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Thanks to the great people who came out for LITTER REVEAL CLEANUP at PHP today!
Category Archives: News
BAYFRONT ADVISORY COMMISSION Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad 3769 E. Stratford Drive (enter on side opposite Shore Drive) September 17, 2020 2:30 pm
Agenda Thursday:
STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION – 2:30-3:30 pm (Prioritization of items from last month’s discussion)
REGULAR SESSION CALL TO ORDER – 3:30 pm
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Review and Approval of Minutes from 8/20/2020
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Welcome Guests and Introductions – Phil Davenport, Chair
STAFF REPORTS & UPDATES
COMMITTEE REPORTS & UPDATES
Design – Bob Magoon, Faith Christie, Joe Bovee (volunteer)
Communications – Vacant
Public Safety, Transit, Parking & Pedestrian Access – Charles Malbon
PROJECT BRIEFINGS/DISCUSSION ITEMS
Conditional Use Permit for 7/11 with gas pumps – 4493 Shore Drive
Discussion of short term rental districts along Shore Drive
OLD BUSINESS
COMMUNITY REPORTS & UPDATES
ADJOURN
Thanks to the great people who came out for LITTER REVEAL CLEANUP at PHP today!
It meant a lot to the people who love PHP VB Parks & Rec also sent out people to help!
Everyone agreed the people who trashed PHP should be held accountable.
Ocean Shores Condominium Board Fundraising for Legal Fees to Oppose Westminster Canterbury Proposed Expansion
The following letter is from the Ocean Shores Condominium Board requesting support to help cover costs for legal fees to help them oppose the current proposed 22 story tall expansion of Westminster Canterbury. Ocean Shores Condos are located directly to the east of the proposed high rise and will be impacted the most by the massive structure. If you believe the proposed iconic landmark hire rise is not in keeping with the neighborhood character of the Bayfront area, Please help by donating and/or forwarding this post to others.
Ocean Shores Condo Legal Fees Fundraiser Letter
Dear Shore Drive Community members:
We are writing you concerning the expansion of Westminster Canterbury. Most of you have gone to meetings opposing the expansion of Westminster Canterbury, or have expressed personal interest against the expansion as it stands now.
This letter/email is from The Ocean Shore Condominiums. We are a 63 unit condo directly to the east of Westminster Canterbury on Ocean Shore Avenue.
The board of Ocean Shore Condominium, has been fighting to mitigate some of the most egregious design plans of Westminster Canterbury’s expansion since the details were presented to Ocean Shore Condominium owners December 17, 2019, by WC management; the expansion plan was presented as final. We have attended many meetings, written numerous letters to the planning commission, and made presentations to that commission March 11, 2020. Now we are actively in contact with the City Council and are prepared to attend their meeting on September 22, 2020, in order to voice our concerns. Beginning with the Dec. 17, 2019, presentation, Ocean Shore hired an attorney and an architect to help represent us and the community through this entire process. Many of us have attended meetings with the attorney, and she helped voice our opposition in front of the planning commission. In addition, she will be making a case against aspects of the expansion plan at the City Council Meeting.
To date, we have spent over $19,500 on legal fees and another $6,000 for the advice and representation we have gotten from our architect. We have more costs coming as our attorney and architect will be representing all of us at the City Council Meeting upcoming on September 22, 2020. We are trying to protect the housing values and the wonderful lifestyle of the entire Shore Drive Area and therefore we are all in this together.
We are asking you to help support us financially. Please consider contributing to our bills in the quest to get Westminster Canterbury to change their expansion. If you are an individual and can afford $10, $25, $100, or any other amount we would appreciate your help. If you represent an association or a civic league and you have the same passion as Ocean Shore to continue this fight, then we ask you to financially support us as a community with as much as you deem appropriate. Ocean Shore Condo is fighting for the entire Shore Drive Area. We need your financial help and cannot continue to fight without your help.
To contribute, please write a check made out to Ocean Shore Condominium and forward it to the address below:
Ocean Shore Condominium
Attn: Jay Frieden, Treasurer
2416 Ocean Shore Crescent #401
Virginia Beach, Va. 23451
Whether you contribute financially or not we still need your support. Please keep contacting the City Council, your Congressional representative and the Governor to keep the pressure on our City Council. We want to protect everyone in The Shore Drive Area.
Very Truly Yours,
Ocean Shore Condo Board
City’s Community Rating System (CRS) Continues to Save Citizens 15% on Flood Insurance
The City’s Community Rating System Coordinator, Ms. Whitney McNamara, recently sent the above letter to all homeowners living in flood prone areas of our City. The CRS is a national program and almost all of the cities in Hampton Roads are participants. One of the requirements of the program is civic engagement. The outreach letter contains a lot of helpful information, so please read it and its reference documents if you live in a flood prone area. Being part of the CRS program also brings along benefits for citizens in the form of reduced flood insurance premiums. The % saving is based on a points scale based on what actions the City is implementing. Virginia Beach is currently at a 15% savings rating and is continuously working towards improvement and more savings. You can click on the link below or the image above to read the entire letter.
THE BRUCE W. EDWARDS VIRGINIA BEACH EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES HEADQUARTERS AND TRAINING CENTER
View more about Chief Emeritus Bruce W. Edwards at OPVRS website.
REQUESTED BY CITY COUNCIL
A RESOLUTION RENAMING THE VIRGINIA BEACH EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES HEADQUARTERS AND TRAINING CENTER AS “THE BRUCE W. EDWARDS VIRGINIA BEACH EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES HEADQUARTERS AND TRAINING CENTER”
Passed Unanimously this evening by City Council.
Delta Hotels Virginia Beach Bayfront Suites is set to open in November in the former home of the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center
More pics & info at Pilotonline.com:
An aerial view of the new Delta by Marriott in Virginia Beach. As seen Friday, August 21, 2020. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot)
HERO HIGHLIGHT about Empsy !
Empsy Munden has volunteered with the Virginia Beach chapter of the Medical Reserve Corps since 2006!
Empsy recently assisted with COVID-19 testing. She is very passionate about the work that the Medical Reserve Corps does for her community and encourages fellow pharmacists to get involved.
If you are interested in the Medical Reserve Corps click here to learn more and apply.
Thanks for all the volunteer work you do!
Virginia Beach Waste Collections Resume
View press release at VBGov.com.
Wednesday routes are being collected today, Thursday, Aug. 20. Thursday routes will be serviced Friday. Friday routes will be serviced on Saturday. Recycling collection remains unchanged and will occur on your normal collection day. Routes not completed on Tuesday, Aug. 18 are being serviced today.
City of VB installs new Your Speed Radar Sign on Shore Drive
The City of Virginia Beach listened to the community and has installed a “Your Speed” radar sign on Shore Drive to help slow motorists coming out of First Landing State Park. The sign is located in the median just as you exit the State Park and enter the Cape Story by the Sea Neighborhood. The sign is solar operated and permanently mounted. It shows speeds up to 45mph. Anything over, it will post a “Slow Down” warning. This is a big step toward the community request to have several of these types of signs that are portable and can be set up and moved in a random pattern to keep focus on speeding issues.
“[We are] emergency employees and deal with hazardous materials on a daily basis,” said Sam Brown, a waste management collector.”
Virginia Beach waste management employees protesting over hazard pay, trash collection suspended for Wednesday
New City Manager Patrick Duhaney, who came by to speak with the workers on Wednesday morning, sent a letter to city council on Tuesday asking for hazard pay for waste management and other “critical workers,” but through another source — savings from a recent hiring freeze.
Pedestrian struck in Ocean Park last night
Thank you for your service on the front lines of the covid19 pandemic.
“Know Your Zone” Evacuation Tool Updates Color-Coded Map
Westminster Canterbury Expansion Update – City Council Member Status
As you all know, the City Council hearing for the proposed Westminster Canterbury expansion is now scheduled to take place on Tuesday August 25th. The following is a brief update on what City Council Members positions/interest is to date.
3 Council Members have recused themselves from discussing, commenting and voting on this application due to conflict of interests. Those members are Jim Wood – Lynnhaven District; Louis Jones – Bayside District and Rosemary Wilson – At-large.
Out of the remaining 8 Council Members, 7 have yet to meet with residents or attend a civic meeting where this expansion was discussed or presented.
1 Council Member, Mr. John Moss, has publicly made the decision to oppose the expansion. His Facebook post is shown below.
City Manager Patrick Duhaney has declared a local state of emergency in preparation for the storm. “The Aug. 4 City Council meeting – items that were to be considered will be rescheduled for Council meetings on Aug. 18 or 25.”
Due to expected high winds, rain and possible flooding from Tropical Storm Isaias, all City buildings and facilities will be closed Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Closings & Cancellations for Tuesday, Aug. 4
- The Aug. 4 City Council meeting – items that were to be considered will be rescheduled for Council meetings on Aug. 18 or 25.
- Recreation centers and Parks & Recreation summer childcare programs
- Libraries
- Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and Boat Tours.
Waste Collection Suspended on Tuesday
All trash, recycling, bulky item and yard debris collections are suspended. Collections will resume on a sliding schedule: Tuesday routes will be collected Wednesday, Wednesday routes on Thursday, Thursday on Friday, and Friday routes on Saturday, Aug. 8.
Our understanding is WCCB is now scheduled for August 25th.
From: Paige T. McGraw
Sent: Monday, August 3, 2020 2:15 PM
To: Todd Solomon
Subject: RE: August 4th City Council Hearing – Westminster Canterbury Expansion ItemTodd,
The meeting tomorrow will be cancelled. The Westminster item will be heard on the 25th. Do you want to stay signed up?
Sincerely,
Paige McGraw
City of Virginia Beach | Deputy City Clerk
2401 Courthouse Drive | Bldg. 1, Rm. 281 | Va. Beach, VA 23456
| 757.385.4303 |
City Council Still Plans to Hear Westminster-Canterbury Expansion on Aug. 4th – Community Input Needed
On Tuesday City Council decided to move ahead with the scheduled Aug 4th hearing of the Westminster-Canterbury proposed expansion plans. The hearing will take place in the Convention Center and start at 6:00pm. We have been told this site will allow adequate social distancing even with the recent reduction of allowable group sizes from 250 to 50. You can also participate virtually if you are in a high risk category.
The Shore Drive Community Coalition is asking the residents of the Bayfront Community to provide City Council with your opinions on this proposed development. This is a once in a lifetime decision that can cause adverse ripples for many years to come. Here are several ways you can let your voices be heard.
- Sign up to speak (in-person or virtual) at the Tuesday Aug 4th hearing. Call the City Clerk at 385-4303 or email her at ABarnes@vbgov.com and inform her you wish to talk on the Westminster-Canterbury item.
- Send an email to City Council and the Staff Planner. It can be a short few sentences of what you think about this project or it can be several paragraphs of stories or analysis. Any email is welcomed. Send your emails to the following: City Council – CityCouncil@vbgov.com and City Planner Bill Landfair – WLandfair@vbgov.com
For reference, the official letter of opposition from SDCC to City Council is included below. Feel free to copy and paste information from this letter into your emails if you need. City Council Deny Request Letter for WC22
Dear Mayor Dyer and City Council Members,
On behalf of the Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC), we formally request that City Council “DENY” the subject request from Westminster Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay (WCCB) for a modification of conditions to build a 4 story parking garage with 22 story tower senior living facility and a 7 story memory unit facility connected by enclosed elevated pedestrian bridges over public roadways.
The SDCC is a 20 year old umbrella civic organization representing many neighborhood civic leagues, condo and homeowner associations along the Shore Drive corridor. At our February general meeting, we unanimously voted on the following motion regarding the current proposed WCCB development,
“The Shore Drive Community Coalition opposes the Westminster Canterbury expansion proposal as it is in violation of the Shore Drive Overlay density restrictions and the Business 901 height restrictions”
The proposed project defined as “Housing for seniors” violates the following City codes and plans.
- Shore Drive Corridor Overlay Section 1704- Density requirements of maximum 24 units per acre. The proposed 22 story tower lot size is 2.56 acres.
Density Design Units/acre % over code Total Units Shore Drive Overlay (24/acre) 24 0% 61 Other States Codes for Affordable Housing 28 +20% 73 Existing Westminster Canterbury Campus Density 50 +40% 86 Proposed 22 Story Tower 85 +255% 217
- Business District Section 901(a) – Senior housing building height restriction of 165 feet. The 22 story tower has a height of 250 feet. This City code requirement appears to have been created to allow safe evacuation of elderly residents in case of emergency.
The SDCC understands that Council will be using “City Code Section 235 – Housing for seniors and disabled persons” to approve random densities for these types of projects, however, this code also requires Council to evaluate the project with the following guideline.
The mass, or overall size, and height of the structure should be appropriate to the surroundings.
Based on numbers alone, it seems the proposed 22 story tower fails on height and mass.
The SDCC is also concerned that this project will set a harmful precedent for future development requests of high density taller tower structures in Business B2 and B4 zoning that would be incompatible with the surrounding residential and lower density multi-family dwellings that make the Shore Drive Corridor unique.
Thank you for your consideration in denying the subject application,
Todd Solomon – SDCC President
City Council Hearing for Westminster Canterbury Proposed Expansion Officially Set for Aug 4th at the Convention Center
City Council’s official agenda notice for their Aug 4th Council Meeting has Westminster Canterbury’s proposed expansion listed as Agenda Item #1.
Please note that the hearing has been moved due to the large attendance expected and will be held at the City’s Convention Center. The meeting start time is still 6pm and seating will arranged to allow adequate social distancing for all those that wish to attend in person. Make sure to arrive early since this is the first item on the agenda.
The hearing will also be held virtually, so you can still sign up to speak using a computer or smart phone. Follow the instructions listed at the bottom of the notice.
“In the last 2 weeks, we’ve treated and transported more COVID positive patients than the previous 5 months.”
Read title of the post again:
“In the last 2 weeks, we’ve treated and transported more COVID positive patients than the previous 5 months.”
“None of this would be necessary if people just did the right thing.”
Note: We apologize for the inconvenience. We weren’t able to share video at the point presentation started. Scrub to 8:20 for beginning.
Update from Governor.Virginia.gov:
July 14, 2020—Governor Northam stepped up enforcement of guidelines and restrictions as cases in the Hampton Roads area show a troubling increase.
According to local health officials, the rise in cases in the region is driven partly by people gathering in groups, often without wearing face coverings.
To increase enforcement of existing restrictions in restaurants and other places where people gather, Governor Northam is directing teams made up of members from the health departments, the Virginia ABC, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and other licensing agencies, to conduct unannounced visits to establishments as needed.
Governor Northam is also asking mayors of beach towns for an update on how they are following through on beach access plans put forth in May, and has directed Virginia ABC to develop a plan to impose an earlier cutoff for alcohol sales at restaurants.
Governor Northam will consider additional actions as needed.
Emphasis ours.
As example:
#WeLoveShoreDrive 