Category Archives: News

SDCC General Meeting Monday Jan. 27th at 7:30pm – Storm Water Project Presentation

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Click here for a printable version of the agenda 1.27.20 SDCC Agenda

SDCC General Meeting Agenda
Monday January 27, 2020 from 7:30 to 9:00pm
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Hall – 3769 East Stratford Rd
(parking in back, on side streets and across Shore Drive)

Special Presentation – Storm Water Projects East of the Lesner Bridge
Public Works Engineers, Mike Mundy and Brad Vanderwarker, will provide an update and answer questions regarding improvement projects planned for the communities between the Lesner Bridge and First Landing State Park. Lynnhaven Colony, Cape Story by the Sea, Areas along Cape Henry Trail and Condos north of Shore Drive will be specifically discussed. Come learn if you area will be included in improvements and if not, what you can do to help influence Councilmembers to allocate a portion of the possible $430mil bond monies to support.

Officer’s Reports

Secretary – Kathleen Damon
Treasurer’s Report –Tim Solanic
Vice President – Empsy Munden
President – Todd Solomon

Old Business-
Bonaventure/Windsong Development – Project update and when it go before the Planning Commission.

Electric Scooters – E-scooter will be coming back to the Bayfront area starting April 1st. Rules for operation will be restricted from last year. Learn more about the new requirements.

New Business –
Westminster-Canterbury High Rise and Memory Center Expansion – At the Nov. BAC meeting, WC presented an expansion project that included a 22 story high rise to be built at the Casa del Playa/Old Pier site and a memory center to be located on a current parking lot. All facilities are planned to be connected with pedestrian bridges crossing public streets at Ocean Shore Ave and Starfish Rd.

Shore Drive Community Coalition Future Structure – SDCC officers met and have put together a revision to our Bylaws. Some of the key changes include: tri-annual (3 times) meetings instead of monthly meetings; eliminating $25 membership dues; making officer positions flexible from minimum 2 to 4. These revisions will need to be voted on at the next upcoming meeting TBD.

Community Concerns– Please share any issues or concerns your groups/organizations may have at this time.

Civic Engagement Opportunities

Cape Henry Trail Kendall St. Retention Pond Meeting- Monday Feb. 10th the City will discuss this retention pond at the Cape Story by the Sea General Civic meeting. The meeting is held at the Lynnhaven Congregational Community Church on West Great Neck Rd at 7:30pm, all are welcome.

Sea Level Wise Public Input – The Department of Public Works will be holding six public meetings regarding the Sea Level Wise Adaptation Strategy. The closest meeting to the Bayfront will be:
February 15, 2020 – Cox High School – 2425 Shorehaven Drive – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

City Budget Citizen Discussion – Councilman John Moss will be holding public information sessions in the Bayfront area at the following dates and locations. Both meetings are held from 6:30pm to 8:00pm
• Wed March 4th at the Bayside Rec Center
• Wed March 18th at Great Neck Rec Center

 

“Virginia Beach’s new flooding models are as advanced as any in the United States”

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Article at Pilotonline.com:

If Virginia Beach doesn’t take action to guard the city from more extreme flooding, its bond rating could be affected, officials have said.

After the flood models are completed at the city’s Public Works Stormwater Engineering Center, work begins on designing things like tidal backflow prevention devices. As seen Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020. (Stephen M. Katz)

Article has a terrific amount of info.

Our Comments(Discuss) are always open. You may remember Pilotonline.com Commenting has been turned off.

Finally, if you’re familiar with our work preserving Pleasure House Point, you may find a connection in this article.

Sea Level Wise Adaption Strategy Draft Report

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Download the entire 306 page 106.6MB PDF report here.

A few highlights.

Executive Summary
In the last five years, the City of Virginia Beach has completed a comprehensive effort to develop strategies to respond to sea level rise and related increases in flooding. The study, known as Sea Level Wise, has produced a wealth of information to understand what challenges the City will face and develop diverse strategies to pro-actively reduce the impacts. This document presents the findings of the Sea Level Wise effort. . . .

Report includes:

A Call To Action
Maintaining Good Credit
The City’s flood risks are also recognized by organizations that rate the financial strength and borrowing ability of municipalities.

In 2014, the credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service Inc. sent a questionnaire to the City. It asked about the City’s sea level rise vulnerabilities, expenses, and plans to address future impacts. Thanks to the newly created Sea Level Wise program, the City was able to speak to proactive flood mitigation efforts underway, stating:

“The City firmly believes that the cost of damage done by ignoring sea level rise will far exceed the cost of mitigation.”

Satisfactory responses to these questions has allowed Virginia Beach to maintain a AAA credit rating. This high credit rating is essential for the affordable financing of City improvement projects through municipal bonds.

Page 8 Introduction.

Page 18 Community Engagement.

Page 46 Aging Infrastructure.

Page 58 Where are the losses occurring. Note Shore Drive area.

Page 72 City-Wide Objectives.

Page 78 Preserve Environmental Assets.

Page 104 Regulate Building and Development.

Page 110 Support Risk Mitigating Interventions. Note: “Priority areas for supporting risk-mitigating interventions at the parcel-level.”

Page 166 Lynnhaven. Note: “Over the last 40 years, this historically
agrarian community has undergone extensive development in both commercial and residential areas. However, the loss of naturalized landscapes has only served to make flooding worse, as development has formed on manufactured land and has surrounded the numerous water ways, rivers, tributaries, and bays that make up this region.”

Page 188 West of Lesner Bridge Neighborhood Alignment.

Page 190 East of Lesner Bridge Neighborhood Alignment.

Page 200 Residential Community Education.

Page 284 Planning and Coordination.

There is a massive amount of information in this report.

Download the entire 306 page 106.6MB PDF report here.

“To prepare for the threat of sea level rise in the coming decades, Virginia Beach will have to consider multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects, restricting new development in some parts of the city and purchasing properties in danger of flooding, according to a new report.”

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Guess one of the top areas of VB at risk.

View article at Pilotonline.com:

Flooding in Virginia Beach is influenced by a host of factors. More intense rainfall, increased development on vulnerable lands and aging infrastructure have all contributed to more severe floods in recent years.

View the entire PDF report here.