BAYFRONT ADVISORY COMMISSION Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad 3769 E. Stratford Drive (enter on side opposite Shore Drive) September 17, 2020 2:30 pm

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Agenda Thursday:

STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION – 2:30-3:30 pm (Prioritization of items from last month’s discussion)

 

REGULAR SESSION CALL TO ORDER – 3:30 pm

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Review and Approval of Minutes from 8/20/2020

 

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

 

PROJECT BRIEFINGS/DISCUSSION ITEMS

Conditional Use Permit for 7/11 with gas pumps – 4493 Shore Drive

Discussion of short term rental districts along Shore Drive

OLD BUSINESS

COMMUNITY REPORTS & UPDATES

ADJOURN

Thanks to the great people who came out for LITTER REVEAL CLEANUP at PHP today!

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It meant a lot to the people who love PHP VB Parks & Rec also sent out people to help!

Everyone agreed the people who trashed PHP should be held accountable.

Ocean Shores Condominium Board Fundraising for Legal Fees to Oppose Westminster Canterbury Proposed Expansion

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The following letter is from the Ocean Shores Condominium Board requesting support to help cover costs for legal fees to help them oppose the current proposed 22 story tall expansion of Westminster Canterbury.  Ocean Shores Condos are located directly to the east of the proposed high rise and will be impacted the most by the massive structure.  If you believe the proposed iconic landmark hire rise is not in keeping with the neighborhood character of the Bayfront area, Please help by donating and/or forwarding this post to others.

Ocean Shores Condo Legal Fees Fundraiser Letter

 

Dear Shore Drive Community members:

We are writing you concerning the expansion of Westminster Canterbury.  Most of you have gone to meetings opposing the expansion of Westminster Canterbury, or have expressed personal interest against the expansion as it stands now.

This letter/email is from The Ocean Shore Condominiums.  We are a 63 unit condo directly to the east of Westminster Canterbury on Ocean Shore Avenue.

The board of Ocean Shore Condominium, has been fighting to mitigate some of the most egregious design plans of Westminster Canterbury’s expansion since the details were presented to Ocean Shore Condominium owners December 17, 2019, by WC management; the expansion plan was presented as final.   We have attended many meetings, written numerous letters to the planning commission, and made presentations to that commission March 11, 2020.  Now we are actively in contact with the City Council and are prepared to attend their meeting on September 22, 2020, in order to voice our concerns.  Beginning with the Dec. 17, 2019, presentation, Ocean Shore hired an attorney and an architect to help represent us and the community through this entire process.  Many of us have attended meetings with the attorney, and she helped voice our opposition in front of the planning commission.  In addition, she will be making a case against aspects of the expansion plan at the City Council Meeting.

To date, we have spent over $19,500 on legal fees and another $6,000 for the advice and representation we have gotten from our architect.  We have more costs coming as our attorney and architect will be representing all of us at the City Council Meeting upcoming on September 22, 2020.  We are trying to protect the housing values and the wonderful lifestyle of the entire Shore Drive Area and therefore we are all in this together.

We are asking you to help support us financially.  Please consider contributing to our bills in the quest to get Westminster Canterbury to change their expansion.  If you are an individual and can afford $10, $25, $100, or any other amount we would appreciate your help.  If you represent an association or a civic league and you have the same passion as Ocean Shore to continue this fight, then we ask you to financially support us as a community with as much as you deem appropriate.  Ocean Shore Condo is fighting for the entire Shore Drive Area.  We need your financial help and cannot continue to fight without your help.

 

To contribute, please write a check made out to Ocean Shore Condominium and forward it to the address below:

Ocean Shore Condominium

Attn: Jay Frieden, Treasurer

2416 Ocean Shore Crescent #401

Virginia Beach, Va. 23451

 

Whether you contribute financially or not we still need your support.  Please keep contacting the City Council, your Congressional representative and the Governor to keep the pressure on our City Council.  We want to protect everyone in The Shore Drive Area.

Very Truly Yours,

Ocean Shore Condo Board

City’s Community Rating System (CRS) Continues to Save Citizens 15% on Flood Insurance

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The City’s Community Rating System Coordinator, Ms. Whitney McNamara, recently sent the above letter to all homeowners living in flood prone areas of our City.  The CRS is a national program and almost all of the cities in Hampton Roads are participants.  One of the requirements of the program is civic engagement.  The outreach letter contains a lot of helpful information, so please read it and its reference documents if you live in a flood prone area.  Being part of the CRS program also brings along benefits for citizens in the form of reduced flood insurance premiums.  The % saving is based on a points scale based on what actions the City is implementing.  Virginia Beach is currently at a 15% savings rating and is continuously working towards improvement and more savings.  You can click on the link below or the image above to read the entire letter.

2020-PLN-CRSOutreachToResidents-LTR

THE BRUCE W. EDWARDS VIRGINIA BEACH EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES HEADQUARTERS AND TRAINING CENTER

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View more about Chief Emeritus Bruce W. Edwards at OPVRS website.

REQUESTED BY CITY COUNCIL
A RESOLUTION RENAMING THE VIRGINIA BEACH EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES HEADQUARTERS AND TRAINING CENTER AS  “THE BRUCE W. EDWARDS VIRGINIA BEACH EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES HEADQUARTERS AND TRAINING CENTER”

Passed Unanimously this evening by City Council.

Delta Hotels Virginia Beach Bayfront Suites is set to open in November in the former home of the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center

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More pics & info at Pilotonline.com:


An aerial view of the new Delta by Marriott in Virginia Beach. As seen Friday, August 21, 2020. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot)

HERO HIGHLIGHT about Empsy !

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Empsy Munden has volunteered with the Virginia Beach chapter of the Medical Reserve Corps since 2006!

Empsy recently assisted with COVID-19 testing. She is very passionate about the work that the Medical Reserve Corps does for her community and encourages fellow pharmacists to get involved.

If you are interested in the Medical Reserve Corps click here to learn more and apply.

Thanks for all the volunteer work you do!

Virginia Beach Waste Collections Resume

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View press release at VBGov.com.

Wednesday routes are being collected today, Thursday, Aug. 20. Thursday routes will be serviced Friday. Friday routes will be serviced on Saturday. Recycling collection remains unchanged and will occur on your normal collection day. Routes not completed on Tuesday, Aug. 18 are being serviced today.

City Council Plans to Reschedule Hearing of Westminster Canterbury Proposed Expansion to Tuesday Sept. 22nd

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Tuesday September 22nd will be the new scheduled date for City Council to hear Westminster Canterbury’s proposed expansion application.

***PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF HEARING DATE***

City Council at their Tuesday briefing agreed to move ahead with a motion to defer the upcoming August 25th advertised hearing of the WC application to the new hearing date of Tuesday September 22nd.  The September 22nd City Council hearing will still take place at Convention Center at 6:00pm.

The following is an official email from Mr. Mark Stiles, City Attorney, confirming the decision of Council to defer and reschedule.

From: Mark Stiles
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2020 3:18 PM
To: Todd Solomon
Cc: William R. Landfair
Subject: Re: Westminster Canterbury Hearing Deferral Documentation

Mr. Solomon,

Yesterday the Council agreed to defer the Westminster item to a special meeting on September 22.  A formal vote to that effect will occur next Tuesday and the published agenda for next week will show that it is on for deferral to that date.

Best wishes,

Mark Stiles

 

The main reason for the requested change in hearing date was to allow this item to be the only Planning Item on the agenda which will create a more manageable meeting.  The August 25th agenda contains 28 Planning Items and is scheduled to be a joint City Council and Planning Commission hearing which potentially doubles the time for each item to be heard.  A brief excerpt from the City Manager’s letter to City Council is shown below explaining this in more detail.  The entire letter can be read by clicking below

CM letter to CC re Deferral of WC to 9.22

“We have so many talented City employees – landscape architects, civil engineers, planners-who could design a meaningful memorial to the co-workers they lost. I am certain we can raise the money to make this happen.”

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An important idea from June:

August 11, 2020

To the Honorable City Council of Virginia Beach:

I believe we need an immediate memorial to the victims at the Building 2 site – a memorial worthy of the respect the victims and their families deserve. We can’t wait a moment longer!

On the anniversary, I visited the makeshift memorial, on the steps of Building 2, to honor the victims of the horrific event of the municipal shooting a year ago May 31st. Though the designer(s) attempted to honor each individual victim, it was far too little in light of the enormous loss of life suffered that day. And sadly, when I attended a CBPA Board meeting the next day, the memorial was already being dismantled.

None of us will know the hell each victim went through at the hands of the murderer, but we can’t let their vibrant lives slip out of our consciousness, we must celebrate them daily. By allowing Building 2 to stand so starkly and alone, though its foundation has been shaken, is to allow Building 2 to cast a dark shadow on our spirits. A memorial that is visible, that surrounds the building with life and love, would help to remove the shroud of grief so many of us feel for the horrible loss of these vibrant souls. For the families as well as co-workers, a memorial should be constructed now.

A building is always far more than the sum of its parts. For City employees, it’s the everyday teamwork that keeps our beautiful City running, it is birthdays and celebrations, and the comradery and support that grows from the rubbing of shoulders with our fellow workers. Though the time I spent working in the City Engineer’s Office was long ago, I am still in touch with many former co-workers from all 4 floors of Building 2. We must, as a caring community, honor the loss of life, and way of life, that was taken from us that day.

We have so many talented City employees – landscape architects, civil engineers, planners-who could design a meaningful memorial to the co-workers they lost. I am certain we can raise the money to make this happen. I believe we need a place to allow loved ones to touch and feel the love that our community has for them. Let’s not allow another anniversary of this horrific tragedy to pass without such a memorial in place. We need a memorial now!
As a former Virginia Beach city employee (City Engineer’s Office), and active volunteer in the community, I will volunteer to do anything to help! Please call on me if there is anything I can do to alleviate the pain that employees are feeling.

Sincerely,
June Barrett-McDaniels

As a former Virginia Beach city employee (City Engineer’s Office), and active volunteer in the community, I will volunteer to do anything to help! Please call on me if there is anything I can do to alleviate the pain that employees are feeling.

Can you also help?

2 ways you could help right now:

    Comment below with your thoughts, ideas & how you could help.

City of VB installs new Your Speed Radar Sign on Shore Drive

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The City of Virginia Beach listened to the community and has installed a “Your Speed” radar sign on Shore Drive to help slow motorists coming out of First Landing State Park.  The sign is located in the median just as you exit the State Park and enter the Cape Story by the Sea Neighborhood.  The sign is solar operated and permanently mounted.  It shows speeds up to 45mph.  Anything over, it will post a “Slow Down” warning.  This is a big step toward the community request to have several of these types of signs that are portable and can be set up and moved in a random pattern to keep focus on speeding issues.

 

“[We are] emergency employees and deal with hazardous materials on a daily basis,” said Sam Brown, a waste management collector.”

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News at WAVY.com:

Virginia Beach waste management employees protesting over hazard pay, trash collection suspended for Wednesday

New City Manager Patrick Duhaney, who came by to speak with the workers on Wednesday morning, sent a letter to city council on Tuesday asking for hazard pay for waste management and other “critical workers,” but through another source — savings from a recent hiring freeze.

New schedule will be at VBGov.com/WasteManagement.

Thank you for your service on the front lines of the covid19 pandemic.

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SUPPORT YOUR VOLUNTEER EMS NEIGHBOR!

Volunteer for EMS.

“Know Your Zone” Evacuation Tool Updates Color-Coded Map

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Learn more about YOUR ZONE at VBGOV.com.

Westminster Canterbury Expansion Update – City Council Member Status

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As you all know, the City Council hearing for the proposed Westminster Canterbury expansion is now scheduled to take place on Tuesday August 25th.  The following is a brief update on what City Council Members positions/interest is to date.

3 Council Members have recused themselves from discussing, commenting and voting on this application due to conflict of interests.  Those members are Jim Wood – Lynnhaven District; Louis Jones – Bayside District and Rosemary Wilson – At-large.

Out of the remaining 8 Council Members, 7 have yet to meet with residents or attend a civic meeting where this expansion was discussed or presented.

1 Council Member, Mr. John Moss, has publicly made the decision to oppose the expansion.  His Facebook post is shown below.

 

The Bayfront Advisory Commission (BAC) will be holding their annual Strategic Planning session prior to their regular meeting at 1 PM on August 20, 2020.

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Email from Mark:

Good Morning,

Phil Davenport, Chairman of the Bayfront Advisory Commission, asked me to send out this email to the various civic league/homeowner association contacts to obtain written comments regarding two topics:

The Bayfront Advisory Commission (BAC) will be holding their annual Strategic Planning session prior to their regular meeting at 1 PM on August 20, 2020. Phil has requested that the various organizations provide BAC with their written comments/or concerns about the bayfront area in general to help with the strategic plan discussion.

At the regular meeting, BAC will be discussing the Westminster-Canterbury application. This item has been delayed until the August 25, 2020 City Council meeting. Please provide any written comments or concerns that your organization may have regarding this application.

Please email me your comments about these items no later than Monday 8/17/20 so I can compile and send to the BAC members prior to the meeting. BAC meetings are now being held at the Ocean Park Rescue Squad meeting room, 3769 E. Stratford Road to allow for more social distancing. However, due to the spacing requirements, there will be extremely limited seating.

Thank you for your help and please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Mark E. Shea, AICP
Comprehensive Planning Coordinator
City of Virginia Beach
Department of Planning and Community Development
Meshea@vbov.com
757-385-2908

Emphasis ours.

​City Manager Patrick Duhaney has declared a local state of emergency in preparation for the storm. “The Aug. 4 City Council meeting – items that were to be considered will be rescheduled for Council meetings on Aug. 18 or 25.”

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Virginia Beach Prepares for Arrival of Tropical Storm Isaias Local Emergency Declared in Virginia Beach at VBGov.com:

Due to expected high winds, rain and possible flooding from Tropical Storm Isaias, all City buildings and facilities will be closed Tuesday, Aug. 4. 

Closings & Cancellations for Tuesday, Aug. 4

  • The Aug. 4 City Council meeting – items that were to be considered will be rescheduled for Council meetings on Aug. 18 or 25. 
  • Recreation centers and Parks & Recreation summer childcare programs
  • Libraries
  • Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and Boat Tours.

Waste Collection Suspended on Tuesday
All trash, recycling, bulky item and yard debris collections are suspended. Collections will resume on a sliding schedule: Tuesday routes will be collected Wednesday, Wednesday routes on Thursday, Thursday on Friday, and Friday routes on Saturday, Aug. 8.

 

Our understanding is WCCB is now scheduled for August 25th.

From: Paige T. McGraw
Sent: Monday, August 3, 2020 2:15 PM
To: Todd Solomon
Subject: RE: August 4th City Council Hearing – Westminster Canterbury Expansion Item

Todd,

The meeting tomorrow will be cancelled. The Westminster item will be heard on the 25th. Do you want to stay signed up?

Sincerely,

Paige McGraw

City of Virginia Beach | Deputy City Clerk

2401 Courthouse Drive | Bldg. 1, Rm. 281 | Va. Beach, VA 23456

| 757.385.4303 |

“Subsequent to the Planning Commission Public Hearing The Applicant has provided Staff with a New submittal…” ~ Planning Director July 28 2020

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Is it more appropriate to DEFER the Public Hearing scheduled for City Council Meeting August 4th 2020 to allow the City to hold the necessary public forum and reach an acceptable compromise rather than try to work a solution during a Public Hearing that also includes very real health risks for its participants considering:

  • The unknown recent changes
  • Large opposition to publicly seen proposed development
  • 3 Councilpersons needing to recuse themselves
  • Inconsistencies throughout the entire process to date
  • The complexity of the precedent setting “iconic building” WCCB will have in the Shore Drive Community for decades

    • Recent FOIA documents available below.
    Note: Attachments mentioned in many emails were not included for the public to view.

    R-F008829_-_Bloom

    R-F008829-072120_-_Mayors_Office_Responsive_Documents

    R-FOIA_F008829_Leahy_E-mail

    R-WC_FOIA

    Affects of the Westminster-Canterbury Expansion

    Re Westminster Canterbury potential expansion

    RE Westminster Canterbury Expansion concern

    RE Shore Drive Community Coalition Position Statement – Westminster Canterbury Expansion

    Westminster Canterbury Expansion concern

    Shore Drive Communtiy Coaltion Position Statement – Westminster Canterbury Expansion

    “We have 2 presentations coming up now because of the complexity . . .” ~ Mayor Dyer July 28th 2020

    It seems everyone understands how complex the proposed development is. What’s the rush to attempt to push it through with incomplete information & lack of public input on an unseen “new submittal”.

    City Council Still Plans to Hear Westminster-Canterbury Expansion on Aug. 4th – Community Input Needed

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    On Tuesday City Council decided to move ahead with the scheduled Aug 4th hearing of the Westminster-Canterbury proposed expansion plans.  The hearing will take place in the Convention Center and start at 6:00pm.  We have been told this site will allow adequate social distancing even with the recent reduction of allowable group sizes from 250 to 50.  You can also participate virtually if you are in a high risk category.

    The Shore Drive Community Coalition is asking the residents of the Bayfront Community to provide City Council with your opinions on this proposed development.  This is a once in a lifetime decision that can cause adverse ripples for many years to come.  Here are several ways you can let your voices be heard.

     

    • Sign up to speak (in-person or virtual) at the Tuesday Aug 4th hearing.  Call the City Clerk at 385-4303 or email her at ABarnes@vbgov.com and inform her you wish to talk on the Westminster-Canterbury item.

     

    • Send an email to City Council and the Staff Planner.  It can be a short few sentences of what you think about this project or it can be several paragraphs of stories or analysis.  Any email is welcomed.  Send your emails to the following:  City Council – CityCouncil@vbgov.com and City Planner Bill Landfair – WLandfair@vbgov.com

     

    For reference, the official letter of opposition from SDCC to City Council is included below.  Feel free to copy and paste information from this letter into your emails if you need.  City Council Deny Request Letter for WC22

     

    Dear Mayor Dyer and City Council Members,

    On behalf of the Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC), we formally request that City Council “DENY” the subject request from Westminster Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay (WCCB) for a modification of conditions to build a 4 story parking garage with 22 story tower senior living facility and a 7 story memory unit facility connected by enclosed elevated pedestrian bridges over public roadways.

    The SDCC is a 20 year old umbrella civic organization representing many neighborhood civic leagues, condo and homeowner associations along the Shore Drive corridor.  At our February general meeting, we unanimously voted on the following motion regarding the current proposed WCCB development,

    “The Shore Drive Community Coalition opposes the Westminster Canterbury expansion proposal as it is in violation of the Shore Drive Overlay density restrictions and the Business 901 height restrictions”

    The proposed project defined as “Housing for seniors” violates the following City codes and plans.

    • Shore Drive Corridor Overlay Section 1704- Density requirements of maximum 24 units per acre. The proposed 22 story tower lot size is 2.56 acres.
    Density Design Units/acre % over code Total Units
    Shore Drive Overlay (24/acre) 24 0% 61
    Other States Codes for Affordable Housing 28 +20% 73
    Existing Westminster Canterbury Campus Density 50 +40% 86
    Proposed 22 Story Tower 85 +255% 217

     

    • Business District Section 901(a) – Senior housing building height restriction of 165 feet. The 22 story tower has a height of 250 feet.  This City code requirement appears to have been created to allow safe evacuation of elderly residents in case of emergency.

     

    The SDCC understands that Council will be using “City Code Section 235 – Housing for seniors and disabled persons” to approve random densities for these types of projects, however, this code also requires Council to evaluate the project with the following guideline.

    The mass, or overall size, and height of the structure should be appropriate to the surroundings.

    Based on numbers alone, it seems the proposed 22 story tower fails on height and mass.

    The SDCC is also concerned that this project will set a harmful precedent for future development requests of high density taller tower structures in Business B2 and B4 zoning that would be incompatible with the surrounding residential and lower density multi-family dwellings that make the Shore Drive Corridor unique.

     

    Thank you for your consideration in denying the subject application,

    Todd Solomon – SDCC President