Virginia Beach got a F on its stormwater rules. The Beach posted a 49 out of 100 on the Center for Watershed Protection?s scorecard, called a Code & Ordinance Worksheet.

Read entire blog entry entitled Holy Cow at Pilotonline.com’s Blogs.
Under The Boardwalk Blog at Pilotonline.com.

Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC)- General Meeting, Monday November 27, 2006 at 7:30pm to 9:00pm at Ocean Park Fire & Rescue Hall.

This month we will discuss plans and actions for the upcoming Monday December 18th Wetlands Board Hearing on the Indigo Dunes Project.  The Wetlands Board meets at 9:30am in the City Council Chambers.  We will discuss methods of action including hearing attendance (each group should have gathered 5 to 10 names of people willing to attend these hearings), bus rental for the day of the event, emails to board members, phone calls to board members, speakers and planned topics.

The Joint Permit Application [JPA] is now available online. This Application is required to be submitted to various City & State Agencies for their approval.

Some highlights:
# raise Pleasure House Point[PHP] 5 to 7 feet
# require about 39,800 dump trucks of still undefined fill to travel on Shore Drive
# fill acres of existing wetlands
# major removal of trees, bushes and grasses that provide homes for wetlands birds and wildlife
# encroach in acres of wetland buffer zones
# violate Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act laws
# violate Federal,State & Local Wetlands laws
# opposes the City’s Outdoor Plan that recommends this property be acquired 100% as Open Space
# includes an attempt to acquire City property to become private property as part of the project
# requested density is 4 times greater than the Bayfront average and 2 times greater than the density of Ocean Park
# pave or concrete more than 50% of PHP that is currently 100% non-paved open space
# build 1,096 units that will create about 8 to 9,000 vehicle trips per day on Shore Drive
# and much, much more.

To read the entire JPA use the links below. The total JPA is about 220+ pages.
Indigo Dunes JPA 1 [13M PDF]
Indigo Dunes JPA 2 [12M PDF]
Indigo Dunes JPA 3 [7M PDF]

Cape Henry high tide today is 9:35am and again at 9:55pm.

Check out the tidal charts.

“We have an interval, and then our place knows us no more.”

Some of the volunteers. Check out the video after the jump.

But the building up of the area, for both tourists and residents, is creating an overpopulated city. If all of this continues, the natural beauty that Virginia Beach has will be lost to the crowded streets and never-ending condos.
Read entire article & comment at HamptonRoads.com.

When ~~ now until November 22nd, 2006
Benefits~~ Southeastern Virginia Food Bank
Drop off ~~ Lobby of the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel and Conference Center

Please support the Food Drive at the Resort & Conference Center!

Meeting starts at 9:30am and is held in City Council Chambers, Building One at Municipal Center.
2 Page PDF printable map of City complex.

Transportation info about buses and car pooling will be available in the near future.

Perfect date to take the day off to attend:*
1. Help stop Indigo Dunes by attending the Wetlands Board Hearing in
the morning
2. Start or continue your holiday shopping that day
3. 3 day weekend

*Note: You do *not* have to speak to have a positive affect on the outcome of the Wetland Board vote.

Petition Signing & Fund Raising Drive this Saturday, Nov. 18th 9am – 2pm at YELLOW FINS Restaurant!
Sign the Petition, Gather signatures on the Petition, Donate Funds, Purchase Yard Signs[suggested at least $10 donation],T-Shirts/etc. Check out the Flyer.

[Update 11/17 9:39pm: Segway of Hampton Roads had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. Sorry!]

From LR2007 Symposium last night Clay Bernick said cleaning up the Lynnhaven River will take about 15 years and likely will cost more than $100 million…the money is needed to pay for modern storm drains, more city staff to enforce environmental rules, more public education and perhaps tougher regulation of pesticides, development and wildlife.

Also, rumor has it if you contact LR2007 you can find out what they think about Indigo Dunes.

Sunrise over the Lynnhaven.

Article about Lt. Cmdr. Allen Kuss, a military chaplain at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base’s bicycle commute.

“And I do wish the city would spend money on paint, and dedicate real bike paths on the road,” he said. Here, here!

This Saturday, artist Knox Garvin will unveil the results of an artistic journey inspired by a life-long love of nature when he kicks off a temporary public art exhibit featuring a group of five-foot-tall resin sculptures submerged in the Bald Cypress Swamp on the grounds of First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. It’ll be on display until November 26th. Check it out.

Read entire article at Portfolioweekly.com.

Can you help out LR2007 by donating some office stuff?

Lynnnhaven River 2007 is moving to an exciting new storefront office in the Thoroughgood area in just a few weeks.

Check out what they’re looking for by clickin’ “Read more…” below.

This past Sunday, Cape Story had another one of their outstanding neighborhood parties and Governor Kaine showed up!

Check out some pics.

Last night, Thursday Nov. 9, two cars belonging to the same family were broken into on Bay Island. The police were notified and a report was taken.  Neither car was locked and a purse with credit cards was taken. The credit card company was able to track charge activity to Norfolk and Portsmouth Citgo and BP gas stations, 7-11 stores and finally to an industrial park. No other valuables were taken.

From Regina of Cape Story.

Next meeting of the Shore Drive Advisory Committee will be held at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, November 16, at the Bayside Community Recreation Center.  The center is located on the north side of First Court Road between Shore Drive and Pleasure House Road.
Check out VBGov.com for more.

On Election Day at Bayside Rec Center alone, well over 500 signatures were gathered for the No Indigo Dunes Petition.

Some anecdotal evidence about the opposition to Indigo Dunes.

Collected hundreds of signatures for the No Indigo Dunes Petition this morning at the Polling station I was at.
Also distributed hundreds of the Mini Flyers [1 pg PDF].

Also received a large amount of feedback like “keep up the good work to stop this development”.