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Category Archives: News
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:
Bayfront Advisory Commission Meeting – Thursday July 16th at 3:30pm at OPVRS
The following notice was received from City Staff identifying the upcoming BAC general meeting on Thursday July 16th at 3:30pm. The meeting location will be the Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad meeting hall. If you are unable to attend due to Covid-19 concerns, please note that the OPCL is offering a opportunity to view the Live Stream of the meeting. If you are interested in that option, please contact Mark Shea at the email address below.
Here is the proposed agenda for the BAC meeting – 20200716PLN_BAC
Bayfront Civic leaders,
Hope everything is going well with each of you during these stressful times. I wanted to give you, as regular attendees, a heads up that BAC will be meeting on 7/16/20 for the first time since February. Due to social distancing requirements, the meeting has been moved to the Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Building, at 3769 E. Stratford Drive. Despite this switch to a larger meeting room, there will still be very limited capacity (we will also be asking that everyone wear a mask).
The developers of Marlin Bay Apts. will be giving a short presentation to BAC. The Ocean Park Civic League has graciously offered to provide a one way live stream of the meeting so that many interested individuals can see and hear the presentation and discussion by BAC from their homes. If you are unable to get there early enough for entrance or feel uncomfortable attending, please send us an email with any issues you would like to bring to BAC’s attention. Due to the pandemic, the Outreach ’20 and Strategic Planning sessions have been delayed indefinitely. If you are interested in the streaming, I will provide your name to the Ocean Park representative so they can send you the link.
Thanks, and please let me know if you have any questions.
Mark E. Shea, AICP
Comprehensive Planning Coordinator
City of Virginia Beach
Department of Planning and Community Development
757-385-2908
City Council Hearing for Proposed Westminster Canterbury 22 Story Iconic Landmark Set for Tuesday Aug. 4th
A date for City Council to hold the public hearing for the proposed development of a 22 story assisted living facility and a 7 story memory building has been set for Tuesday August 4th. The location of the hearing will be the City Council Chambers or the Convention Center based on the Covid-19 requirements at that time. We will provide updates as we get them. Below is the email confirming the date has been set.
SDCC Residents Survey Results for proposed WCCB development – https://weloveshoredrive.com/2020/03/11/wccb-survey-summary-results/
VB Planning Commission Hearing March 11th Video link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h75pz3iVqgQ
VB Planning Commission Staff Report and additional background information – https://weloveshoredrive.com/2020/03/06/while-it-is-the-most-densely-populated-area-of-the-city-it-is-primarily-a-neighborhood-residential-area-the-general-planning-goals-and-policies-in-the-comprehensive-plan-include-preserving-and-pro/
Subject: RE: WC CUP Sign – Hearing Date Confirmation
Hello Todd,
Yes, the Westminster Canterbury application is scheduled for City Council review on August 4th. According to the City Clerk’s Office no decision has been made at this time as to whether the hearing will be held in the Council Chamber or at the Convention Center. While currently both in-person and virtual speakers are allowed, that decision may also be reassessed in the very near future.
Thank you.
Bill
Tuesday July 14th City Council Hearing – City Marina to Lease 24 Parking Spots to Chick’s
Click here to see a map of the proposed parking spots to be leased. LMM Parking Exhibit – July 2020
Dear Marina Slipholder,
As a current Slipholder at Lynnhaven Municipal Marina, I wanted to make you aware of a consideration to potentially lease Chick’s Oyster Bar 24 car parking spaces at the north end of the Marina. After we recently completed the replacement of the collapsed bulkhead area behind the west mooring area at the Marina, Chick’s formally requested to lease parking spaces for their employees on an annual basis. If approved, the City would be paid a monthly fee per space for the 24 parking spaces as part of the lease. Additionally, the use and lease would be subject to terms and conditions, and would be renewed on an annual basis for a period not to exceed five total years, should all terms and conditions continue to be met.
Attached for your information is the Exhibit Area at the north end of the Marina where the leased parking spaces are located, along with the Notice of Public Hearing scheduled for July 14th. The tentative plan would be for City Council to vote on the parking space lease on July 21st and if approved, execute the lease with Chick’s in August 2020.
We are also notifying the adjacent Condo and Civic Associations. Please let me or Mike Parkman know if you have any questions.
Thanks, Rick Rowe
Parks Coordinator, City of Virginia Beach
Sent of Rick’s behalf
Mary Overstreet
Park Events, Programs, and Special Use
Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation
Park Events, Programs, and Special Use | 2154 Landstown Road | Virginia Beach, Virginia 23456
Phone 757-385-8235 | Fax 757-416-6747 | moverstr@vbgov.com | VBgov.com/parks
The contractor has finished work at N. Great Neck Road, Starfish Rd, the new culvert pipe behind the Fire Station in the Cape Henry Canal (CHC), and the associated overlay to the CHC Trail, and is approximately 90% complete at Red Tide Road.
Update from email:
Virginia Beach Public Works is providing an update for the Eastern Shore Drive Drainage Improvements Project Phase 1C.1 currently underway.
The contractor has finished work at N. Great Neck Road, Starfish Rd, the new culvert pipe behind the Fire Station in the Cape Henry Canal (CHC), and the associated overlay to the CHC Trail, and is approximately 90% complete at Red Tide Road.
On July 6th 2020, work will progress to Cape Henry Drive between Ebb Tide Road and W. Great Neck Road. This work is the first stage of utility relocations of smaller-scale water and sanitary sewer utilities between these end points. It’s important to note that this work will not interfere with the normal traffic at W. Great Neck Road. The intersection of Ebb Tide Rd/Cape Henry Drive will not be shut-down until the end of this work in late July/early August. Contractor will continue to provide access to driveways and the Citrus delivery area.
The anticipated schedule is:
Complete closure of Cape Henry Drive between Ebb Tide Road and W. Great Neck Road. Contractor will provide access to driveways and the Citrus delivery area.July 6th, 2020 – August 5th, 2020.
The contractor for the job is Tidewater Utility Construction Inc.
For additional information, please contact Shannon Bruce, Project Manager with Tidewater Utility Construction at (757) 944-0795, or Public Works Engineering at (757) 385-4131.
A new Virginia law takes effect on Wednesday. It requires drivers to stop and allow pedestrians to cross the street.
The law cites that drivers must stop for pedestrians who are anywhere in a crosswalk. This law applies for any road that’s speed limit is less 35 miles per hour.
Credit: Ali Weatherton
the neptunes VIRGINIA – IT IS Virginia – Pharrell
View music video & more at music.com/Virginia
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad & Pleasure House Point represented too!
Congratulations to Patrick Duhaney Appointed Virginia Beach City Manager
Duhaney has been city manager for Cincinnati, Ohio since 2018 and previously served as that city’s assistant city manager and chief procurement officer. He currently serves on the Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors and is a member of the Local Initiative Support Corporation’s Emerging Leaders Council located in New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Urban Studies from Cleveland State University in Ohio and a master’s degree in Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati.
The combat Veteran starts July 20 2020.
Welcome & congratulations!
We look forward to working with you.
Virginia Beach Planning Commission Public Hearing March 11, 2020 Minutes
View PDF of Minutes at VBGov.com:
I would like to call the order the March 11th, 2020 public meeting of the Planning Commission. My name is David Wiener. I’m acting as Chair today. Dee Oliver will not be here. Before we get started, I’ve asked Commissioner Coston to lead us in prayer and Don Horsley, Mr. Horsley to lead us in pledge, please stand.
Download PDF of PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MARCH 11 2020 Formal Minutes (Binded) here.
EMERGENCY BLOOD DRIVE OPVRS JULY 10TH 2PM – 6PM
“On June 2-3, 2020, Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay voluntarily accepted an offer by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to test all residents and staff for the COVID-19 virus.”
UPDATE: June 8, 2020
UPDATE: June 8, 2020
Virginia Department of Health Point of Prevalence Survey Results Show Westminster-Canterbury COVID-19 Free: More than 1100 Residents and Staff Tested
On June 2-3, 2020, Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay voluntarily accepted an offer by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to test all residents and staff for the COVID-19 virus. None of the more than 1100 residents and staff that participated in the survey tested positive.
Because Westminster-Canterbury is a large campus of over 1100 residents and staff and has remained COVID-19 free, the VDH was extremely interested in performing this survey with our population. The campus’ experience runs contrary to the experience of other senior living communities of similar size.
“While we are extremely thankful that our community is COVID-19 free, we will continue with the protocols that got us to this point, including social distancing and wearing masks,” said Westminster-Canterbury President and CEO J. Benjamin Unkle, Jr.
Road Resurfacing Planned for Repair of Work Areas at Starfish Rd, N. Great Neck Rd, Red Tide Rd and the Cape Henry Trail
Hello Shore Drive Community,
The following emails are updates from our friendly neighborhood Project Engineer regarding the repaving of areas that have recently had stormwater improvements completed. It looks like paving of these areas is scheduled to be finished by the end of July.
Stay safe and stay healthy,
Todd
Dear SDCC,
An update for you on the some of the “rough-rides” you may be experiencing at Starfish Rd and N. Great Neck Rd.
Good news for these asphalt issues. We are trying to be fair to the contractor and limit his mobilization of final Asphalt surface course construction to two occurrences. The reason it is riding a little rough is because intermediate course has been placed on top for now, and yes, there are noticeable differences in elevation at the edge points that create a bump. The contractor is working at Red Tide Rd right now, and after he completes the storm sewer construction, we will then be milling (pavement planning) the asphalt down at Starfish Road, North Great Neck Road, the Cape Henry canal Trail and Red Tide Road. Then a complete overlay of surface course asphalt will be placed back in accordance with the Contract Documents.
At N. Great Neck Road, we are going to slightly beyond the limits of the trench excavation to make sure there is “no bump” and mill out the asphalt to only the right turn lane (northbound) and merging lane (southbound). But the future Shore Drive Phase III roadway project in a couple years (100% design) will be providing a complete intersection pavement rebuild along with that project. For Starfish Rd and Red Tide Rd, it will be complete face-of-curb (edge-of-pavement)) to the other face-of-curb (edge-of-pavement).
All This work will be completed by July.
The second mobilization of asphalt surface course will occur after the heavy construction at West Great Neck Road and Cape Henry Drive in the summer and fall.
Best Regards,
Brad
Bradley W. Vanderwarker, P.E.
Project Manager
City of Virginia Beach
PW/Stormwater Eng. Center
2473 N. Landing Road, Building 23, Room 139
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
(757) 385-4131 (main)
(757) 385-8556 (direct)
(757) 705-7507 (cellular)
bvanderwarker@vbgov.com
Additional details of the work being done on the Cape Henry Trail. A plan of the work location can be seen by clicking here Cape Henry Trail Milling & Surface Course Overlay
Todd/Tim,
The milling and resurfacing of the Cape Henry Trail between W. Great Neck Road and N. Great Neck Road is graphically displayed in the attached.
This will provide a nice smooth trail system from the major construction at W. Great Neck Road over and through where the large 76”x48” Culvert behind the Fire Station was recently constructed. It ends just west of Sunstate Ct. where shown. It was not in the scope of this project to repair and resurface the trail to the east over to Beech Street.
Even with the localized construction at N. Great Neck Road, we are only repairing a localized section of the stamped brick area on the west side of N. Great Neck Road.
Further questions relative to the Cape Henry Trail program may be directed to Elaine Linn elinn@vbgov.com with Parks & Rec.
“I’m not for it and I’m not against it. I’m for working with the developers and the city and other stakeholders because the developers own property on Pleasure House Point that’s not preserved yet, so I think the smart thing would be to work with them,” he said.
There’s a plan to build more than 200 apartments on Shore Drive. The planned development would be located where an old boat and RV storage yard currently sits at the intersection of Marlin Bay and Shore Drive.
While people said there is a need for more housing in the area, some neighbors are pushing back on the plans.
Note the amount of trees and vital habitat that is at risk for destruction. Birds, including those migrating in the Atlantic Flyway, depend on Pleasure House Point and it’s open space to survive.
Sand Replenishment of Ocean Park Beach Scheduled for Spring 2020 Won’t Happen
The following email update was provided by City Staff explaining the reason the planned beach replenishment of Ocean Park beaches won’t be happening this Spring.
The City received three bids on April 7, 2020 for the beach nourishment of Ocean Park Beach. Unfortunately, all bids were over 50% higher than the available budget for the project. The primary driver as to why the bids came in significantly higher than the available budget is due to industry capacity related to the high demand for dredging along the east coast and the Gulf of Mexico for the next six months. No additional funding has been identified and not likely in the immediate future given the uncertainty in the proposed City budget. Therefore, a contract cannot be awarded based on the bids received.
Public Works staff has recommended rebidding the project with a longer period of performance to incentivize more favorable bids based on the available budget for Ocean Park Beach. A final determination on rebidding the project is pending. Please contact Mr. James White for additional information.
Respectfully,
James White, City of Virginia Beach
#WeLoveShoreDrive 