Category Archives: News
The Joint Expeditionary Base will be hosting an Open House to the Public at JEB/Little Creek on August 24, 2012, featuring the band, Kansas. Entry will be at Gate 3, with the gate open to the public at 5 p.m., concert at 7 p.m. and fireworks at 9 p.m.
Pilotonline.com coverage of CBF’s plans on PHP
“The idea is to leave no trace, minimize impact and create a building that will be used for years to come by the community,” said William Almond, the project’s landscape architect.
Read the entire article and view a video at Pilotonline.com.
“Our vision quite simply is to create one of the most environmentally sustainable buildings in the world at Pleasure House Point,” said CBF Hampton Roads Director Christy Everett. “We want it to be an international model that demonstrates how to build, work, learn, and play responsibly beside a natural treasure like the Chesapeake Bay. Our goal is a facility the entire Hampton Roads community can be proud of, and we are actively seeking the community’s feedback on our Pleasure House Point vision.”
Read the entire Press Release at CBF.org.
Hopefully CBF will conduct intense studies about using wind turbines safely since so many birds love PHP and it’s vital habitat in the Atlantic Flyway. Photo credit: CBF
Editors note: Impossible dreams come true.
239 photos of the 4th Annual Cape Story Paddle Race
Tons of photos from LRNow Clean up on PHP AUG4
Marlin Bay Extension to PHP – Resident Question and City Answer
Resident question – Regarding the proposed Marlin Bay road access, will this allow for future option for the land trustees and or adjacent land owners the ability to develop the remaining number of lots available if Marlin Bay Road is extended? Can you inform us if the land trustees/owners will be donating the land over to CBF or VBgov or are their future intention to develop the remaining number of lots?
City answer – Another Ocean Park resident emailed Christy and I with similar questions over the weekend. The short answer is that the adjacent property owner to the north of the 118-acre Pleasure House Point site are not interested in donating their property. We have been told that the intention is to develop those lots.
Whether Marlin Bay Drive extended is built with the CBF project or not, the right-of-way already exists today and can be built. Since the right-of-way has already been dedicated, there have been preliminary discussions about the City working with all parties to consider a design that is as pervious as possible and as green as possible.
This is what I told the other resident who inquired over the weekend:
There are a few areas adjacent to the 118 acres that the Trust for Public Land was able to acquire (108 acres of which was conveyed the same day to the City and the other 10 acres is under lease/option to purchase with CBF), that are undeveloped and have underlying zoning that allows for future development. As you noted, those areas are in yellow adjacent to the subject 118 acres as shown here: http://www.vbgov.com/government/departments/parks-recreation/design-development-projects/current-projects/Documents/php-existing-land-use.pdf
We had to pull all of the resources we could to leverage City funding toward grants from the US Fish & Wildlife Service (through the VA Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries); Virginia Land Conservation Foundation; Dominion Foundation; and a low-interest loan from the VA Dept of Environmental Quality with the grass roots support of primarily Shore Drive area residents through the Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Foundation to preserve the 118 acres from development.
Collectively, with all of the partners, we had to prioritize the property to acquire with limited resources and we believe we achieved the most we could with the pulled resources.
While we may never know for sure if the Indigo Dunes project with nearly 1,100 units could have been permitted, it stands to reason that the property may have yielded up to 1,000 units ultimately based on the underlying zoning. The City and the Trust for Public Land is applying to down-zone all 118 acres to P-1 Preservation from the PDH-1 Planned Development zoning over the last quarter of this year.
The yellow areas may end up together adding up to just a fraction >; (1-5%) of what could have been developed in the area. Unfortunately, there are no public funds designated to acquire the remaining privately-owned property in the area. However, while the lots have certain vested rights, the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area ordinance and flood plain regulations could limit some of the yellow areas in terms of number and type of units that can be developed there.
When Christy gets back into the office next week, she may have something additional to offer.
Sincerely,
Brian
Brian S. Solis, AICP, LEED Green Associate
Planning, Design and Development Administrator
Twenty-seven (27) unresolved questions that SDCC had submitted in writing to the Chairman of the Beaches and Waterways Advisory Commission at the formal public hearing conducted by that Commission on October 13, 2011.
Posted unedited from SDCC’s submitted document:
Shore Drive Community Coalition
Questions Related to the Neighborhood Dredging Program
Impact on Neighborhoods:
NOTE: IF IT IS NOT DONE SAFELY, IT WILL IMPACT NEIGHBORHOODS, therefore Neighborhood Impact Related1. Will there be or has there been a city SAFETY IMPACT STUDY of issues related to the Neighborhood Dredging Program related to COMBINING HEAVILY LADEN DUMP TRUCKS WITH the NORMAL TRAFFIC FLOW ON N. GREATNECK Rd. through three major school traffic and pedestrian areas?
2.What are the professional safety qualifications and previous experience of the city’s person doing this NDP associated SAFETY IMPACT STUDY?
3.Will there be or has there been a city SAFETY IMPACT STUDY of issues related to the Neighborhood Dredging Program related to TRAFFIC FLOW WITH NORMAL TRAFFIC ON N. GREATNECK through three major school traffic and pedestrian areas?
4.Will there be or has there been a city SAFETY IMPACT STUDY of issues related to the NDP related to burdened barge traffic along narrow or congested channels ?
5.What are the professional safety qualifications and previous experience of the city’s person doing this NDP associated BARGE TRAFFIC ON THE WATERWAYS SAFETY IMPACT STUDY?
6.What safety precautions will be implemented and monitored to provide for adequate safety for work-tug and barge traffic anchored in the waterway during night and inclement weather?
7.As there are 4 or more crosswalks along N. Greatneck Road between Shore Drive and Virginia Beach Blvd, will the present 45 mph speed limit be reduced to 35 mph to provide for increased dump truck-vehicle safety?
8.What are the professional safety qualifications and previous experience of the city’s person evaluating the contracted companies Traffic and Safety Plans associated with this NDP? associated SAFETY IMPACT STUDY?
9.Who in the city will monitor spoils loaded dump trucks to ensure DOT Weight limitations for that vehicle are maintained?
10.Who in the city will monitor spoils loaded dump trucks to ensure DOT, State and city Weight Limitations for that designated truck route (primary roads/neighborhood roads) are not exceeded?
11.Who in the city will monitor spoils loaded dump trucks to ensure DOT and State Weight Limitations are not exceeded for the Lesner Bridge prior to its replacement?
12.How will tug-barge traffic be managed between city contracted barges and privately contracted barges approaching and at dredge transfer sites?
13.Who in the city will monitor, mitigate, correct, and report safety violations?
14.How will these safety records be maintained?
15.Will the public have access to these safety violations records?
16.What will be the process for citizens who sustain damage(s) to their property to have that damage repaired in the case of broken street pipes, broken sewage lines, broken storm water drains, or damage to their residential roadbed?
17.What will be the process for citizens who sustain damage(s) to their residential property associated with NDP dump trucks and equipment to have that damage repaired in the case of damaged foundations, or slabs, interior walls due to cracking, or sewage or water backup due to broken street drains, or damage to their residential roadbed?
18.What qualifications does the City’s Attorney have to accept the tasking of the B&WAC to conduct a SAFETY STUDY of the NDP related to significant associated safety issues?
OPERATIONAL PLANNING
1.What is the City’s BREAK-EVEN COST POINT for the initial cycle of the Neighborhood Dredge Spoils Program (where the cost of City’s dredging equals the revenue generated by the City’s Special Service District contract revenue)?
2.How will individuals who privately contract to have dredge spoils removed from their private dock turnaround to the city spur pay for the hauling and removal of those private spoils?
3.Will the city dredge spur channels to areas that have not signed SSD agreements?
4.Will the city dredge spur channels to Remote Areas when adjacent areas have not signed SSD agreements?
5.What will be the City’s Cost Determination to Construct a SPUR channel into areas that do not have a signed nor approved SSD agreements?
6.If the SSD process is incorrectly calculated, cost under estimated, or optimistically over assessed, who will identify these additional costs to the taxpayers and take responsibility for the increased tax rates to cover these NDP expenses?
7.Should the Beaches and Waterways Advisory Committee Study Report to be submitted to City Council serve as a COMPREHENSIVE study of the majority issues related to the NDP?
8.Should the Beaches and Waterways Advisory Committee Study Report to be submitted to City Council serve as an INDEPENDENT study of the majority issues related to the NDP?
9.IF the Beaches and Waterways Advisory Committee Study Report to be submitted to City Council serves neither as an INDEPENDENT nor Comprehensive study of the majority issues related to the NDP, when will such an independent and comprehensive study be funded and conducted?Submitted by:
David M. Williams
Pres. Shore Drive Community Coalition
Recently from SDCC.info:
“On the first day of dredging sand from the bottom of the creek on Long Creek in Virginia Beach, a containment box holding sand ended up on the bottom of the creek.”
Re: recent Chic’s Beach robberies – “Police Thursday morning said they arrested three juveniles ages 14, 15 and 17 in connection with the larcenies.”
“Police said more than 40 vehicles had items taken from them in the Chic’s Beach area between 10 p.m. Saturday and 3 a.m. the next morning.”
Please remember to call 911 if you see a crime in action and call 385-5000, option 1, to report crimes after they have occurred or to report any suspicious activity.
“Lynnhaven River NOW has agreed to participate in a large study of local environmental organizations being conducted by researchers from Old Dominion University and Virginia Wesleyan College. The results of this research will reach a national audience, and will highlight the accomplishments of citizen groups such as ours.”
Cheasapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) wants your input. Aug 23rd open house and online survey.
The Cheasapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is providing two opportunity’s for community input on the design of their planned educational facility. The facility will be located on 10 acres of Pleasure House Point.
CBF is hosting an open house on August 23rd from 6:00pm – 7:30pm at Bayside Rec Center. The community will have a chance to see the current plans, ask questions and provide comments. Click here for a copy of the open house flyer. PHP open house flyer
CBF is also asking for community input/comments on the proposed road access plan. A link to the online survey can be found at the following link www.surveymonkey.com/s/8YSJV73
PHP Stakeholder Meeting and CBF Open House is AUG23 at Bayside Rec Center
From Christy at CBF:
The next PHP Stakeholder meeting will be Thursday, August 23 from 4 to 5:30pm at Bayside Rec Ctr. (4500 First Court Rd.).
Draft agenda:
– Debrief July 30 Open House
– CBF Design Presentation
– Access Road Discussion
– Next steps/ClosingCBF will be hosting a public Open House from 6 to 7:30 that same evening at that same location. Flyer is attached and posted at www.cbf.org/PHPOpenhouse.
“Swimming Advisory Lifted for the Chesapeake Bay from Rockbridge Road to Starfish Road”
National Night Out tonight AUG7
Visit the website to learn more.
From Cape Story by The Sea neighborhood watch:
Tonight, Tuesday, August 7, is National Night Out. Please turn your porch lights on.
National Night Out is held annually to:
– Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;
– Generate support and participation in local anti-crime efforts;
– Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police community relations; and
– Send a message to criminals letting them know local communities
are organized and are fighting back.
Please remember to call 911 if you see a crime in action and call 385-5000, option 1, to report crimes after they have occurred or to report any suspicious activity. Also, please call or email the NW Coordinator so crime reports and suspicious activities can be shared with all of our residents.
Pics from LRNow’s AUG4 clean up on PHP
Photo Credit: Lynnhaven River NOW
See the rest of their pics at the Lynnhaven River NOW Facebook page.
THANKS!
Great article in Sunday August 5, 2012 Beacon about Pleasure House Point
MINI-VACATION WAS, IN A WORD, PLEASURABLE
AARON APPLEGATE
aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com, 222-5122
I pulled the car over at the first beckoning sandy path into the woods, grabbed a sun hat and pair of binoculars.
The City Council, the regular subject of this column, has been on vacation for a month. I figured I’d take a vacation, too, for a workday walk at Pleasure House Point, the 118 acres on the Lynnhaven River the city recently bought with help from environmental groups. I’d heard lots about it but never actually been there.
I considered asking a city official or biologist to join me but, hey, I’m on vacation, and I wanted to wander alone, directionless but with mysterious purpose, like a dog loose in the neighborhood.
The path passed through scrubby woods to the tidal waters of Pleasure House Creek, a shimmering expanse fringed with bright green marsh grass. The air was heavy with dank salty humidity, the kind that seems to increase lung capacity.
The wildlife was a lineup of the usual suspects, but I never tire of these characters: croaking egrets, furtive herons, caffeinated butterflies, jet-fighter swallows and dueling mockingbirds.
OK, maybe I occasionally tire of mockingbirds.
I saw a fish nip the heels of a blue crab, which artfully spun away to find refuge among spiky grass.
I considered sitting quietly in a rare patch of shade, but my inner dog wouldn’t stop the ramble; the path was too inviting. It snaked along the shoreline, eventually turning a corner at Crab Creek, an offshoot of the Lynnhaven proper. The Lesner Bridge arced into view.
I saw one human – a kayak fisherman with four rods sticking up from his boat – but didn’t hear any. Either he didn’t see me or observed the code of silence the place seems to demand. I claimed victory either way.
Turning back, I retraced my steps. A speckled trio of juvenile herons regarded me cynically before taking unsteady flight. Beyond the birds, I saw looming in the distance a young city landmark, the Westin tower in Town Center.
I’d be there in under an hour – the Pilot has an office by it – but I felt further away than that.
A lizard darted across the path. I heard the close-up beat of a heron’s wings as it took off. A buzzing bumble bee got trapped under the brim of my hat for three seconds.
The walk lasted 42 minutes, the approximate amount of time I felt I could justify for a quick weekday summer vacation. I highly recommend it.
“On the first day of dredging sand from the bottom of the creek on Long Creek in Virginia Beach, a containment box holding sand ended up on the bottom of the creek.”
…it appears as though the barge hit an obstacle, raised up from rushing currents underneath it until the containment box hit the barge itself and slipped into the creek.
Photo Source: Save the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and Beach Facility.
PLEASE NOTE LOCATION CHANGE: The Pleasure House Point Stakeholder Mtg. (Monday, July 30 from 4:00-5:30pm) will now be at Ocean Park Rescue Squad
From Christy:
PHP Stakeholders:
PLEASE NOTE LOCATION CHANGE:
The Pleasure House Point Stakeholder Mtg. (Monday, July 30 from 4:00-5:30pm) will now be at Ocean Park Rescue Squad at 3769 East Stratford Road, VB.
Apologies for the change but there was a scheduling conflict with the prior location.
The Pleasure House Point Community Public Mtg. (Monday, July 30 from 6:00-7:30pm) will remain at its original location at Baylake United Methodist Church Social Hall, 4300 Shore Dr, VB.
Please let me know if you have questions.
Thank you,
ChristyChristy Everett, Hampton Roads Director
Chesapeake Bay Foundation | 142 W. York St., Ste. 618 | Norfolk VA 23510
(: 622.1964 | *: ceverett@cbf.org | cbf.org
SDCC General Meeting Agenda – Monday July 30th
Click here for a printable version of the agends – SDCC Agenda July 2012
Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC) General Meeting
Monday 30 July 2012
SDCC General Meeting – Monday, July 30, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Station (Intersection of Shore Drive and East Stratford Rd.)
Call to order
Meeting topic:
Discussion on State and Local Issues with Delegate Chris Stolle (R) 83rd District
For Important information concerning this city, budget issues, Pleasure House Point, dredge spoils project and Long Creek channel maintenance dredging, and much more
Officers’ Reports
President’s Report – David Williams
Vice President’s report-Vacant
Secretary’s Report – Todd Solomon –April/May/June Minutes
Treasurer’s Report- Carol Collins
Update on issues: Discussions
Old Business: Nomination of Ms Grace Moran for VP SDCC
New Business
Adjourn
Next SDCC- Aug 27, 2012
Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad Center
Speaker- TBA
Please check www.sdcc.info for more information on area news and events
#WeLoveShoreDrive 