Article about Floatopia at Pilotonline.com:
In addition to residents reporting intoxicated people urinating and defecating in yards, partiers left behind 10 tons of trash on the beach — which garnered attention from national media outlets.
May 23, 2021
The Honorable Robert M. “Bobby” Dyer, Mayor
2401 Courthouse Drive,
City Hall Building #1, Room 281, Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
RE: Floatopia, Memorial Day 2021
Dear Mayor Dyer:
I am writing you with immediate and great concern. The Ocean Park bayfront community has once again been targeted as the location for the unsanctioned Floatopia event on Sunday, May 30, 2021. The event coordinators, Matthew David and Stephen Hobbs, are specifically targeting the Lesner Bridge channel and eastern Ocean Park beach. This concern is evidenced in the below social media posts.
https://www.facebook.com/events/502077557583511/?active_tab=discussion
https://www.facebook.com/stephen.hobbs.12/posts/4109547002422470
I am certain you recall the significant destruction left in the wake of the 2019 Floatopia event that elicited substantial lawlessness and resulted in extensive beach debris – literally tons of debris was scattered across our beach and in the Bay for residents and City workers to clean. It was so destructive that it garnered attention from both national and international media. Attached are notes taken from the emergency Ocean Park Civic League meeting in the aftermath of the 2019 Floatopia, which many of you may have attended.
Mayor Dyer, We cannot allow this event to occur on our beaches again!
We, as a community in Ocean Park, are wholly opposed to this event and the terrible impact it had on our small community, as well as the terrible environmental impact left in its wake (beach and bay debris left behind to pollute our land and beaches and the untold impact on countless native species of fish, birds and other native animals).
Memorial Day weekend is just a few days away, and time is of the essence! With such a short window of time to act to prevent the Floatopia organizer(s) from unleashing another international debacle on our community again, our residents require immediate communication from you regarding the City’s plan to prevent a repeat of the 2019 disaster. Please respond with details as soon as possible and we will share your response with our residents.
Very respectfully,
Daniel Murphy
Ocean Park Civic League President
president@opcl.org
Cc:James Wood, Vice Mayor/Councilmember, Lynnhaven District #5
Louis Jones, Councilmember, Bayside District #4
Patrick A. Duhaney, City Manager
Paul W. Neudigate, Police Chief
Captain Jeffery Wilkerson, Commanding Officer 3rd Precinct
Mark Shea, Comprehensive Planning Coordinator, Bayfront Advisory Commission
Phil Davenport, Chairman, Bayfront Advisory Commission
Todd Solomon, Shore Drive Community Coalition
Chief, Prevention Department, Commander Dean Horton, Sr., U.S. Coast Guard
Frank Rabena, Vice President, Virginia Pilot Association
National & local coverage of FLOATOPIA trashing Ocean Park including videos & photos
Terrific discussion and Q&A at BAC meeting yesterday about storm water work being done from Lesner Bridge to Great Neck Road plus updates on infrastructure improvements to Pleasure House Road and Shore Drive Phase 3 and Phase 4 timelines.
We’ve been patiently waiting for feedback about the abrupt switch that happened last week. We’ve reached out to several people & added a Request using the Guest feature of VB Works and haven’t heard back yet.
A few of our questions are:
Will SeeClickFix Account be automatically migrated to VB Works?
Will custom maps created in SeeClickFix be automatically migrated to VB Works?
Will current open SeeClickFix issues be automatically migrated to VB Works?
What should SeeClickFix users do and when?
Will your office put out guidance about the switch?
We also have some questions about Privacy as the new company behind VB Works – Incapsulate, which is a subsidiary of Sales Force, asks for what appears to be an enormous amount of information to use VB Works. We could find no info about ThreeOneOneCapsule.
We’ve also asked about the details for each item Sales Force is requesting to use the VB Works app system.
We sincerely hope VB Works becomes as popular as SeeClickFix was!
If you have any feedback about the switch, please let us know!
We’ll be safely meeting in Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad May 24th at 730pm.
Join us!
Brad Vanderwarker & team from Public Works Stormwater Engineering will be providing an update on what’s happening east of Lesner Bridge.
They’ll be answering your questions too,
Join us! More details to follow.
Curious about Phase 3? It’s start has apparently been pushed back to late 2022 and Phase 4 has also been pushed back several years.
Recently presented at Bayfront Advisory Committee meeting and also available here.
Planning Commission will vote on their recommendation concerning the proposed 197 unit Marlin Bay Apartment Complex on June 9th after the public hearing at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.
The Staff Report will be posted with the recommendation of the City Planning Department by noon on June 3rd.
Contact City Planner Hoa N. Dao, Planner III
In the works since August ‘20, view Press Release, VB Works is new system to alert COVB of issues in your neighborhood.
We’ve been curious since last Thursday when apparently the switch from SeeClickFix was made.
Questions we have include if SeeClickFix issues will migrate to new system or if the data is gone. Do SeeClickFix accounts get migrated to new VB Works and if custom maps & automated alerts for certain locations can be customized. We’ll of course let you know when we know.
Decedent Identified from Shore Drive Fatal Crash
People in less vulnerable areas receive limited discounts. Residents who are not required to have flood insurance but still do are not eligible for any discount.
Starting in October, that will change. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the rating system, says all policy holders in a locality will receive the maximum flood insurance discount regardless of their flood risk or type of policy.
Check the details at OPVRS website!
You made this happen. Your continued support helped purchase the best and safest equipment for your community.
WCCB Category at SDCC.info here.
BAC Presentation for sand starts ~ 15 minutes in. Screenshots of slide show below. All aerials taken at low tide. Pretty cover of Ocean Park taken after sand restoration in 2013. LBR&BF currently has about 50,000 cu yards. Maple Street 15,000 cu yards.
Among its many achievements in the coastal adaptation and protection space, the Dewberry team has played a significant role in developing the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Master Plans, and was the lead consultant on the City of Virginia Beach’s recently completed Sea Level Wise planning project.
Virtual meeting is on Webex. Information and links to join are listed after the agenda at bottom of page
BAYFRONT ADVISORY COMMISSION
March 18, 2021
3:30 p.m.
VIRTUAL MEETING
Please contact Mark Shea at 385-2908 or meshea@vbgov.com for the virtual meeting link.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Review and Approval of Minutes from 2/18/2021
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Welcome Guests and Introductions – Bob Magoon, Vice-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
PRESENTATIONS
OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
COMMUNITY REPORTS & UPDATES
ADJOURN
More ways to join:
Join from the meeting link
https://vbgov.webex.com/vbgov/j.php?MTID=m4ec209057920320f4414ebcbe50949c8
Join by meeting number
Meeting number (access code): 160 087 4247
Meeting password: SGA1
Join by phone
+1-415-655-0003 US Toll
In light of the recent shootout at a STR and the upcoming Planning Commission vote on the STR overlay district for East Shore Drive, the SDCC has sent the following email to the Planning Commission and City Council reiterating its opposition to any STR overlay in the Shore Drive Corridor.
Dear Planning Commission Members,
As we approach your Wednesday hearing on the proposed Short Term Rental ordinance change, I wanted to share this recent occurrence in Chic’s Beach in the Shore Drive area. Please take a moment to comprehend what you are proposing for the Cape Story by the Sea neighborhood and how similar occurrences can impact well established city neighborhoods. Your recommendations, similar to those of City Council, will effectively change our residential neighborhood into a tourist destination similar to the oceanfront.
The following statement and attached flyer were provided by 3rd precinct officers.
Additionally, I would like to let you know that the on going issues associated with Air BnBs Rentals was a topic of conversation at the most recent Chiefs meeting. Officers have been informed that they are to forward any Air BnB issues up the chain of command. This will help develop a stronger argument backed with statistics when the issue is addressed by the city.
Again, to date, no reply or data has been provided to our requests regarding the total # of homes, total possible STRs, and explanation as to why the Cape Story neighborhood is targeted as a STR overlay compared to any other neighborhood in VB. We have asked for information the past 2+ weeks to help with the upcoming hearing. Since no data or any type of civic engagement outreach has been attempted for this entire process, it is still the Shore Drive Community Coalition’s recommendation to oppose any overlay created in the Cape Story neighborhood, no matter how the boundary is manipulated.
Thank you for your review of this information and we hope that you recognize that this whole process is flawed and any recommended overlay along Shore Drive is unjustified and just wrong.
Sincerely,
Todd Solomon
Shore Drive Community Coalition President
Police Detectives are circulating the following flyer in hopes to find information regarding a recent shootout that took place early Sunday morning February 28th at 4504 Ocean View Ave. If you have any information, you are asked to contact Detective Pittman, epittman@vbgov.com
Click here to see the Police flyer Shootout Flyer
Summary: On 02/28/21, at approximately 0538 hours, an unknown type of sedan (possible Toyota Celica) occupied by at least two suspects pictured below appeared to stage outside of a party located at 4504 Oceanview Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA. That vehicle moved slowly westbound appearing to have shots come out the passenger side before driving away being shot at by at least two shooters in the front yard of 4504 Oceanview. The sedan stops at Fentress/Oceanview, driver gets out firing one shot at the direction of 4504 Oceanview; the passenger gets out firing multiple shots in the same direction. Another vehicle, Jeep SUV black in color, comes from the direction of the firing of gunfire to turn off into a parking lot at Fentress/Oceanview. The driver gets out of the black Jeep (pictured below, appears female) and switches to passenger side of vehicle. The Jeep then goes back to the direction of 4504 Oceanview Avenue. Please let Detective Pittman know of any information or identification related to this incident and/or pictures below.
Hooray!
“Up to $9 million is available in Virginia Beach’s coastal programs capital improvement fund to pay for it, said Dan Adams, who manages the program.”
The BAC will hold it’s monthly meeting virtually on Thursday Feb. 18th at 3:30pm. Information on how to join the meeting is provided below.
Join from the meeting link
https://vbgov.webex.com/vbgov/j.php?MTID=m7b53584da1d043c27d365672bdc3cf22
Join by meeting number
Meeting number (access code): 180 823 4958
Meeting password: SGA1
Join by phone
+1-415-655-0003 US Toll
BAYFRONT ADVISORY COMMISSION
February 18, 2021
3:30 p.m.
VIRTUAL MEETING
Please contact Mark Shea at 385-2908 or meshea@vbgov.com for the virtual meeting link.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Review and Approval of Minutes from 1/21/2021
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
ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR FOR 2021
CONSIDERATION OF RULES AND PROCEDURES AMENDMENT
OLD BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
COMMUNITY REPORTS & UPDATES
ADJOURN
#WeLoveShoreDrive 