Category Archives: News

SDCC Proposed Bylaw Changes

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Shore Drive Community Coalition has been operating for an amazing 20 years.  Our coalition of engaged communities has and is still doing great things.  However, it is time to make some adjustments to the way the organization operates and meets.  The following links show the proposed changes and current Bylaws. Some of the key changes include: tri-annual (3 times – Jan/May/Sept) meetings instead of monthly meetings; eliminating $25 membership dues; making officer positions flexible from minimum 2 to 4.  Plans are to hold emergency public meetings when a topic requires and to also increase our online activities to continue to keep the community informed.

Proposed Bylaw changes – BYLAWS – 2020 Revision Draft Strikethrough Removed

Existing Bylaws – https://weloveshoredrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/bylaws-11-24-03_amended.pdf

Public engagement at City Council FEB 18 ’20 re: Ørsted plan at LBR&BF

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Direct link (3:18:00) to Councilwoman Henley mentioning Ocean Park Civic League letter to them re: Ørsted.


Direct link (9:58) to City Council Formal Session Public Hearing Testimony.

Drainage Improvements Work to Begin on Starfish Road/North Great Neck Road

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NEWS RELEASE at VBGOV.com:

Crews will begin work at the intersection of Starfish Road and North Great Neck Road for the first phase. The project will include installing stormwater piping, drainage structures, trenching, along with sidewalk and pavement work.

Questions?

Final Sea Level Wise happening today!

We want YOUR input When it comes to Sea Level Wise public meeting dates.

February 15th 10am – 12pm Cox High School

Address: 2425 Shorehaven Drive

Did you know WCCB is seeking variances to redevelop ~17 acres in the bayfront? PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY.

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WCCB – Westminster Canterbury by Chesapeake Bay- has been “working with the City for about a year” on redeveloping 16.88 acres in the bayfront.

Planning Commission is scheduled to have a public hearing and vote as soon as MARCH 11 ’20.

CLICK HERE to start 8 question SURVEY.

SURVEY ENDS March 10. PLEASE TAKE IT NOW and share it.

We will be making the Survey results public.

Thank you!

Rendering of proposed redevelopment that needs regulatory approvals.

Proposed Orsted use of Lynnhaven Boat Ramp & Beach Facility including CC presentation.

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View Powerpoint presented to City Council Informal Session FEB 4 ’20.

Just 3 of the questions to consider:

Was Parks & Recreation consulted re: the recreational boaters use of LBR&BF boat parking expansion being delayed again?

Was Public Safety & Traffic Engineering consulted re: recreational boaters backing up into the surrounding residential streets and onto Shore Drive in both west & east directions?

Was anyone tasked with studying the loss of revenue from the delay, again, of expanding recreational boat parking especially considering the recent loss of Boatel use?

Note: Questions are simply related to the location at LBR&BF of this proposed plan.

There’s potential expanding LBR&BF recreational boat parking could be delayed even longer as well:

Six (6) months – up to three (3) additional six (6) month terms for a
total of two (2) years

Learn more about Orsted at their website.

Ørsted ranked the most sustainable company in the world

Lynnhaven Boat Ramp could become construction site

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Orsted, the company that will build two test wind turbines off the coast of Virginia Beach for Dominion Energy, wants to lease land next to the Lynnhaven Inlet for a construction base. As seen Friday, January 31, 2020.

View article at Pilotonline.com:

The City Council will hear more about the lease of the 5-acre site on Tuesday. A public hearing will be scheduled soon, said Vice Mayor Jim Wood.

“Officials have said the project could be accelerated if more funding became available through a possible $430 million bond referendum this November.”

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View article at Pilotonline.com:

 It also faces the costliest damage from today’s conditions, according to the city’s new sea level rise study. That’s true under short-term and long-term sea level rise projections, too.

Lynnhaven Colony Civic League Meeting – Westminster Canterbury Presentation. “All welcome, need not be a member to attend.”

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Link at Next-Door.com.

Lynnhaven Colony Civic League Meeting will have a presentation by Westminster Canterbury of their proposed expansion. They propose building a 22 story building at the former Lynnhaven fishing pier with additional construction.
All welcome, need not be a member to attend.

Sat, Feb 8, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Dockside Seafood & Fishing Center

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

 

Westminster-Canterbury rendering of proposed 22 story building and more plus Modification of Conditions Application to CoVB files.

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View renderings supplied to City. ( 26 page PDF)

View Westminster Canterbury Modification of Conditions Application. ( 15 page PDF )

“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.

Police: VB man arrested for string of robberies around Shore Drive

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News at WAVY.com:

35-year-old Justin Cassidy was arrested on Monday and charged with five counts of robbery, four counts of use or display a firearm in commission of a felony and five counts of wearing a mask in public.

Technically, the 22 story building that could be coming to Shore Drive is not a skyscraper.

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Article at Pilotonline.com:

Westminster-Canterbury, a retirement community on the Chesapeake Bay that has been gobbling up adjacent properties to expand its campus, is moving forward with an ambitious proposal to the dismay of some of its neighbors.

eScooters Coming Back Starting April 1st with Stricter Rules

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This Spring along with the flowers, eScooters will once again be sprouting up along Shore Drive communities as they did last year.  Although this time there will be a couple of new rules they must follow that should help with some of the safety concerns that worried many last year.  The most impactful changes for operation in our area will be:

  1. eScooters will be prohibited from operating on roadways posted with speed limits greater than 25 MPH.  So that means no scooters allowed on Shore Drive or North/West Great Neck Roads.  Neighborhood side streets, Cape Henry Trail and area sidewalks will be allowed.
  2. All eScooters operating along shared paths like the Cape Henry Trail will be limited to maximum speeds of 10 MPH.  This will hopefully make it safer when sharing the paths with bikes, walkers, strollers and joggers.

You can read more about the new changes at the following Virginia-Pilot article by Stacy Parker.  Click the quote below to read the entire article.

Speed limits will be capped at 15 mph throughout the city, except on shared paths, including Atlantic Avenue and the Cape Henry Trail off Shore Drive, where the speed limit will be 10 mph.

Scooters won’t be allowed on roads with speed limits greater than 25 mph.

 

 

“To protect more homes from future flooding and to lower flood insurance rates, Virginia Beach is considering funding a local program to buy out or elevate at-risk properties throughout the city.”

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News at Pilotonline.com:

There are hundreds of properties in the city that repeatedly flood. Local money could help fund a variety of strategies, including elevating homes, adding flood vents to properties, raising utilities and a quick-buy program after storms.

VBCPS is now accepting applications from current 10th grade students interested in attending the Environmental Studies Program, a new innovative program opening at the Brock Environmental Center in September 2020.

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10th graders, start here to begin application process:

Application Process

Before entering grade 11, students will apply for admission to the program in the fall of their sophomore year. An essay formulated around the topics of Sustainable Economics and Business Innovation, Social Sustainability and Environmental Sustainability and Natural Resource Stewardship will be included in the application and will be used to identify candidates who show a passion for and interest in the fields of study. . . .

Editors note: Dream big and never quit. You never know what you’ll be able to accomplish in spite of it being “impossible”.

Sea Level Wise Adaptation Strategy Public Meeting schedule includes one near Shore Drive!

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Schedule at VBGov.com:

February 15, 2020 – Cox High School – 2425 Shorehaven Drive – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

View Comprehensive Sea Level Rise page at VBGov.com.

It is well documented that sea levels have been rising over the last century. This impacts coastal communities as virtually all human infrastructure will experience some risk. The story of Sea Level Rise and how it effects the City of Virginia Beach is detailed below:

The threat of sea level rise is a very real one, and it’s one that coastal regions like Hampton Roads must face and prepare for. . . .

Graphic from just one idea that was discussed.