From an email:

Dear Ms. Moran

Thank you for your email sharing your views regarding the proposed ordinance regulating digital signs in our City.

We agree, this is an important issue.  City Council will be receiving the report of the subcommittee reviewing the ordinance amendments on March 9, 2010, and a vote is tentatively scheduled for March 23, 2010.  Please be assured your comments will be given serious consideration at that time.

The time you took to make us aware of your concerns is greatly appreciated.  Citizen input is vital in our decision-making process.

William D. Sessoms, Jr.
Mayor
City of Virginia Beach
Office of the Mayor
2401 Courthouse Drive, Building 1, Room 234
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
757-385-4581 (MAIN)
757-385-5699 (FAX)
wsessoms@vbgov.com

New Topic for site is LED Billboards.

Here’s the first comment posted there, from an email to Grace:

Dear Grace,
I live in Laurel Cove which is off of Great Neck Road.  Our neighborhood protested the LED sign that WAVE Church wanted to install some time ago.  Many of us from adjacent neighborhoods on Great Neck Road made our opposition to these unsightly and distracting signs known by attending a meeting in which a City Council member and someone from Zoning Dept.  were present.  They listened and , in essence, told us it had already been decided to allow WAVE Church to have their sign.  We were told that the church had threatened that if they were not allowed their large sign they had the right to put smaller LED signs at each of their four entrances.  All of this left many with the feeling that the church was not a “good neighbor” but a bully and our City Council was owned and operated by the business community here…including the Adams billboard company.  So – good luck with your opposition.  …fight hard and fight to win.  Shore Drive has been stripped of so much of its unique beauty by zoning laws already I can only applaud your efforts. You may forward a copy of this e-mail to Virginia Beach City Council.
Joan U.

Previously – What do ya think of LED Billboards? We’re looking for your comments.

From Pilotonline.com:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday granted more than $1 million to help Virginia localities replace and repair infrastructure damaged in November’s nor’easter.

At WAVY.com:

FEMA) promised more than $1 million in Public Assistance (PA) funding Thursday to help Virginia localities repair and replace public infrastructure damaged in the wake of the severe storms and flooding associated with the 2009 November Nor’easter and the remnants of Tropical Depression Ida.

From FEMA:

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
(Assistance to State and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for actions taken to prevent or reduce long term risk to life and property from natural hazards):

  All jurisdictions in the Commonwealth of Virginia are eligible to apply for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

Virginia Severe Storms and Flooding Associated with Tropical Depression Ida and a Nor’easter at FEMA.gov.

Yeah!
From Virginia Beach’s City Page:
Free Wireless Internet Available
at All Virginia Beach Public Libraries

The Virginia Beach Public Library now offers free wireless Internet at all 10 of its locations.

Many library services and materials are available on the Internet, including online encyclopedias, periodicals, downloadable books and audio books, language learning software, small business resources and more. Many customers use the library Internet to apply for jobs.

Before wireless service, customers were limited to the library‘s computers, which are in high demand. Now, customers with wireless-enabled laptops, cell phones or PDAs can access the Internet and online library resources inside any library.

The service is free to library customers and requires no special software or pass codes.

Just spoke with an Engineer at P/W and he mentioned Parsons has been tasked with looking into the storm water issues caused the damage re: Nor ‘Ida and his best estimate for best case was the study would be done around the end of April.

It will be posted here when we get it.

The following is the second weekly update for the Cape Henry Beach truck haul replenishment contract as provided by Phill Roehrs, Water Resources Engineer with Public Works Engineering: 

“As previously reported, hauling began on February 10, 2010.  As of the close of business on Monday, February 22, 22,000 cubic yards of sand had been hauled to the beach and spread between Ships Watch Court and Oak Street.  The contractor is now placing sand east of Oak Street.

We have revised our estimate of the quantity of sand available to be approximately 35,000 cubic yards – the contractor has been able to remove quality sand down to elevation 2 feet, NAVD, within the Maple Street Dredged Material Management Area, almost two feet deeper than we had originally anticipated.  Again, our intention is to remove all available sand from the Maple Street site, we are actively looking for every opportunity to maximize the volume.  We are also closely monitoring the material quality with a full-time inspector at the borrow site, no objectionable loads have left the site. 

We continue to field-adjust the cross section to assure that the fill operation will extend all the way to First Landing State Park with the largest possible beach berm dimension.  The finished beach is a substantial and notable improvement.  The sand placed on the beach is of such a quality that it is difficult to distinguish the new material from the existing beach sand – from color to grain size to shell content.  We have not discovered any pockets of deleterious material, but if found on final inspection we will promptly schedule a visit by Beach Operations to sift and groom any objectionable areas.

Work hours continue as 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

With roughly 13,000 cubic yards to go, we anticipate the hauling will be complete by the end of the first week of March.  We continue to monitor the condition of Oak Street, and will schedule repairs if necessary immediately after hauling and the Oak Street beach access restoration are complete.

No concerns or objections from citizens were received during this week, and there have been no traffic incidents.” 

From Pilotonline.com including comments:

The city went to court last year to condemn property for public recreational use and the replenishment. Beach officials had asked all the Cape Henry Bayfront owners to sign over public easements to the beach in exchange for the sand. The landowners who wanted the sand to protect their homes from storm damage turned over the easements. But those who wanted to maintain their private property rights, which date back to Reconstruction, refused and were eventually defeated in court.

Wildlife Rehab Benefit at

The Lesner Inn Sunday, March 28, 1:30-4

Musical Guests Include:

Lewis McGehee, BJ Leiderman, Karl Werne & friends

Tickets & Info at Wildlife Response, Inc.

In a related note, are you aware of the idea to have aWildlife refuge & rehab center at Pleasure House Point? The idea is at http://www.SavePhp.org.

You can head down to City Council Chambers Monday for the Meeting, or,

From BAC:

Planning Commission Public Workshop on Electronic Display Billboards
Monday, February 22nd – 4:00 pm
City Council Chambers

The Planning Commission is holding a public workshop to take comments on the attached amendments drafted by their subcommittee. This alternate version differs from the version referred by City Council in the following ways:

1.    Requires that where an electronic display billboard is approved, all existing billboards on the zoning lot must be removed and at least 2 times the total sign area of the proposed digital billboard must be removed from other existing billboard sites.
2.    The sign area of any new electronic display billboard must be at least 2/3 smaller than the sign area of the billboard that it replaces.
3.    Allows electronic display billboards only where plainly visible from the main traveled way of an Interstate Highway, a National Highway System Highway or a federal-aid primary highway, as that system existed on June 1, 1991. In Virginia Beach, such roadways with existing billboards include Interstate 264, Shore Drive, and Northampton Boulevard.
4.    Increases dwell time to 30 seconds.
5.    Prohibits electronic display billboards within Strategic Growth Areas, as identified in the City’s Comprehensive Plan. 
6.    Requires any electronic display billboard visible from a residential or apartment district to go dark between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am.
7.      Reduces intensity to 5,000 candelas with a maximum of 500 candelas at night.
8.    Requires all digital billboards to be monopole construction.

Please forward this to anyone who might be interested. I am trying to get it widely circulated before the Monday workshop. Thanks!

Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC) General Meeting Agenda

Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Station (Intersection of Shore Drive and E. Stratford Rd.)

Call to Order

Brief Presentation of Property Shoppe Management Services.  Complimentary pizzas.

Officers’ Reports

          President’s Report – Grace Moran
          Vice President’s Report – Dave Williams
          Secretary’s Report – Todd Solomon – Minutes of November meetings
          Treasurer’s Report – Steve Kohler

Update on issues:

                  Shore Drive Safety Initiatives
                  Beach Sand Replenishment and Beach Access Repairs
                  LED Sign Update
                  Neighborhood Signs
                  Kroger Proposed Fuel Station
                  Stormwater Management
                  Party Planning

Old Business

New Business:  Emergency Preparedness:  Dave Williams (Deferred from January)

1.    Transportation limitations
2.    Realistic Course of Action

Adjourn

Next Meeting:  7:30 p.m. March 29, 2010.

Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Station

Please check http://www.sdcc.info for details as they become available.

SDCC Agenda – Print it & bring it. [1 pg PDF]

Article at Pilotonline.com:

After hearing a handful of complaints from residents, the council decided to deny Richards’ request. Richards, who also lives on Lookout Road, was advised to consider other options and work out existing issues with residents.

Comment at the Pilotonline.com, there are 34 at the time of this post including:

After all the amplified police during the summer, writing tickets for drinking on the beach, scrambling on their bikes during the 4th of July trying to find where every firework came from now the restuarants are in danger. The 3 restaurants in the heart of Chic’s are part of what makes it different and gives a sense of community. I walk over to the Parrott about 3 times a week. I love breakfast and take in the sports on TV. I have never seen a bar fight – ever. And I live within sight of the place. Also I have never heard music at my house. However if the owner agreed not to have amplified music then she should have abbided by it.

From an email:

Beach Sand Replenishment Continues

Hauling began on February 10.  By the close of business on Monday, February 15, the contractor had hauled 7,730 cubic yards to the beach.  This material was spread between Ships Watch Court and the VB Resort & Conference Center, about 1,700 feet, working west to east.  The fill rate is approximately 3.2 cubic yards per foot, yielding a beach berm approximately 70 feet wide at elevation 5 feet, NAVD.

The total volume of sand available at the Maple Street Dredged Material Management Area for the truck haul is approximately 25,000 cubic yards.  This is less than we had hoped, but is a sufficient amount to place the above described beach cross section on the entire beach from Ships Watch Court to First Landing State Park.  We will completely evacuate the Maple Street site, take all available sand.

Given the contractor’s production rate of about 1,720 cubic yards per day, we anticipate that hauling will be complete by the end of February or very early March.

The operation involves 6 ‘quad’ on-road dump trucks cycling between Maple Street and Oak Street (0.75 miles).  The material is dumped on the beach at the Oak Street access, then transferred by an excavator to 2 off-road dump trucks for the beach transit to the placement area.  A bulldozer is stationed at the placement area to shape the fill into a beach berm.  The beach access at Oak Street has been temporarily graded and lined with timber mats, and will be fully restored at the conclusion of the haul.

Work hours at 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. of Saturday.

We have received two ‘concerns’ so far, one by e-mail from the Bailey family wanting to know whether the beach access will be restored.  We responded the same day (Saturday) with an assurance that the access will be restored, and they responded in a positive and appreciative manner.  The second ‘concern’ was voiced in the field to our inspector regarding the potential that the cross beach drains could be blocked by the fill.  Our inspector assured the citizen that the grading operation will provide positive drainage at the outfalls.

We are monitoring the condition of Oak Street for wear and potential damage from the operation.  PW/Operations is standing by to repair or overlay the street at the conclusion of the project as necessary to restore it to ‘as good or better’ condition than prior to the operation.

Please let me know if you need any further information.  Thanks.

Phill Roehrs, P.E.
Water Resources Engineer
City of Virginia Beach
Public Works Engineering
757-385-8985

From an email from a City staffer explaining it:
The work near the Lesner Bridge is indeed maintenance dredging of the Crab Creek channel that serves the Lynnhaven Inlet Boat Ramp and Beach Use Facility.

This channel system is subject to constant shoaling and requires dredging on an annual basis to maintain access to the boat ramp.  Dredging will be complete by February 28, site restoration and full demobilization of the equipment will be complete by mid-March. 

Update on Lesner Bridge closure:

Spoke with 385.5000 Public Safety. No information.

Spoke to an Officer on scene and they thought the bridge might be open again around 830-900pm, or 2030-2100.

Hot Tuna.

Staff concludes that the proposed wind energy conversion system meets the intent and requirements of Section 209 of the Zoning Ordinance, and, therefore, Staff recommends approval of this request with the following conditions.13 page PDF with proposal.

[Note: I personally think this is great. That view is not necessarily shared by SDCC.]

On related news did you see this in the Pilot:

An Atlanta developer said Thursday that he has signed a contract to buy Ford Motor Co.‘s shuttered Norfolk pickup-truck assembly plant and plans to use the facility to produce solar energy panels.

The following are the agenda items from the Commission’s regular meeting held January 26, 2010 at Commission headquarters.  The Commission’s actions are in bold.

THE FOLLOWING SO-CALLED PAGE TWO ITEMS (PROJECTS OVER $50,000 WITH NO OBJECTIONS AND WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APPROVAL) WERE APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY, INCLUDING AGENDA ITEM 5 THAT WAS MOVED TO THIS SECTION OF THE AGENDA:

2K. U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS & CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH, #09-0427, requests authorization to modify the existing Cape Henry Beach nourishment permit to allow the truck-hauling of beach quality sand from the City-owned Maple Street dredged material management area to the easternmost end of Cape Henry Beach.  A maximum of 50,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand will be delivered and spread along the beach within the overall boundaries of the Lynnhaven Fishing Pier and First Landing State Park situated along the Chesapeake Bay.

Click on this link to read the draft meeting minutes http://www.mrc.virginia.gov/Commission_Summaries/cs0110.shtm

To view a copy of the proposed ordinance, click on this link 13_ElecDisplaySigns_AMD.pdf

This ordinance is scheduled to go before City Council on February 9, 2010.  As you can see, the Planning Commission tightened up the restrictions over what they had received from City Staff.  We have received a solicitation for public comment as follows:

“Attached is the Staff report regarding electronic signs in the city. The first version is the ordinance Councilman VILLANUEVA. The Planning Commission recommended favorably for the “Alternate Version”. The Zoning Administrator feels it is critical that citizens provide comments regarding the ordinance amendments. She is willing to meet with you for breakfast or lunch or an afternoon meeting somewhere in the corridor to discuss the ordinance amendments with you. “

If you have any interest in registering your opinion, I will make it easy for you.  Contact me at grace@sdcc.info and let me know if you would like to meet with the administrator or if you would like for me to pass along your remarks. 

We do not have sufficient time to arrange for a presentation before the City Council meets.  Our meeting is Monday, January 25 and our next one will not be until February 22.

This ordinance could perhaps use some tweaking, but it is a vast improvement over what was originally offered.  Thanks for your interest.

Regards,
Grace Moran
President, SDCC

From an email encouraging your attendance:
I urge everyone with an interest in whether or not to bring high speed rail to Hampton Roads (either for or against) to join me in attending Thursday’s public meeting at the Half Moon Cruise Ship Terminal adjacent to Nauticus in Norfolk from 5:30 – 8:00 pm. While there, I hope you will make written comments in favor of the proposal submitted by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) to the state this past October. This proposal is backed by all of the cities in Hampton Roads and differs in a number of important ways from the direction being taken by the state and federal governments:

1)    Calls for High speed rail (110 mph+) service from Richmond to Southside Hampton Roads along the US460 corridor to a terminal somewhere near Bowers Hill (I-64/I-664 interchange) in Suffolk.

2)    Upgrade the existing 79 mph Amtrak line on the Peninsula to address track conditions which impact quality of service.

3)    Address flaws in the methods used and data considered in determining a level of service between Richmond and Hampton Roads.

4)    Prioritizes building a high speed rail line from N. Virginia to Richmond to Hampton Roads before providing out of state connections. Hampton Roads has a population of 1.7 million people making us the largest metropolitan area between New York and Miami. It just makes sense to provide service to our area ahead of smaller and less strategically important regions.

To make this a reality our city and civic leaders estimate that it will take a very sizable turnout. Please consider attending, but if you can’t, you can still submit a comment prior to Feb. 11th and find out more on the project website: http://www.rich2hrrail.info/pages/pi_publicmeetings.html

Please give some thought to this issue and plan to attend.  Whether you are opposed to light rail for Hampton Roads or support it, if you don’t voice your opinion, you have no room to complain about decisions made.

Emphasis mine.

Click here for a printable version of the agends SDCC_Agenda_January_2010.pdf
 

SDCC General Meeting – Monday, January 25, 7:30pm to 9:00pm
Baylake United Methodist Church, 4300 Shore Drive, Friendship Room

Call to Order

Presentation of Kroger Plan to install fuel station at Shore Drive Location

Officers’ Reports
President’s Report – Grace Moran
Vice President’s Report – Dave Williams
Secretary’s Report – Todd Solomon – Minutes of November meetings
Treasurer’s Report – Steve Kohler

Update on issues:

City Budget Hearings (DeSteph Town Hall meeting)
Shore Drive Safety Initiatives
Beach Sand Replenishment and Beach Access Repairs
LED Sign Update
Neighborhood Signs

Old Business:  Discussion of 2010 SDCC Agenda

Executive Board Recommendations:

1.  Improving communication among the civic associations. 
2.  Improve military-civilian interface between SDCC and JEBLCFS.
3.  Implement upgrades to the Website in conjunction with the upcoming joint effort with
    BAC and the acceptance of advertising on the Website. 
4.  Refine the eNewsletter opportunities that the BAC/SDCC email sign-up offers.
5.  Improve disaster planning for SDCC areas.
6.  Open floor discussion  

New Business:  Emergency Preparedness:  Dave Williams

1. Transportation limitations
2. Realistic Course of Action

Issues of Interest:  Do we want to take a position?

1. Zoning Changes at the Oceanfront
2. Eminent Domain stance of the City

Adjourn

Next Meeting:  February 22, 2010.  Location: Back at Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad building.

Please check http://www.sdcc.info for details as they become available.

January 29th, join us.

Print the 1 page color poster and hang it up!