Would neighbors object if the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center were to build a research center on the old McLeskey property on the Lynnhaven River?

Read & comment on editorial at Pilotonline.com.

There are still some of the original designs left!

Purchase t-shirts, yard signs, decals & more to help raise funds to oppose Indigo Dunes.

For now, please contact us here:
Phone:
496-5733
Mail:
Shore Drive Community Coalition
P.O. Box 55254
Virginia Beach VA 23471

It’s November 7th, Wednesday from 8:30am-4:30pm including lunch.

If you contacted Clark Nexsen you probably received an invite in the mail this week.

Sandler officials also failed to show that they considered other siting options or that the wetlands had to be filled, according to the documents.
Read & comment on article at Pilotonline.com.

Some wetlands on Pleasure House Point proposed to be filled in.

The Justice Department investigation began about nine months ago after two people filed their own discrimination suit against the club, Kokoamos Island Bar, Grill and Yacht Club, and its owner, Barry Davis.
Read & comment on article at Pilotonline.com.

View Larger Map
The first attack occurred about 4:30 p.m. in the 3900 block of Shady Oaks Drive, according to police.

And…
View Larger Map
A few blocks away at 12:20 a.m. on Sept. 17, a woman awoke to a sound of a knock on her front door in the 2100 block of Dinwiddie Road, according to police.

Article at Pilotonline.com.
Police Reports Online.

As of Monday, September 24th at 11am, the Police are only releasing:
Police could only describe the man as 5 feet, 8 inches to 5 feet, 11 inches tall.
He was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and gloves during the second attack.

Anyone with information is asked to call Virginia Beach Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.

3rd Precinct Police Station Number – 385.2703.

You are highly encouraged to attend this event.  The speaker is the Exec Director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth.  If any area in the City could benefit from his discussion, it’s Shore Drive.  Please pass this email on and post a flyer if you can.  The event is free.

Civic Fair 2007 Flyer. [1 pg PDF]

About the Coalition for Smarter Growth:
“Our mission is to ensure that transportation and development decisions accommodate growth while revitalizing communities, providing more housing and travel choices, and conserving our natural and historic areas.”

http://www.SmarterGrowth.net.

Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC)- General Meeting

Monday September 24, 2007

7:30pm to 9:00pm

Ocean Park Fire & Rescue Hall

Been following the idea of putting a permanent dredge spoil facility at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp?

Here’s a few more questions that have been answered, although they raise some more like:

+ I thought larger vessels had the right of way when navigating boat channels?
It’s suggested the barges will yield the right of way to smaller vessels when navigating the channel.

+ How many dump trucks & other work vehicles will be staged at the boat ramp?
Most likely any dredge spoil company, to make it a profitable job, will stage an unknown number of dump trucks & support vehicles at the facility.

+ Are there any examples of recreational boat ramps being shared with industrial dredge spoils facilites?
Apparently the recreational vehicles will have the right of way when competing with the dump trucks for space.

+ The amount of material to be dredged from ancillary channels is unknown ? there are several neighborhoods that have expressed interest in privately dredging their canals…
Do you think the proposed dredge spoil facility should be permanently open to take dredge spoils from private property?

Read more to see some of the most recent questions that were answered…

According to the news release yesterday, BAC’s meeting at 6:30pm today includes:
…receive updates from City staff on several ongoing projects and issues, including community signs, dredging operations site improvements at the Lynnhaven Boat and Beach Facility, and Shore Drive Safety Task Force recommended preliminary concept plans for encroachments.

There is also a Workshop at 2pm today.

The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission is asking Hampton Roads residents to conserve water because of the recent dry weather.
Article at Pilotonline.com.

Update:
If the drought continues and voluntary efforts don?t save enough water, city leaders said mandatory conservation measures could follow.
More at Pilotonline.com.

Check your mail box for the BAC’s newsletter that was recently mailed.

Update:
Article has risen to 3rd Most Comments at Pilotonline.com.

…?it?s a shame the market tanked after they tore the Duck-In down.
Read article, view more pictures & comment at Pilotonline.com.

An excerpt:
The shoreline and grasses were teaming with life ? turtles, fish, and amazing water birds were everywhere! Many of the birds were nesting and you could see their young in the nests. The air was filled with the song of so many different birds. At one point we were not more than 100 yards from Shore Drive but the “wilderness” of the space was so amazing we could have been miles away.

…being asked to shoulder the burden of hosting an industrial-type operation in a residential/recreational environment to provide an amenity to many far-removed households now and in perpetuity.
Read Letter to Mayor Re: Dredging-Western Branch of the Lynnhaven River.

Respondent: Phillip Roehrs, City of Virginia Beach,
Public Works Department….
Q. There is a need for a permanent dredge spoil transfer station? for this city project, private projects and possibly future city projects. Is this need considered with this proposal?

A. Yes. A permanent sheet pile structure would be installed to allow other neighborhoods to use this site for dredge spoils transfer.
Read entire Q&A at OPCL.org.

Approximate location of permanent/temporary dredge spoil facility.

Operating too close to swimmers. Virginia Beach code holds that personal watercraft can’t be operated within 100 feet of swimmers.
Read & comment on article at Pilotonline.com.

Imagine the benefits of having something like this in the region:

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is the world’s leading research center for environmental studies of the coastal zone. Our accomplishments range from running some of the longest continuous ecological studies in the world, to creating new technology that expands the horizons of science.
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center online.

A lot has happened since Indigo Dunes was intially presented in May 06.

If you’re reading this, you undoubtedly know of the enormous opposition that has been growing since those early presentations.

Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation estimates that an average of 70 boats pass through the channel each day, with heavier traffic on weekends, in the summer and during Striper fishing season from October until February.
Read entire article at Portfolio Weekly.
More about proposed facility.