Maybe redeveloping lakes is not smart or sustainable way for a City that will be dramatically impacted by sea level rise(SLR) and attempting to keep its currently stellar bond rating & logical story telling for rating agencies.
A downgrade by ratings agencies would obviously increase interest costs for tax payers.
A speculator wants to redevelop a lake. A LAKE! How this idea has gotten so far is mind boggling.
Maybe only redevelopment NOT in City storm water management facilities and lakes is more intelligent considering we’re 2nd in the country for impacts from SLR.
You are receiving this message because you are a civic league or HOA president in a neighborhood in close proximity to Shore Drive in District 9.
As you may recall, due to inflation, supply and labor challenges, stormwater requirements, and other factors, the estimated cost to complete the projects in our Capital Improvement Program grew by nearly $180MM as the Council considered the 2023-2024 Budget. Consequently, the Council made the difficult decision to delay/defer several roadway projects, including Shore Drive Phase IV (Marlin Bay Drive to the Lesner Bridge) and Pleasure House Road Phase II (Shore Drive to Lookout Road). Money that was originally budgeted for these projects was redirected to other projects (like Shore Drive Phase III, to the east of the Lesner Bridge) in order to lessen the impact of additional cost escalations, because they were closer-in-time to construction.
Over the last 7 months, I’ve been working with City Staff to impress upon them the importance of these projects to our residents – and I’ve been challenging them to find ways to re-resource these projects so that they do not slip further away from us in both time and projected cost.
Thankfully, the City is set to realize about $20MM in proceeds from the sale of easements to Dominion Energy for their Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, and Staff is recommending that nearly half of those proceeds be appropriated to Shore Drive Phase IV ($6.98MM) and to Pleasure House Road Phase II ($1.36MM). Although we still have a ways to go to get these projects fully-funded, this is a very significant development because it gets us back on track after the setback we experienced earlier this year. We are also working on some interim pedestrian safety improvements along Shore Drive that are meant to last until Phase IV is constructed. These funds will help with this initiative as well.
The reason I am contacting you is because the appropriation of these sale proceeds requires the passage of an ordinance with the affirmative vote of a majority of the Council. There will be a public hearing about the appropriation of these funds tomorrow night at 6pm during our City Council’s formal session. The Council will vote on the ordinance and the appropriations at our November 21st meeting.
While I do not think we need speakers at the public hearing or for the vote on the 21st, I think it would be extremely helpful if your organizations would consider sending a letter to the Council supporting the ordinance and the appropriations made therein. You can feel free to send a letter on your organization’s letterhead, and you can also encourage your residents to email the Council at citycouncil@vbgov.com to voice their individual support. Additionally, if you have relationships with other members of the Council, I would encourage you to express your support to them as well.
A copy of the public hearing notice, some background information and the ordinance itself are attached for your reference.
If you have any questions, or require additional information, please let me know.
Thank you!
Joash
Joashua F. “Joash” Schulman VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL District 9 Representative
Resolution to APPROVE the issuance of Residential Care Facility Revenue Bonds by the Virginia Beach Development Authority (VBDA), not to exceed $525-Million, re Westminster- Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay
I 1.VACATION OF EASEMENT 20’ public access easement at 2454 Starfish Road
Interestingly, this very design failed within months when built on Sandalwood Road.
Vote Tuesday on VACATING easement is one step in process before beach walkway can be built.
Note: Wetlands Board unanimously approved this design recently. That approval was Appealed to VMRC. Appeal failed. After WCCB builds this walkway it’s believed their plan is to give it to VB tax payers. Who will pay for it to be maintained and rebuilt?
Sandalwood Road beach walkway destroyed within months after construction. WCCB walkway is similar design.
The Public Workshops will consist of a short recap presentation on themes developed in the Focus Groups and the Vision Mapping process. We will then proceed to break out into small groups to provide more direct, specific feedback on each of the draft themes. The Vision Map will take the draft themes of balanced growth, sustainability, connectivity, diversity, and wellbeing, and apply them to areas of the city to create a framework of how the city should grow and develop over time. There will be an interactive planning exercise in our small groups.
The workshops will be held at these times and locations:
Saturday, November 4th at 2pm: College Park Elementary School Cafeteria – 1110 Bennington Road
Monday, November 6th at 6pm: Kellam High School Cafeteria – 2665 West Neck Road
Wednesday, November 8th at 6pm: Bayside Recreation Center – 4500 First Court Road
Thursday, November 9th at 6pm: Virginia Beach Convention Center, Suite 3 (2nd Floor; Middle of the Building) – 1009 19th Street
There is no need to RSVP to these workshops. We estimate this meeting to run about 1.5 to 2 hours. Please pass along the information to your friends, family, neighborhoods, colleagues, youth groups, civic leagues, faith groups, etc.
The more engagement we have from the community in this process, the better the plan will be! City Staff and the Consultant Team are eager to hear from as many residents as possible, so we hope to see you there!
As always, for more information or if you have any outstanding questions, please reach out to me at RacMiller@vbgov.com or Hank Morrison, the Comprehensive Planning Administrator, at JMorrison@vbgov.com.
You are aware about the reality of sea level rise(SLR) correct?
Mistakes were made! This is how many mistakes were made.This was VIOLATED Thursday night and Friday.
Coincidentally, the VNG Director of Government Affairs made a Presentation Tuesday. Councilman Schulman asked her about the needless destruction, lack of respect by VNG and how to move forward having discussions how VNG, a PUBLIC utility is going to fix this.
“By 2050, “moderate” (typically damaging) flooding is expected to occur, on average, more than 10 times as often as it does today, and can be intensified by local factors.”
10X MORE “MODERATE” (TYPICALLY DAMAGING) FLOODING.
“I think the council is committed to getting the improvements done[.]”
* Remember when the powers that be tried making Shore Drive 6 LANES in the 90s?!
Remarkably, the then named Shore Drive Advisory Committee(SDAC) heard the presentation from the Shore Drive Safety Task Force at their April 20th 2006 meeting.
Highlights:
Here is the entire report from the Shore Drive Safety Task Force from April 20 2006. [LOL CITY OF VB BROKE THAT LINK. AGAIN. CUZ NEW WEBSITE. 🤡]
SDAC, now named the Bayfront Advisory Commission(BAC) has their public meeting today at 330pm at the Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad where they will be grappling with the news of yet another PROPOSED delay in upgrading circa 1950s infrastructure in the “Gateway to the OceanFront & Virginia Beach” while the OceanFront continuously receives virtually infinite money for almost every idea proposed there.
Clearly this is heavily used by pedestrians & cyclists. Why do City priorities continue to ignore the infrastructure needs of this area let alone the aesthetics that it’s embarrassing & looks like shit?
“Residents wishing to make comments during the hearings must register with the City Clerk’s Office by calling 757-385-4303 prior to 5 p.m. on the day of the hearing. If participating virtually, please also register via WebEx.”
~ 2 hours 53 minutes starts Presentation for Proposed CIP for Transportation Section including Phase 4 Deferred/Delay. Lower your expectations accordingly.
All you people who came out against 6 lane Shore Drive have delayed 2 miles of contiguous sidewalks in the 2nd most densely populated area in VB for 30 years.
Shore Drive is a major east-west arterial in the northern portion of the City. The existing roadway carries 38,800 vehicles per day with a current capacity of 36,900 vehicles per day. Without this project, the roadway will continue to experience vehicular, bicyclist, and pedestrian safety incidents, and restrict traffic volume due to inadequate stormwater drainage.
Welcome to “The Gateway to Virginia Beach” until years & years & years past 2029 according to current City priorities.
City Manager Proposed Budget Presentation FACE TO FACE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
A few highlights of Proposed City Budget include:
Economic & Tourism Development
EV-22-0001 $200,000 Shore Drive Study Update This project provides an update to the Shore Drive Corridor Plan (2000) and the Shore Drive Corridor Design Guidelines (2002). Flood mitigation strategies from the Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) for JEB Little Creek and JEB Fort Story (2019) as well as the bond referendum projects will be integrated into the update creating a broader, more comprehensive Shore Drive Plan. The Bayfront Advisory Commission will be utilized as a steering committee for the development of the update, public input, coordination, and engagement with the local community. The updated plan/guidelines will include: determination of existing conditions; development of a community wide public input survey; identification of issues and opportunities; development of specific land use recommendations by corridor segment; and development of architectural/landscaping/signage/public infrastructure guidelines.
To bury the other lede:
By the way, with this current proposal YOUR real estate taxes will probably jump over 10% based on recent new assessments.
February 16, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Great Neck Recreation Center 2521 Shorehaven Drive, Virginia Beach
Councilmember Taylor will host a town hall meeting to update residents on current city projects and issues that impact District 8. City representatives from the Police, Fire, Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments will be in attendance to discuss topics such as stormwater referendum progress, Great Neck Park, traffic updates and more. Attendees will have an opportunity to have their questions addressed.
#WeLoveShoreDrive 