete, final staff review and Q/C is underway. Bid dates will be established in the next week or two.
Ocean Park Beach –A contract is being prepared for dune grass and sand fence installation as follow on to compliment the beach restoration work completed last spring. This work will occur in March. The next placement and source of sand for Ocean Park will most likely be the next cycle of dredging of the Lynnhaven Federal channel in 3-4 years. Method of sand transport is hydraulic(pipeline).
Please let us know if BAC has any other questions at this time. We will include them on any public notices issued for the pending Cape Henry truck haul and Chesapeake Beach project.
Thanks to Hank for the agenda.
PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
1) Encroachments discussion with Mr. LJ Hansen, Director of Public Works
Transparency & public engagement.
Mark your calendar!
February 16, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Great Neck Recreation Center
2521 Shorehaven Drive, Virginia Beach
Councilmember Taylor will host a town hall meeting to update residents on current city projects and issues that impact District 8. City representatives from the Police, Fire, Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments will be in attendance to discuss topics such as stormwater referendum progress, Great Neck Park, traffic updates and more. Attendees will have an opportunity to have their questions addressed.
The meeting will be held in Rooms 1 and 2.
Historic and powerful! Strongly encourage you to watch in its entirety.
Hip hip hooray for more public engagement & transparency!
Excuse me what!?
“The bills (SB1391 and HB2271) essentially strip cities and localities of some of their power to regulate short-term rentals operated by Virginia realty companies.”
Important discussion about the fundamental issue of voting & fair elections in both Informal & Formal City Council sessions.
Informal includes detailed discussion on City of Virginia Beach Finances including our current stellar AAA Credit Rating and some of the challenges going forward.
The survey is now available at publicinput.com/electricvehicle and will be open for comment through 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023.
Although EVs have been available in the U.S. for more than a decade, over the course of 2022, the EV market experienced unprecedented growth. According to Automotive News, registrations for electric cars increased by 60% in the first quarter of 2022, despite the overall vehicle market being down 18%. With the federal government offering tax credits to incentivize the conversion to electric-fueled cars, automakers have been hard-pressed to keep pace with demand. Some areas with high EV adoption rates are also facing a public charging infrastructure beleaguered by insufficient stations according to an August 2022 study by J.D. Power.
As Virginia Beach looks forward and takes steps to prepare for the downstream effects of these transportation changes, the City wants to ensure that our community is prepared with the infrastructure necessary to support greater use of EVs.
To that end, Public Works has engaged a consultant, Cadmus, to conduct an EV and Charging Infrastructure Study and ultimately an EV Charging Infrastructure Plan that will serve as a roadmap to accommodate the anticipated needs of City residents, workforce members and visitors as we transition from conventionally fueled vehicles to EVs. It will include an analysis of our community’s needs, opportunities and challenges. The plan will also detail strategies for low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, communities with a low ratio of private parking spaces to households, and areas with a high ratio of multiunit dwellings to single-family homes. The final report will establish a vision, goals and clearly defined roles for the City, the private sector and the Virginia Beach community to implement strategies that facilitate increased deployment of EV charging infrastructure across the City in an equitable manner.
To receive a copy of the survey either via email or the US Postal Service, contact Nancy Bloom at 757-385-6279 or nbloom@vbgov.com. Completed surveys may be returned via email or mailed to:
Attn: Nancy Bloom
Virginia Beach Communications Office
2401 Courthouse Drive, Building 1, Suite 3054
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Learn more about this fun event at OPVRS website.
The rescue squad will also be hosting other medical and public safety vendors, along with a BBQ truck with more to come!
The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required to attend, drop in anytime. The Facebook event can be found HERE
Join us on January 24th, 2023 from 4 to 7pm at the Brock Center 3663 Marlin Bay Dr
Learn more at Environmental Studies Program Event Page.
Start here to learn more about the spectacular ESP.
#WeLoveShoreDrive 