Norfolk
Top issues
The five most-discussed unresolved issues, ranked by recorded discussion time (a measure of importance and contention), then by how many meetings they came up in.
| Issue5 | Status | Board | Minutes | Meetings | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short-Term Rental Overlay and Permits | ongoing | City Council | 0 | 25 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Restaurant, Alcohol and Entertainment Conditional Use Permits | ongoing | City Planning Commission | 0 | 22 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| City Property Leases and Sales | ongoing | City Council | 0 | 14 | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Data Center Zoning Standards | open | City Planning Commission | 0 | 10 | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Faith-Based and Nonprofit Housing Zoning | open | City Planning Commission | 0 | 10 | Nov 4, 2026 |
Issues on upcoming agendas
Issues linked from the meetings scheduled in the next 10 days.
| Issue10 | Status | Board | Meetings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 Park Avenue Alternative Signage | open | Planning Commission | |
| 2600 Granby Street Mixed-Use Reuse | ongoing | Planning Commission | |
| 711 and 755 Church Street Mixed-Use Project | open | Architectural Review Board | |
| Cellular Tower at 301 S Newtown Road | open | Architectural Review Board | |
| Checkered Flag Honda Site Rezoning | ongoing | Planning Commission | |
| East Street Garage Design Review | open | Architectural Review Board | |
| Mixed-Use Development at 930 E Virginia Beach Boulevard | open | Planning Commission | |
| Restaurant, Alcohol and Entertainment Conditional Use Permits | ongoing | City Planning Commission | |
| Short-Term Rental Overlay and Permits | ongoing | City Council | |
| Zoning Ordinance Technical Corrections and Clerical Fixes | ongoing | Planning Commission |
Recent updates
Issues with new information found in the last 7 days, newest first.
Upcoming meetings
| Meeting3 | Board | Date | Time | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-19 - Planning Commission Public Hearing | Planning Commission Public Hearing | Nov 19, 2026 | 2:30 PM | Agenda has a 13-item consent list (garage, mixed-use permits, restaurants, a cell tower, short-term rental renewal), two Architectural Review Board items and seven regular items led by the Checkered Flag Honda rezoning and the Church Street multi-family project. |
| 2026-12-01 - City Council | City Council | Dec 1, 2026 | Work session 4:00 PM; formal session 6:00 PM | - |
| 2026-12-07 - Architectural Review Board | Architectural Review Board | Dec 7, 2026 | 4:00 PM | - |
Recent meetings
One page per meeting, summarizing every record we have of it (agenda, minutes, video and transcript).
Issues with near term decisions
Long running topics
| Issue12 | Board | Last updated | People | Minutes | Meetings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short-Term Rental Overlay and Permits | City Council | Nov 6, 2026 | 2 | 0 | 25 |
| Restaurant, Alcohol and Entertainment Conditional Use Permits | City Planning Commission | Nov 6, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| City Property Leases and Sales | City Council | Nov 6, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Zoning Ordinance Technical Corrections and Clerical Fixes | Planning Commission | Nov 6, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2600 Granby Street Mixed-Use Reuse | Planning Commission | Nov 6, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Black Sheep Investments Zoning Appeal at 7418 N Military Highway | Board of Zoning Appeals | Nov 6, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Checkered Flag Honda Site Rezoning | Planning Commission | Nov 6, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Virginia Port Authority Update | City Council | Oct 27, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2030 Census Criteria Comment | City Council | Nov 4, 2026 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| License Plate Reader Program Oversight | City Council | Nov 4, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Norfolk Casino Signage and Lighting | Planning Commission | Nov 4, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Public Housing Demolition Pause | City Council | Nov 4, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
No actions pending
| Issue4 | Board | Last updated | People | Minutes | Meetings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airport District and Terminal Design | City Council | Nov 4, 2026 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Barraud Park Dugouts Design Review | City Planning Commission | Nov 4, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Hampton Roads Highway Projects | City Council | Nov 4, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Planning Commission Quorum and September 24 Cancellation | City Planning Commission | Nov 4, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Completed
| Issue4 | Board | Last updated | People | Minutes | Meetings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Window Transparency and Signage | City Council | Nov 4, 2026 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Commonwealth's Attorney Data Analyst Grant | City Council | Nov 4, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Harbor Park Parking Deck Funding | City Council | Nov 4, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Industrial Mixed-Use Overlay and Redgate Avenue Rezoning | City Council | Nov 4, 2026 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Sources
Where the data comes from
- City website: https://www.norfolk.gov/ (City of Norfolk, Virginia; City Hall at 810 Union Street)
- Agenda Center: https://www.norfolk.gov/AgendaCenter, with City Council, Architectural Review Board and City Planning Commission public hearing agendas and results (PDF). Council "Minutes" PDFs are the work session summary plus the 6 PM action results.
- Meeting calendar for all bodies, including cancellations: https://norfolkcityva.iqm2.com/Citizens/calendar.aspx?From=9/1/2026&To=12/31/2026&View=List
- Council page: https://www.norfolk.gov/200/City-Council; City Clerk: https://www.norfolk.gov/6146/City-Clerk; Public Meetings: https://www.norfolk.gov/4869/Public-Meetings; Planning Commission: https://www.norfolk.gov/862/Planning-Commission (2026 schedule at https://www.norfolk.gov/DocumentCenter/View/41769); Board of Zoning Appeals: https://www.norfolk.gov/1089/Board-of-Zoning-Appeals
- Meeting video: NorfolkTV YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/NorfolkTV, covering City Council work and formal sessions and Planning Commission meetings and hearings.
- Council and Architectural Review Board minutes and video for November 2026 were not posted or found as of 2026-11-11.
- Collected 2026-11-04 (added at Dewey's request).
Governing body
- City Council (work session 4:00 PM and formal session 6:00 PM, 810 Union Street): Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander; Vice Mayor Martin A. Thomas Jr (Ward 1); Courtney R. Doyle (Ward 2); Mamie B. Johnson (Ward 3); John E. "JP" Paige (Ward 4); Thomas R. Smigiel Jr (Ward 5); Jeremy D. McGee (Superward 6); Carlos J. Clanton (Superward 7)
- City Manager Patrick Roberts; City Clerk Richard A. Bull; Deputy City Managers Ronald H. Williams Jr and LaVoris Pace; Director of Intergovernmental Relations Brian Pennington
- Director of Planning Bobby Tajan (title taken from City Council meeting documents; not confirmed against a staff directory)
- Architectural Review Board (Mondays, some Tuesdays, 4:00 PM): Chair Airiel Barrientos, Vice Chair Taylor Gould, Rebecca Rand, Greg Rutledge, Robert Wojtowicz, Greta Gustavson, Karen Reynes, Larry Pendleton; staff Elizabeth Nowak and Faith Hamman
- City Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals: member lists were not read
Data quality notes
- Meeting pages cover 2026-09-01 through 2026-12-03. City Council results were read for 2026-09-15, 2026-09-29 and 2026-10-13; the 2026-10-27 meeting is from the agenda only (no results posted yet). Planning Commission public hearing results were read for 2026-10-08 and 2026-10-22; the 2026-09-24 hearing was cancelled for lack of a quorum. Architectural Review Board pages are from agenda packets only (2026-09-08, 2026-09-21, 2026-10-05, 2026-10-19), and only the first pages of each packet were read.
- Not read: the Board of Zoning Appeals (2026-09-17 and 2026-10-15 are listed), the mid-month Planning Commission meetings, the Architectural Review Board packet bodies and outcomes, and the task forces, advisory committees and Mayor's Housing Commission that appear on the calendar.
- Formal approval of Council minutes was not verified, and individual vote tallies were not all checked. The Council vote of 7-1 on the short-term rental ordinance (2026-10-13) is read from the posted action lines and the dissenting member is not identified.
- The Planning Commission item in the Agenda Center dated September 22 is actually the October 22 hearing results.
- The Public Meetings page says Council meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, but 2026-09-15 and 2026-09-29 do not fit that; the calendar is used instead. Upcoming dates (Council 2026-11-10 and 2026-12-01, Planning Commission 2026-11-19, Architectural Review Board 2026-11-09 and 2026-12-07) are unverified.
- Video dates are taken from the video titles. Videos for the Architectural Review Board and Board of Zoning Appeals were not found, which does not mean none exist.