2026-10-20 - City Council

00:09Get going.

00:10>> All right. So, Mr. Mayor, members of the

00:11council, at this time staff from our

00:13Parks and Recreation Department will

00:14give City Council an update on the Rudy

00:16Park project.

00:22>> Uh good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor,

00:23members of council. It's good to be

00:24here. Um pleased to provide this uh

00:27update on the Rudy Park project and

00:29where we're at today. We made some great

00:30progress, so we wanted to share those

00:33uh items with you today.

00:34Um we also have Clay Deals here with us

00:36with uh Deals Architects, who is our

00:38architect of record for the for the

00:39project. It's just good to good to have

00:41him here.

00:42Um also

00:44um

00:47going to go over today a few things um

00:49to talk about. I'll talk over the design

00:51and progress and the timeline.

00:53Um and the and go over the project

00:55design insights, and then I'll turn it

00:57over to Michael Kerschman uh to go over

00:59the fundraising update and the

01:00conservancy where we are uh today with

01:03that. Uh of course today's briefing is

01:05uh totally informational for you all.

01:07And um this is also part of Focus Action

01:10Plan 2.19 to move forward with uh

01:12construction drawings for the Rudy Park

01:14project.

01:16So, of course this all started uh

01:18from August 25th, City Council gave us

01:20the the go ahead to move forward uh from

01:22this concept plan, which was uh

01:25uh highly vetted, and we had extensive

01:27public engagement through this process,

01:29and and was able to land on this as the

01:31approved concept plan.

01:32Um

01:33and we were move forward with this uh

01:35concept plan and convert that into

01:37construction drawings.

01:39Uh we stated that would be a about a

01:4012-to-18-month process, and we are uh

01:43still tracking on that schedule as

01:45you'll see in in a few few moments.

01:48Some of the

01:50concept plan renderings that were showed

01:51during the public engagement, and this

01:53is uh

01:54showing the the vibrancy and the

01:56improvements to be made in this iconic

01:59park destination location.

02:01Um upper left is a view from the

02:03boardwalk showing the uh

02:05elevated walkway coming into the beach

02:08village and then the access way, which

02:10is currently the second Second Street

02:13Promenade.

02:14Uh upper right would be the uh what

02:16we're calling the get down area just to

02:17get a little bit closer to to Rudee

02:19Inlet.

02:20And then the lower left is the elevated

02:22walkway that goes over spans over the

02:24beach village and overlooks the the the

02:26jetty.

02:28And then the uh image on the lower right

02:30is the uh interactive water play area,

02:33which will be uh very exciting and

02:35create that um excitement and joy as as

02:38a focal element as you enter into the

02:39park.

02:41Uh a couple of further renderings, uh

02:43the upper left being the nature play

02:44area, uh creating some uh natural

02:46elements for children to wander and

02:49climb and explore. Uh the upper right

02:51being the

02:53uh indoor pavilion and the picnic grove.

02:55And with the lower left image is the

02:57either the beginning or the end of the

02:58Virginia Beach Trail, it depends which

03:00way you're traveling. Um we're right at

03:02that end point at the at the boardwalk.

03:04And then on the right is just kind of a

03:06overhead bird's-eye shot showing all

03:08those elements working together, the

03:09indoor pavilion, the the nature play

03:11area, the interactive water play, and

03:13then the get down area to the inlet.

03:17So for the design process, we are

03:19currently at 60% design. Um

03:22started off as um the schematics and

03:24then the 35% 30 35% and now 60%. We

03:28received those back in late August.

03:30Uh staff and the team are currently

03:32reviewing all those and making comments

03:34for that. And this round of plans were

03:38submitted to the development services

03:39center, too, so we'll be getting

03:40feedback and comments from them

03:42um

03:43as well sometime in the next uh 4 to 6

03:46weeks or so.

03:47Um with that, we'll gather the that

03:49information, and the plans some more,

03:51refine, and uh

03:53we'll be due a 90% design set progress

03:57set on December 22nd of 2026.

04:01With that, we'll continue still get more

04:04resubmit that back to development

04:05services and then get more comments,

04:07refine the plans, and then with a final

04:08design, ideally in February

04:12of 2027.

04:14Um, all goes well, we have an approved

04:15set of plans, we can put those out to

04:17bid, and

04:19in about a 6-8 months uh, bidding and

04:21award construction award. With that, we

04:23would be on schedule to

04:26start construction of the project in

04:28late fall of 2027.

04:30And it's expected this will be a 2-year

04:32construction period, be very

04:34scheduled and phased approach,

04:36kind of complicated on how that's going

04:38to work, but

04:39the key is we really need to start

04:41construction by late fall of 2027.

04:45Some things have changed slightly. I

04:47want to make those bring those to your

04:48attention as far as this concept site

04:51plan. I've circled three highlighted

04:52three areas on this graphic.

04:55Uh, in the upper right is the beach

04:57village. We made some modifications

04:59there, and I'll talk about it in more

05:00detail

05:02in a couple minutes about um, the

05:05uh, coastal storm risk management plan

05:07and then and where a future sector gate

05:09is going to be coming in

05:11on the site sometime in the future. 10,

05:1415, 20 years, we don't don't quite know

05:16yet, but we had to allow for that

05:17infrastructure to come into place.

05:20Uh, on the site, so so we had to make

05:21some modifications to the elevated

05:22walkway and how that would look and and

05:25create the the ramps and the switchbacks

05:27as a and make that work and still move

05:29everything kind of to the north a little

05:31bit.

05:32So, there were some slight changes

05:33there.

05:34In the middle circle, you can see the

05:35the cul-de-sac there

05:37to work on in getting the adequate

05:39circulation patterns for

05:41larger vehicles, bus drop-off,

05:44any type of emergency vehicle access.

05:47That that cul-de-sac had to be reworked

05:48and made a little bit bigger to make

05:50that adequate circulation and make those

05:52maneuvers for for larger trucks. So, we

05:54had to that kind of change got bigger.

05:57Ultimately, when that happened, um it

05:59kind of pinched where the

06:01indoor pavilion was located. So, we

06:03moved that indoor pavilion to the to the

06:05north, which that's what this other

06:06circle is in the bottom of the page

06:07there.

06:08And moving that

06:10uh

06:11was was critical cuz we uh ended up

06:13having a lot of congestion a lot of um

06:16activity in that that hub that created

06:18some some issues. So, moving it and

06:20separating that out um was was a was a

06:22pretty good decision to move that

06:25move that out.

06:29Uh some of the other design elements

06:32coming forward and some of these will

06:33require uh council approval, so I wanted

06:35to make you aware of those.

06:37Um as far as setbacks and zoning, um

06:40we submitted an application on September

06:411st. That was to provide

06:44enhanced landscape enhanced landscaping

06:47uh to achieve an optimal form of

06:48development um for the parking setbacks.

06:51And then we have an alternate compliance

06:53need for a zero buffer along the Second

06:55Street connector.

06:57Um that goes to uh planning commission

06:59in the in the next month or so, and then

07:01city council vote on that those um

07:04alternate compliance issues would be in

07:06December or maybe January coming up.

07:10Also, with all the

07:12uh

07:14have a major street closure coming

07:15forward. We're working on that um cuz

07:17you know, the whole loop-de-loop would

07:19most of that will be

07:21closed, and we got to get a get a get

07:23all the plats cleaned up and and all

07:25that. Um so, that street closure

07:27application would be coming forward to

07:28council um sometime in the future,

07:31as well as a conditional use permit for

07:33um

07:34to have food trucks um on the at the

07:36park more than four times a year.

07:39The goal is to run both of those items

07:40concurrently, so you can vote on those

07:42at the same time.

07:43But, we anticipate those would be coming

07:45forward in uh mid-2027

07:47for your for your consideration.

07:50>> [snorts]

07:52>> Some other elements, uh as I mentioned

07:54before, that uh the circulation patterns

07:56and trying to rework that and uh being

07:59able to accommodate for

08:02bicyclists, emergency vehicles,

08:04delivery trucks,

08:06regular vehicles, getting all that

08:08worked out, and access to the boardwalk

08:10for all those emergency type vehicles

08:12was

08:13was a challenge, and we had to make some

08:14updates between the 30% and 60%. We

08:16think we got most of those items worked

08:18out.

08:19Um so, I think we're in a good spot

08:20there. Just wanted to make note of that

08:22that um it's been a lot of

08:24lot of thought and analysis and

08:26engineering going going into that and

08:27making that work.

08:29Um also,

08:30with the beach access ramp on 2nd

08:32Street, um we've even did an analysis

08:34and seeing if it made more sense to

08:37relocate and put a new

08:39um beach access ramp at either 4th, 5th,

08:41or 6th. We

08:43did that analysis and realized that was

08:44not

08:45not a really good viable option. So,

08:47keeping it there at 2nd Street and work

08:49with that um was our is our recommended

08:52option.

08:55>> [clears throat]

08:56>> As I mentioned earlier about moving the

08:58uh elevator ramp and overlook

09:01um in the beach village to the north,

09:03you can see here the the

09:06the dashed red lines and where that

09:08potential sector gate would come forward

09:10in future years. So, we wanted to make

09:12sure all of our elevated structure was

09:15would not be impacted at some point down

09:17the road and didn't want to have to move

09:18that major infrastructure and and cost

09:21of that element going forward. So,

09:24um moving that shape reshaping that

09:26elevated walkway. Before, it had two two

09:28overlook points. This one has one.

09:31But, still keeps that that beach village

09:33feel that we were looking for.

09:35But, um

09:37putting in the sector would only um

09:39require moving and relocating maybe some

09:41of the lower ground level elements at a

09:42much lower cost.

09:44Keep in mind the sector gate is

09:47is just some rough lines on on a piece

09:48of paper right now,

09:5020 years in advance from now, so we

09:52we're doing the best we can trying to to

09:54make make a make a space for that with

09:56the information that we have today.

10:00>> [clears throat]

10:02>> Also, um as far as um

10:05some property acquisition has taken

10:06place as well as

10:08um some other things coming forward for

10:10you

10:11for your information

10:13um is the property acquisition at 310

10:15Atlantic Avenue.

10:17That property has been closed. Um the

10:19city is uh owns that and we are

10:21currently

10:23uh getting uh the dis- disconnect

10:25letters for that and moving forward with

10:27the demolition. Ideally, we think we can

10:29have that building demolished before the

10:31end of the year uh down to the slab.

10:34And then the use of the property you can

10:36see there is expanded parking, surface

10:38level parking.

10:40Um and you can see there how nicely it

10:42fits into the plan. That's the the red

10:43box.

10:44Um also,

10:46there's um

10:48uh existing VBDA parcel that would

10:50transfer to the city of Virginia Beach

10:52and then there are also three

10:54uh

10:55parking lease agreements that would

10:57expire or be terminated by the fall of

10:59'27, which is right before we start

11:01construction um

11:03at that point, so those three parking

11:05leases would be uh be terminated before

11:08we start construction, ideally.

11:13With that, I'll turn it over to Michael

11:14Kerschman. He's going to go over the

11:15fundraising study and the conservancy.

11:19>> Thank you, Chad. Good afternoon,

11:20everyone.

11:22Uh so, moving on to the fundraising

11:24component of the project, I'm happy to

11:26report that the Curtis Group completed

11:29their initial feasibility study and this

11:31involved them going out, talking to uh

11:33significant funders, and seeing what the

11:35capacity is uh in terms of fundraising

11:38for this project.

11:40Um there were quite a number of feedback

11:42and general observations regarding it.

11:44And pretty much all the funders agreed

11:46that this is certainly a

11:47transformational opportunity for the

11:49city.

11:50Uh there was also broad confidence of

11:53the people that were interviewed in the

11:54ability of the Virginia Gentlemen to

11:56manage the fundraising campaign.

11:58Uh

11:59the funders believed that the success of

12:01this campaign will really uh depend on a

12:04select group of businesses and

12:05individuals, as you can imagine.

12:08And there is also very strong support

12:10for the Conservancy model to run the

12:12park. However, there were questions on

12:14how that's going to manage. So, we hope

12:15to have that worked out so the funders

12:17are reassured of that in the upcoming

12:19months.

12:24Uh furthermore, uh the study showed that

12:26the Curtis Group really recommends uh a

12:28realistic target of 8 to 10 million

12:30dollars for a fundraising campaign

12:32managed by the Virginia Gentlemen.

12:34Uh this campaign would last up to 2

12:36years with a pledge period of up to 5

12:39years. So, sometimes people could send

12:41maybe X number of dollars, but spread

12:42over 5 years uh due to a lot of

12:44different reasons, tax purposes, their

12:46funding. Uh so, the money could keep

12:49coming in for up to 5 years, but there

12:50would be a a sustained 2-year push uh to

12:53get those pledges and or funds in place.

12:56Uh the success, based on this study, of

12:58the of the fundraising campaign really

13:00depends upon strong volunteer leadership

13:03of the campaign committee,

13:05uh some early gifts, and visible support

13:08from the business community.

13:13Currently, as mentioned, the Virginia

13:14Gentlemen um are we have an agreement in

13:16place with them. They have their

13:18paperwork in place uh to solicit

13:20donations on behalf of the city.

13:22Uh we are now ready to begin the

13:24fundraising program, and we'll probably

13:26do a major kickoff in the spring uh with

13:29some behind-the-scenes activities

13:30happening well before then.

13:33Um in essence, what you're looking at

13:34here is

13:35uh there will be naming opportunities

13:38for individuals or businesses in the

13:40park. So, they could name put their name

13:42on some of these amenities. Uh staff and

13:45our consultant are currently finalizing

13:47the ideal ask or monetary amount uh to

13:50have your naming rights on some of these

13:51amenities based on their capital costs,

13:53based on their visibility, and based on

13:55a number of factors.

14:01Moving on to the park conservancy, uh

14:03you have seen uh this before.

14:06Uh this really shows a continuum of the

14:09types of conservancy model models that

14:11currently exist throughout the country.

14:13Uh conservancies running parks is very

14:16common in major urban cities um

14:18uh throughout the United States. Um on

14:21one end of the spectrum is the least

14:23independent model. This is where you

14:25might have a a friends of group of the

14:27park, and they are volunteering, maybe

14:30raising funds, uh there may or may not

14:33even be a formal agreement in place.

14:36On the other far spectrum of the

14:37conservancy model is where the city

14:40completely divests itself of the

14:41property, gives the property and the all

14:44the assets to a private entity to run

14:46the park.

14:48Uh we, as discussed earlier, uh are

14:50pursuing a model akin to the Bryant

14:52Park, New York City model.

14:54Uh this is where the city would retain

14:56ownership of the land in the park,

14:58but an outside, fully independent,

15:00nonprofit park conservancy has full

15:03management of the site. These are

15:05typically very long-term formalized

15:06agreements, and the conservancy's

15:08responsible for all daily operations,

15:11maintenance, security, programs, events,

15:14staff, contractors, and repairs of the

15:16park. Again, very similar to Bryant Park

15:19in New York City.

15:23It is our intention to proceed with

15:24setting up the conservancy and filing

15:26the necessary paperwork for its creation

15:28soon after the new year.

15:30Uh this will iron out the

15:31responsibilities of of the conservancy

15:33and the city,

15:34as well as develop a phased transition

15:36from the Virginia gentlemen to the

15:37conservancy uh once the conservancy is

15:39up and running uh within a within the

15:42next year.

15:43Uh

15:44based on conversations uh with other

15:46park conservancies around the country,

15:49as well as recommended in the Curtis

15:51Group study, uh we are recommending a

15:53non-profit conservancy with a board of

15:5612 to 15 members.

15:57That board provides governance and

15:59leadership to the conservancy,

16:02hires the conservancy executive

16:03director, who would then in turn hire

16:05any additional staff and manage the

16:07park.

16:09Um they and the director

16:11uh once hired would develop operational

16:13policies for the park, the park budget,

16:14and assume full operations of the park

16:16once construction is complete.

16:20And with that, uh Chad and I are happy

16:22to take any questions.

16:23>> Any questions at this point? Rosemary,

16:26do you have something on this you might

16:27want to bring up?

16:28>> Well, I do have a couple questions. So,

16:30the uh extra parcel that we acquired,

16:34they're going to be using that for

16:34surface parking. I I

16:37>> That's correct. That large the large uh

16:39parking lot that we have on site, and

16:40what it really does is a couple things.

16:43Um A, what it had to remain open and

16:46public publicly accessible for tenants

16:48during the whole construction project,

16:50we no longer have to plan around people

16:51living on site for those 2 years.

16:54Um additionally, if and when the city

16:56ever did want to perhaps construct a

16:58parking deck on site, uh the the

17:01acquisition of that property was

17:02critical to having a well-designed good

17:04parking deck at some point in the

17:05future. Uh so, that really helped out.

17:07>> People say about the parking on garage,

17:09and I've told them that there's no plans

17:11for parking.

17:11>> No plans at this time, correct.

17:14>> So, how many So,

17:16how many parking new parking spaces will

17:18that give us as the surface parking

17:20space?

17:20>> Yep.

17:21Chad has that, but I don't know if you

17:22have it off your head.

17:25>> Of course he does.

17:26>> [laughter]

17:26>> We We think we can at least get 30 to 35

17:30additional parking spaces from that that

17:32area that was picked up.

17:33>> Every one will count.

17:34>> Absolutely.

17:35>> And so this conservancy that you're

17:37looking at

17:39and it this board of 12 to 15, how would

17:43they be appointed?

17:44>> Yep.

17:45>> So that will be ironed out over the next

17:47few months. Um

17:49what we would recommend is a couple

17:51seats on the conservancy are perhaps

17:54Park and Rec director, CBB director,

17:56maybe somebody from the Park and Rec

17:57Commission, maybe somebody from Rec, uh

18:00just a few, but the rest would be then

18:02appointed by the conservancy board

18:04itself. They would be public members,

18:06they would be attorneys, they would be

18:08people interested in the park and its

18:09success. Uh really conservancies around

18:12the country look for people with a real

18:13estate background, business background,

18:16park experience background to serve on

18:18these types of conservancies.

18:21>> And uh

18:23The Virginia gentlemen, they're a

18:25fantastic, wonderful group with lots of

18:27connections, and I know that part of

18:30what they may be doing is getting some

18:31in-kind contributions on the

18:34construction itself.

18:36So they told me,

18:38uh but I've also heard from Mr. Dills

18:41he's here, he could comment on this if

18:43he choose to

18:45that we also could do a national

18:46campaign for fund raising.

18:49>> Clay, do you want to comment on that?

18:53>> [laughter]

18:54>> You have to go to the microphone if you

18:56do.

18:57>> In essence In essence, we certainly can.

18:59Uh we'll be targeting local donors, of

19:01course, they're going to be the most

19:02interested in the project, but we can

19:03target national corporations as well.

19:06>> That's why you're getting the big bucks.

19:08>> [laughter]

19:09[snorts]

19:10>> But I don't want to speak for Clay, if

19:11Clay if Clay told you that.

19:17>> Thanks, Glenn.

19:17>> Sure.

19:19Um thanks for having me up. Uh the

19:23So, the answer to that is yes.

19:26Um you know, we have uh Beiderman

19:28Redevelopment on the team. They're

19:31looking nationally as we speak. Um

19:33they're looking right now for corporate

19:36sponsorship, long-term partners for

19:38that. Um that is likely to segue into

19:41national partners for uh philanthropic

19:44as well.

19:46>> You've done an absolutely spectacular

19:47job on the park. I'm

19:50When I walked in, I said, "Oh, we're

19:50talking about my favorite topic today."

19:52So, I'm very excited about it. It's

19:54really really beautiful, and I'm glad we

19:55got that extra parcel that because it's

19:58it probably helped your design work

20:01be a lot easier.

20:02>> It It does. And well, it makes that

20:04entry to the park, right, the Rudy

20:06connector under the bridge, all those

20:09communities on that side, it gives them

20:11a direct relation to the park. Um you

20:14know, we're going to have retail and

20:15concessions, a cafe there for them,

20:18right, now that we've moved the pavilion

20:20over. So, it's a It's a huge win for the

20:23for the park and for that parcel in the

20:24future.

20:26>> Thank you for all that you've done and

20:27and also our our own team. Thank you so

20:30much and for the city council.

20:32Wouldn't happen without all of you.

20:36>> And thanks for being put on the spot.

20:38>> [laughter]

20:39>> He's used to it.

20:39>> Yeah. Yeah.

20:41Thank you. And sorry, I was a couple

20:43minutes late, but um I've got a question

20:45on the governance issue. Um and and I

20:49know there were sliding scale of models.

20:52Uh

20:53when do we get to kind of see and work

20:55through what some of those

20:57distinctions are and and how how can we

21:01better understand them and have input on

21:03them number one and then

21:05um

21:06number two is uh related but unrelated.

21:10Is um, I see the timeline for this is

21:14uh, 100% design is February of 27. So,

21:18I'm thinking about VB Trail also. And

21:21how does that look timeline-wise? And do

21:23we need to be kind of thinking about

21:25some of these things concurrently?

21:28Um, and and you know, and maybe it's not

21:31the appropriate time, but I figured I'd

21:32just raise it.

21:33>> Sure, great question.

21:35Regarding the conservancy models, we can

21:37provide information, more information on

21:38each one of these different ones and the

21:40why we're recommending the Bryant Park

21:42model or conservancies that kind of

21:43follow that model. We could put that

21:45into report if Patrick would like us to

21:48in the future to kind of spell out what

21:50the differences are between them all. It

21:52really comes down to land ownership and

21:54how much influence and input the

21:56conservancy has. Sometimes conservancies

21:59only do the programs, but the city does

22:02all the maintenance, right? Or sometimes

22:04conservancies just fundraise, but don't

22:06do anything in the park. This model is

22:09the model where they have full operation

22:11they they It's almost like outsourcing

22:13to a private vendor. But instead of a

22:14private vendor, they're a nonprofit

22:16501c3 park conservancy. But there's pros

22:19and cons to all and we can cover that in

22:21any type of report.

22:23>> I do want to clarify. So, we're working

22:25to get the going through the

22:26infrastructure

22:28ready to go to get council authorized.

22:30So, we've got to have to come to council

22:31for funding to probably see the

22:33conservancy before it gets that in

22:35itself. And also, council's probably

22:37going to have to approve us to move in

22:38that direction as well.

22:39>> And VB Trail, too.

22:41>> VB Trail, so Chad Chad's well attuned to

22:44both projects and I'll turn it over to

22:45him, but I would say they're two very

22:47different projects on very different

22:49time frames with different constraints.

22:51So, the VB Trail has a federal grant. It

22:53has intensive engineering. We have two

22:56of the four phases funded. They're

22:58moving along. This is on a different

22:59time frame. They will eventually all

23:02connect,

23:03but

23:04my gut tells me we'll have the two of

23:06the four phases of the V Trail built

23:09right around the time this opens as

23:11well. That should be right about the

23:13same time that you'll phase one and

23:16phase four that comes down to the uh

23:19boardwalk area done right when this

23:21opens as well. Right around 7 years from

23:24now, or I'm sorry, 4 to 5 years from

23:25now.

23:26>> [snorts]

23:27>> That's awesome.

23:28>> Okay, Jennifer.

23:29>> Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for the

23:30presentation. I know it's still a

23:32question about the city's ongoing

23:34responsibility for maintaining the park.

23:36[clears throat] And so, how are y'all

23:38approaching answering that question, the

23:40responsibilities and obligations of the

23:42conservancy, the city, and any other

23:45actors?

23:46>> Yeah. So, I'll give you my

23:4730,000-ft view. It will get worked out

23:49in the future. It is the intention right

23:51now that the conservancy will be 100%

23:54self-sufficient once the park is fully

23:57up and running and operational and is

23:59making money. So, there are various

24:01revenue streams that a park like this

24:02can make from concessions, from

24:04sponsorships, from programs on site,

24:06etc.

24:07Uh it's our belief and the belief of our

24:09consultant that does this around the

24:11world that a park of this magnitude and

24:13this location with both residents and

24:15and tourism and lots of people down

24:17there, we've estimated some the

24:19attendance for this park and what the

24:20revenues can bring in. The revenues

24:22should be able to sustain all park

24:24operations, all staff, all utilities,

24:27security, and minor repairs. When it

24:30comes to major repairs, that's going to

24:32be a discussion between the conservancy

24:34and the city. We'll probably work that

24:35out in the agreement. That'll be done up

24:37front that we'll sign with the

24:38conservancy once it's set up. Uh but in

24:41most cases I've seen around the country,

24:43if there is a significant

24:45calamity or some type of natural

24:47disaster, a conservancy does not have

24:49the resources

24:50to rebuild a $10 million asset. The park

24:53will still be owned by the city

24:55and the assets are owned by the city. so

24:57ultimately they'll be the city's

24:58responsibility, but all day-to-day

25:00operations and minor repairs would be

25:02completely done by the conservancy and

25:05funded by revenues raised in the park.

25:10>> Okay, anybody else at this point?

25:13Well, thank you very much.

25:14>> Great, thank you very much. Appreciate

25:15it.

25:15>> Keep up the good work.

25:18>> Mr. Mayor, members of council, at this

25:19time we'll hear from EMS Chief Jason

25:21Straub. He's going to brief City Council

25:23on the

25:24on all the work we've been doing as it

25:25relates to EMS billing and the impact of

25:28the funding to the EMS rescue squads

25:31and the city.

25:33>> Hello, welcome.

25:35>> Thank you, Mayor. Mayor, Vice Mayor,

25:36members of council

25:38and staff, thanks for affording me the

25:39opportunity to be able to come up and

25:41talk to you about your compassionate EMS

25:43billing program.

25:44If I could, before I start, I would like

25:46to make a couple real quick

25:47introductions. Um, here recently we've

25:50had some significant changes at our

25:51senior leadership levels in EMS and so I

25:53just want to take the opportunity, if

25:54you haven't met her, I'd like to

25:56introduce Executive EMS Deputy Chief Amy

25:58Ward.

26:00Amy is charged with the oversight of the

26:01day-to-day functions of the Department

26:03of EMS. We've also because of the growth

26:05we've had and a retirement, um, we have

26:09two other new deputy chiefs. One of

26:10those is Terrance Sheehy.

26:12Terrance we hired in after a 29-year

26:1429-year career at Dare County EMS and

26:17he'll oversee our support and

26:18administrative side. And Rob Gramkowsky

26:21who got promoted from within up through

26:23the ranks, um, originally starting as a

26:25volunteer,

26:26um, but working his way up through the

26:27ranks, he oversees our operations side.

26:30And for those of you that knew Deputy

26:31Chief Clay Kofer, literally as of 2

26:34hours ago he was pulling out of town

26:35driving a U-Haul to his new home in

26:37Florida. So, he retired after 37 years

26:40with the city.

26:42So, if I could,

26:43I now get the opportunity to provide an

26:45update for you regarding our EMS billing

26:47program and some exciting initiatives

26:48going on. But first, let me just start

26:50with the simplest, um, but most

26:51important part, and that's a simple

26:53thank you.

26:54As our demand for services and costs for

26:56for providing those services continue to

26:58rise,

26:59this council continues to be supportive

27:01not only of EMS, but all of public

27:02safety in our city.

27:04Because of your foresight and your

27:06willingness to support the development

27:07of new programs and initiatives, we've

27:10been able to provide much needed funding

27:11and support for our EMS department, our

27:14rescue squads, and more importantly for

27:16the benefit of the community.

27:19So, I'm going to take a little bit of

27:19time to kind of just refresh us on the

27:22background of what led us to the

27:23development of compassionate billing.

27:25I'm going to let you know how that's

27:26going, and talk about what we've been

27:28able to do with those much needed funds,

27:30and then close with, um, just giving

27:32you, uh,

27:33an overview of some exciting strategic

27:35initiatives we'll be working towards in

27:37the next couple years.

27:40If you recall, the recommendation to

27:42implement the compassionate EMS billing

27:43program was a recommendation started by

27:45the volunteer rescue council with

27:47support from EMS staff.

27:50The establishment of this sustainable

27:51source of revenue was necessary to help

27:53ensure funding for much needed

27:56personnel, resources, and equipment.

27:59The authorizing ordinance to begin

28:01billing was included in the fiscal year

28:022026 budget process,

28:05and EMS billing was established as a

28:06restricted special revenue fund to be

28:08used for Virginia Beach EMS and

28:10volunteer rescue squad operating

28:11expenses, and the program went live on

28:13July 1st.

28:16I'm pleased to report that the program

28:18is performing as expected, and we are on

28:20track to produce the budgeted revenue

28:22for our current fiscal year.

28:24I also want to take a moment to share

28:26with you that the city auditor, who's

28:28joining us today,

28:29um, is nearing completion of his fiscal

28:31year 2027 pre-planned audit of the EMS

28:35billing program.

28:36This audit includes assessing the

28:38billing workflow of all applicable EMS

28:40runs,

28:41reviewing the financial controls and

28:43administration of received revenue,

28:46and ensuring rescue squad compliance

28:48with the expectations for allocations.

28:51I'm pleased to report that we've been

28:53informed there are no major findings and

28:55all funds are accounted for.

28:57I suspect if they weren't, my ID badge

28:58wouldn't work to get me in the building

29:00to present to you today.

29:02And I didn't hear Lyndon yell liar, so

29:04it must be true.

29:05>> [snorts]

29:05>> Um through this audit and in preliminary

29:07conversations with the auditor, there

29:09are some administrative enhancements

29:10that can be made and recommended to our

29:12rescue squads to ensure optimal

29:14administration of their program

29:15requirements and we look forward to

29:16reviewing those with him next month.

29:23Part of the compassion in our

29:24compassionate billing program, we we

29:27agreed not to charge Virginia Beach

29:28residents any co-pays, co-deductibles,

29:30or out-of-pocket expenses.

29:33This kind of as a

29:34an FYI slide, in fiscal year 2026, 86%

29:38of the patients we serve we transported

29:40to hospitals were residents of the city

29:43and the majority of all patients are

29:44covered by Medicaid, excuse me,

29:46Medicaid, Medicare, and or commercial

29:49insurance.

29:51Regarding on the the donut graph on the

29:53right side, regarding the 13% indicated

29:56as patient pay, this doesn't necessarily

29:58mean they are uninsured. This is the

29:59portion of billables that are not

30:01covered by a third-party payer.

30:03We didn't have information for or and or

30:06possibly they did not have coverage.

30:09I'd also remind you that the ability to

30:10pay is never a factor involved in the

30:12care that one receives.

30:16So some major accomplishments we've been

30:18able to um

30:19do with this much-needed source of

30:21revenue. So first and foremost, 30% of

30:23those funds are or

30:25allocated directly back to the rescue

30:26squads and must be used for their

30:28capital asset assets and operating

30:30expenses.

30:32That for fiscal year 26 and and

30:35essentially the same budgeted for fiscal

30:36year 27 is the allocation of 4.2

30:38million. That enabled them to buy

30:40much-needed equipment and supplies, in

30:42addition to increasing our ambulance

30:44fleet by seven additional new ambulances

30:47taking it to a planned fleet of 49

30:49ambulances.

30:51We are able to provide a sizable

30:53matching fund recruitment grant to the

30:54Virginia Beach Rescue Squad Foundation

30:56for volunteer recruitment.

30:58We were able to bring on 43 additional

31:00uniform staff in our

31:02since the beginning of EMS billing to

31:03help with our daily staffing needs and

31:05multiple support staff positions

31:07including our full-time medical

31:08director, pharmacist, and pharmacy

31:10technician.

31:12And then we also were are in the midst

31:14of of finalizing the development of a

31:16centralized medical supply program for

31:18the entirety of the system whereas

31:19previously each rescue squad was

31:21purchasing and managing their own

31:23supplies.

31:25And we've we finalized completion of a

31:27system-wide pharmacy program.

31:29And we

31:31were able to do advanced life support

31:32training for 39 providers which included

31:34sending 23 to a full paramedic school

31:37which was a pretty big deal for us. And

31:39that included that 23 did include a

31:41number of volunteer members as well.

31:47Couple other exciting things and I threw

31:48this picture in here for a reason is cuz

31:50it's something we're pretty proud of. We

31:51just celebrated the graduation of the

31:53funding enabled us to develop an

31:55inaugural pilot program in partnership

31:57with Virginia Tech with their School of

31:59Public and International Affairs for the

32:01development of a new first-line

32:02supervisor buddy to boss training

32:04program.

32:06And we're able to um

32:08in addition to other support vehicles

32:09and support equipment one of our values

32:11is clinical excellence and we're able to

32:13implement and deploy several new

32:15exciting clinical initiatives including

32:18new pharmaceuticals we have out there,

32:21automated ventilators we put out there.

32:22We're now doing point-of-care

32:24ultrasound. Um

32:26the medics are cuz I have no idea what

32:27they're looking at. It looks still looks

32:29like a gray screen to me. Um but we're

32:31doing point-of-care ultrasound out there

32:33and IV pumps on every new ambulance.

32:39EMS billing has also allowed us to be

32:40intentional in our strategic planning

32:42and we recently completed a

32:44collaborative process with our

32:45stakeholders

32:47uh with the McChrystal Group to identify

32:49our initiatives for the coming years.

32:54I believe you have this in front of you

32:55as a handout or or available to you as a

32:57handout. So, I'm certainly not going to

32:59try to read it to you.

33:02Um I'll talk a little bit about some

33:03specific initiatives here.

33:10We'll have um through the next 2 years,

33:12we're going to continue to um

33:14concert or or concentrate our efforts to

33:17pursue a continued needed staffing and

33:20with the with the hopeful ability to be

33:22able to provide the funding source for

33:23that. Further standardization of

33:25equipment and ambulances throughout the

33:27system. Further um develop leadership

33:30opportunities and leadership development

33:32opportunities. And for the first time,

33:34we're going to form a formally pursue

33:37industry recognized accreditation as a

33:39department.

33:43So, let me

33:44real quick, Mayor, if I could, I'm

33:46sorry. Um

33:48this I wanted to tell you a little bit

33:49about this picture here real quick. So,

33:50before I wrap up, I did want to take the

33:52opportunity to recognize and thank our

33:53amazing support team who implement

33:56implemented and manage the EMS billing

33:57program. Can you wave Raise your hand

33:59and wave?

34:00Thank you so much. It wouldn't be done

34:01without them.

34:03Um

34:04and I also I had hoped to be able to

34:05introduce her. Um unfortunately, she had

34:07mom duties,

34:09certainly a priority, but I wanted to

34:10introduce Captain Bailey Hartley to you,

34:12which she's in the photograph there, the

34:14woman in the middle of the top photo and

34:15next to me in the bottom photo.

34:17Um Bailey developed the EMS Cult Kits,

34:20which stands for Communicate, Observe,

34:22Lighten, and Treat,

34:25which are these kits that we put one on

34:27each ambulance, which includes um items

34:29to be able to make um an experience in

34:31the ambulance less frightening for the

34:32neurodivergent community and those that

34:34may be on the spectrum. And so we have

34:36earmuffs, we have glasses, we have

34:38fidgets, there's a card for paramedics

34:40to be able to point to pictures to help

34:42communicate, etc. And it's pretty

34:43exciting that just earlier this month

34:45Bailey was

34:47recognized in Orlando, Florida as the

34:49national winner of a pediatric

34:51excellence award for the development of

34:53this kit. So we're certainly very proud

34:54of her.

35:01And with that, I have opportunity to

35:03take any questions you may have.

35:04>> Okay, any questions from anybody?

35:07Ouch. Ouch.

35:08>> I was just going to say congratulations

35:10on the

35:10>> Okay. So and then the other is the

35:12accreditation that'll be good to to go

35:14through that process. So that'll help

35:17It'll just help help us find some

35:18things, you know. I always say it's just

35:19like raking the yard, raking the leaves,

35:22you know, figuring it out where it where

35:23you need to do a little work and and get

35:25better. So it'll be good and you know,

35:28the other departments, I'm sure will be

35:29there to help you

35:30get through it and so on. It's good

35:32work. And the billing, obviously the EMS

35:35billing, you know, we we said for a long

35:37time it would be it'd be good, it'd be

35:39painless for the most part. We

35:41appreciate you three up there very much.

35:43So and now we, you know, we've got some

35:45extra revenue coming in. So it's nice.

35:48>> Yes, sir. Thank you.

35:49>> [clears throat and cough]

35:50>> And let me Barbara.

35:53>> Talking a little bit about how much

35:54everybody appreciates your work as well

35:57as the other first responders. I just

35:59want to remind you that tomorrow the

36:01folks down on the southern part of the

36:02city at the senior resource center want

36:04to say thank you to all of our first

36:06responders and you're all invited down

36:07for lunch. Just come by sometime between

36:1011:00 and 2:00 and

36:12let everybody thank you for all that you

36:14do because we certainly appreciate it.

36:16>> Yes, ma'am. I think we we certainly have

36:18staff that do plan to. I hope to make

36:19it. I can't guarantee that I will, but

36:21but I know we will have leadership and

36:23some response staff down there

36:24attending.

36:25>> Thank you very much.

36:26>> Yes, ma'am.

36:27>> Yeah, once again, as the saying goes, if

36:28it's a fact that ain't bragging,

36:31and the fact is that we are considered

36:33one of the, if not the most safe city in

36:36this great nation.

36:38And that's a big deal.

36:39And when you talk about police, sheriff,

36:41fire, EMS, and let's not forget 911,

36:45Commonwealth attorney,

36:47you know, once again, you know, to make

36:49make sure that we keep that status and

36:52maintain the quality of life,

36:54we're going to need to do what we have

36:56to do.

36:57And confrontation with reality about

37:01what what's forthcoming with a lot of

37:03things. You know, we're going to have a

37:05lot of things on the table at this

37:07upcoming budget season. But once again,

37:10you know, public safety has to be the

37:13priority. Thank you.

37:14>> Thank you.

37:17>> Okay.

37:21>> How was that, Mayor? So, no more

37:22presentations from staff.

37:23>> Okay. Just wanted to

37:26uh

37:27>> Some comments?

37:28>> Yeah, no, we want to do

37:30what we discussed with the

37:32trial last Friday.

37:33>> Okay. So.

37:35>> Okay.

37:36>> Yes, Mayor, we're ready to give you an

37:37update. The next person you'll hear from

37:39is Chris Boyton, the head of our

37:40litigation section.

37:42>> Yeah.

37:42>> [snorts]

37:47>> You know, I thought it was important you

37:49know, to keep the public in the loop.

37:51You know, once again, there's a lot of

37:52controversies going around you know, in

37:54the nation, in the Commonwealth, and in

37:56our city.

37:57And I'm just being forthright, you know,

37:59just to keep people in the loop about

38:02what's going on. Chris.

38:03>> Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor,

38:05members of Council. Thank you for your

38:07time today. Um

38:09as you most of you know, on Friday, um

38:12there was a court hearing. Uh Honorable

38:15Rebecca B. Smith of the Eastern District

38:17uh U.S. District Court held a hearing to

38:19address certain preliminary motions

38:22uh in the matter of SSFF

38:25Conservation Initiative and Clarkson

38:27versus City, which is the lawsuit

38:30challenging the Virginia Beach National

38:32Golf Course sale.

38:34During a four-plus-hour hearing, the

38:36court focused its questions on whether

38:38the plaintiffs have legal standing to

38:40pursue their claims,

38:42whether and to what extent procedural

38:44errors made by plaintiffs should impact

38:47the remainder of the case, and whether

38:50and to what extent plaintiffs' various

38:52legal claims are viable under applicable

38:55law as asserted now three different

38:58versions of the complaint filed by the

39:01plaintiffs to date.

39:03While the court denied

39:05the plaintiffs' motion to disqualify

39:07Wilcox and Savage, the law firm that's

39:09outside counsel representing the city

39:11defendants, and so that that there's no

39:14conflicts issue going forward.

39:16Um,

39:17it otherwise deferred ruling at the

39:19hearing on Friday. So, it did not take

39:21action then.

39:23Yesterday, the court entered two orders

39:25that are procedural in nature. The first

39:28one gives the all of the defendants for

39:32a full 14 days to file a response brief

39:37addressing

39:39the motion for leave to amend the

39:41plaintiffs have filed as to the most

39:44recent proposed amended complaint, which

39:46was just lodged a day or two before the

39:48hearing last Friday. So, we haven't had

39:50a full 14 days to brief it, and so the

39:53court has given us that opportunity now.

39:56And then the second order requires the

39:58plaintiffs to provide certain documents

40:00to the court on a very tight timeline.

40:03The documents address issues that the

40:06court sees with

40:07SFF Conservation Initiative Inc.'s

40:11potential standing to pursue claims. So,

40:13the court's ordered Um, plaintiffs to

40:16provide the articles of incorporation

40:18and the uh bi- corporate bylaws for that

40:21entity. And then there is a proposed new

40:24plaintiff, uh Nikia Heath. And uh as to

40:28her potential standing in the case, the

40:31court has asked uh the plaintiffs to

40:33produce evidence that she is in fact uh

40:36an a property heir to the parcel that is

40:40at issue in regard to her ownership and

40:43and the allegations that have been set

40:45forth in the most recent version of the

40:47proposed amended complaint. I think the

40:49takeaway is that these orders make clear

40:53that the court is currently focused on

40:55whether the plaintiffs have standing to

40:57pursue uh

40:59uh their claims. And then secondarily

41:01whether any [snorts] amended complaint,

41:04the the third version or some later

41:06version, would be futile um given um you

41:10know that the the number of claims,

41:13however many you list, they all have to

41:16be

41:17claims that can potentially be viable

41:19and successful in court. And there's

41:21there's substantial question about if if

41:24if one or more of those claims can

41:26actually go forward even if they can

41:28amend the factual allegations. So,

41:30that's where we stand. Uh we're going to

41:32be filing a brief within 14 days on

41:33behalf of the city. The BBDA will file a

41:36brief. The the Dragas uh companies will

41:38file its brief. And then the court will

41:41uh take um further information at that

41:43point and and we'll get to a decision on

41:46this motion for leave to amend, which is

41:48the the current operative motion before

41:50the court. Happy to answer any

41:51questions.

41:52>> You know, if I could uh make a few

41:54comments here. And uh you know, once

41:56again,

41:57>> [snorts]

41:57>> you know, we live in a very challenging

41:59time, you know, in this nation, in our

42:02commonwealth, in our city.

42:04And I think what we're going through, I

42:06think many cities are also going through

42:08in a very big way.

42:10And if you look at things objectively,

42:13uh the nation is overcome

42:15by hate, anger, and violence. It's

42:17everywhere.

42:19And these are the other issues that that

42:21we deal with. And

42:23and things I really think, my personal

42:26view, got exacerbated since COVID. I

42:28mean, things were in a

42:31state of nat- national temper tantrum,

42:34uh going on.

42:36Uh people are mad at their neighbors,

42:37they're mad at something.

42:39And uh you know, obviously, elected

42:42officials are not exempt.

42:43>> [snorts]

42:44>> Elections and controversies sometimes

42:46bring out the worst in people. You know,

42:49when conduct and lack of civility and

42:51things of this nature.

42:53And in talking to the other mayors in

42:55the 757, this is not unique.

42:59And uh once again, the influence of TV.

43:01My goodness, if you watch those TV ads

43:05that are out there nowadays, you know,

43:07for the national elections, in fact.

43:10My goodness, it seems everybody's

43:11corrupt.

43:13And that is the number one word that

43:15gets thrown out, you know, during any

43:16conv- any election. And uh I was born in

43:201950, I've lived through 13 presidents.

43:24And all the time I've grown up, I heard

43:26about government being corrupt and

43:29bloated bureaucracies and things of this

43:31nature. It's nothing new.

43:33Uh but I think a lot of times with

43:35social media and media and everything,

43:37it just gets exacerbated and it really

43:40puts people at odds with each other.

43:42Um and one of the examples, you know, as

43:45we come up with our solutions to the

43:47housing crisis.

43:49You know, we're being criticized.

43:51But once again, I'm going to reiterate.

43:54And you know, some of the misinformation

43:56that has been out there, you know,

43:58people are now saying there is no

44:00housing crisis that we really need to

44:02confront.

44:03And the point is the housing crisis is a

44:06national thing. It is a Commonwealth

44:09thing.

44:10And I can tell you that it's affecting

44:12all the other cities, you know, within

44:14the you know, the 757.

44:16And we made it a commitment. And once

44:19again, I'm getting ready to go to the

44:21Pentagon on Thursday and I will be

44:24talking to every assistant or um

44:27you know, under secretary of defense and

44:30their prime prime request of the cities

44:34is to confront housing

44:37and daycare

44:38because of military readiness. But the

44:41thing is in some quarters, we are being

44:44criticized

44:45uh because once again, if when it comes

44:48to housing

44:49you know, the you know, the uh folks

44:51come out of the woodwork.

44:52And uh you know, once again, it it's a

44:54controversial thing, but I think the

44:57reasons that we're making the decisions

44:59that we do on these projects

45:02are um you know, subject to scrutiny,

45:05but be assured

45:07that we are doing that to confront the

45:08crisis. And what we also hear about

45:11housing assessments going up, which is

45:13driving the cost of taxes going up. And

45:16the reason they're going up is because

45:19we do not have the inventory of houses.

45:23Now, from my understanding from the

45:24Hampton Roads Realtors Association,

45:27we're something like 3,300

45:30homes underwater.

45:32And that's why even though we keep our

45:33tax rate the same.

45:36You know, people are moving to Virginia

45:38Beach for all the right reasons because

45:40of things I'll bring up later.

45:43And uh

45:45And once again, you know, and it's

45:47everywhere and it's local.

45:49A lot of the election rhetoric that's

45:51out there, whether it be on the

45:52airwaves, social media, or everywhere

45:55it really involves character

45:56assassination.

45:58And I find that problematic and I think

46:00a lot of people uh find that

46:02problematic.

46:03And you know, the fact that some people

46:05are just willing to tarnish reputations

46:08to receive their own self-serving gains,

46:11you know, I find it troubling.

46:13And when we talk about, you know, the

46:15controversial with the type you know,

46:17the TPC golf course,

46:19uh these have been

46:22using regulations, processes

46:26that we've have been using in Virginia

46:28Beach for quite a long time.

46:30You know, decades.

46:32And uh you know, recently

46:34uh

46:35you know, I am just finished teaching a

46:37course in uh local government.

46:41And uh you know, a lot of the students

46:43are shocked of the complexity and the

46:45magnitude of the laws, the rules, and

46:49regulations that encumber us as we go

46:52forward, you know, trying to make

46:54decisions.

46:56And we are also subject to audit, public

46:59scrutiny, and things of that nature. But

47:02I want to give you assurances that

47:03things that we have done

47:06have been according to Hoyle.

47:08And in terms of the secret meetings, you

47:11know, I can be assured, you know, our

47:13city attorneys

47:15are diligent in making sure that we

47:18subscribe to the laws. And as a matter

47:21of fact, when I do a reading on the

47:23closed session,

47:24there has to be significant cause to do

47:28this because of competition and any

47:31other number of reasons to give people

47:33that fair shot, you know, to do what we

47:36got to do.

47:37And uh

47:39and the other thing I think is, you

47:40know, very important that in this age of

47:44just conflict out there, that anyone

47:47serves in any elected capacity have the

47:50ability to work collegially with other

47:52people because that's how you get the

47:55things done

47:56in this format, especially in this type

47:58of government. Whether you like it or

48:00not, you have to find at least five

48:02friends to get six green lights to get

48:04anything, you know, accomplished.

48:07And that once again, you know, what one

48:09of the things I'm proud about with our

48:10current council is that we do work

48:13collegially. We don't always agree.

48:16But we also want to try to work exactly

48:18for the same reason.

48:20And, you know, as I'm just saying

48:23that I think as we go forward you know,

48:26we have to we have a good a vision that

48:29we're going to have to confront the

48:32the future.

48:34And, you know, the thing about

48:36draconian budget cuts and everything you

48:38know, we looked at a neutral base you

48:41know, revenue. And one thing we do we

48:44have to maintain our quality of life. We

48:46have to maintain

48:48our you know, you know, our status going

48:51forward.

48:52And but once again

48:55the thing is we do not want to go into a

48:57situation where we have to do layoffs,

49:01cut services, or things of that nature.

49:03And that's trying to find that delicate

49:06balance is going to be a a you know, a

49:09challenge to anyone that's going to be

49:11sitting at this table.

49:13And when you think about the things that

49:14we're going to have to confront

49:16when we think about storm water

49:19you know, our $567 million bond

49:22referendum is now $1.6 billion. Well,

49:25guess what? That's only the start from

49:27what I understand. We're going to be

49:29paying this stuff in perpetuity.

49:31When you take a look at all the CIP

49:34roads and infrastructure projects that

49:36we have on queue that we're not able to

49:39do right now because we're trying to

49:41keep the tax rate

49:43going.

49:44Well, we have 85 schools in Virginia

49:47Beach and a lot of them need replacement

49:49or modernization.

49:51We're talking significant dollars there.

49:54Public safety,

49:55uh police academy,

49:57the uh updating the courthouse, the

49:59aquarium, Nimmo Parkway,

50:02and you know, developing all new revenue

50:05sources. It's going to be incumbent to

50:07do that. So, once again, you know, once

50:10again, you know, as politicians, we know

50:11we're going to take heat. You know, that

50:13comes with the turf.

50:15But once again, if we can all make it an

50:17appeal,

50:18you know, and you know, for civility,

50:20but not only at this body, but

50:22everywhere.

50:23You know, my goodness, you can't turn on

50:25the TV, you can't go to YouTube

50:28without, you know, just negative,

50:29negative, negative.

50:31And you know, my hope is that we,

50:34you know, we will

50:35Virginia Beach will be vindicated.

50:38That we have been doing the right thing

50:41for decades.

50:43But once again, we live in challenging

50:45times, but once again, I think it's all

50:47through us to us to embrace

50:50future.

50:51And uh but once again, every time we

50:53vote, we're going to be make some people

50:55very unhappy.

50:57That comes with the turf. But once

50:59again, thank you uh for the opportunity

51:02uh to express myself. I tell you what, I

51:04personally am very proud

51:06of Virginia Beach

51:08because let me just say this.

51:11Uh when we think about, you know, since

51:14the last election 2022, what we have

51:16accomplished

51:18as a as a group.

51:20New York Times says we're one of the top

51:2253 destinations in the entire world for

51:25people to come to visit.

51:27We are continuing in the top 10

51:30for being rated nationally of highest

51:33quality of life and best managed city.

51:37And then we talk about the safest city.

51:40And you know, when we talk about a lot

51:42of people retire here. A lot of them,

51:45especially military people, still stay

51:47here. At the last change of command at

51:50Oceana, there were nine former

51:54commanding officers that still live in

51:55the beach. And that's amazing.

51:58And NATO

51:59uh NATO is in Norfolk, but it was told

52:02by the supreme commander just a couple

52:04months ago 90% of NATO prefer to live in

52:08Virginia Beach. Why? Quality life,

52:11schools, safety.

52:13Uh and then at recent event at the

52:16Hampton Roads Realtors Association

52:19I was told that almost 60%

52:22of the thought was of 5,000 members in

52:25the Hampton Roads military choose

52:27Virginia Beach to live in.

52:29And you got to think that's for a

52:31reason.

52:32But once again

52:33uh

52:35we're we're going to face some

52:37challenges.

52:38And yes, we will be interacting as we

52:41always do with the public.

52:43But you know, once again, our our idea

52:46is to survive the future.

52:48And I think we can do that together. But

52:50you know, forgive me for

52:51going on there, but

52:53you know, our city is worth worthy of

52:55defense for what we have done.

52:58Anybody else?

53:00Barbara.

53:01>> On another topic.

53:02>> Okay, yeah, I think we can wrap up

53:04there. Yeah. Thank you all for the

53:06indulgence. Uh Stacy, did you want to

53:07add something on that?

53:08>> I just want to say

53:09uh what

53:10people may not be aware of

53:12uh city manager brought it to my

53:14attention, but

53:15there's a city policy that was

53:17instituted and I believe in 2014 by the

53:19city council

53:21that outlines the the procedures

53:24uh that the city manager and staff are

53:28to use in evaluating and working with

53:32unsolicited

53:33um

53:35proposals to to the city.

53:38And you know

53:40everything that to my knowledge uh

53:43everything that's been done

53:45so far in this,

53:47uh especially in the VP National, has

53:49been done in accordance with that

53:50policy. And this the sad thing is is

53:53that some of the people that are the

53:54most vocal about spreading this

53:56misinformation are very familiar with

53:58that policy and they're very familiar

54:00with um

54:02the the

54:03procedures that were

54:04uh

54:06that had to go through

54:07and that we're implementing. So, the

54:09spreading of information almost seems

54:11deliberate and um especially if you if

54:14you know this policy and it's been

54:16followed

54:17for the last over decade. And and there

54:20was nothing new

54:22in this and it's just really unfortunate

54:24that seemingly for political purposes

54:27people are spreading this misinformation

54:30and accusing council of doing, you know,

54:32backroom deals and and uh having secret

54:36meetings when everything that was done

54:38was in accordance with

54:40this policy that was implemented by a

54:42previous city council.

54:44>> Is anybody else at this point?

54:48Okay, Barbara. Uh we're on to the other

54:49thing.

54:50>> I found something that people like.

54:53So, let's kind of get to be a little

54:55more positive here.

54:56Uh last week I mentioned that uh

55:00the uh Green Ribbon Committee was hoping

55:03that uh

55:05the proposal would for mature trees

55:09could be used as a part of best

55:11management practices in making the

55:14requirements that are required uh since

55:18saplings are counted, mature trees

55:20should be counted. And

55:22I have to tell you I got a lot of calls

55:24of people wanted to know what I was

55:26talking about with trees. People do love

55:29their trees. And uh I think it's a very

55:31positive thing that I wanted to share

55:34with you. And they wanted to know what

55:35kind of what was that special tree that

55:38I mentioned. So, if I can just have two

55:39or three minutes, I want to tell you.

55:42Um

55:43the

55:46way back before I was even on the

55:48council, I think the the intent was that

55:51Virginia Beach would be a tree city.

55:53I don't know what happened to that, but

55:56trees have been a

55:57something very important, I think, over

55:59the past several years of the city. And

56:02I kind of hope we would

56:03get back to that that thought. I know

56:05for a time there,

56:07we would

56:08determine champion trees for various

56:11categories and so forth. I did talk with

56:14um

56:15uh some of the folks in the arborist and

56:17and the tree part of our city. I think

56:20Frank Fincher is I asked him if he could

56:22get a listing for me of the trees that

56:25we enumerated as being

56:27special. I think there's one of them on

56:29our farm, actually. And the one that I

56:32was referring to is called the freedom

56:35oak.

56:36And it's on the John Williams farm. And

56:39um

56:40it's it's a a really beautiful tree uh

56:44that uh

56:45and I I think this is Lynnhaven River

56:47now that maybe has this designation of

56:49notable trees uh that this particular

56:52tree uh which is something like 275

56:55years old uh is a part of. And and I

56:59think it's it's very important that we

57:02know that we are concerned about such a

57:05thing as our old trees and what it does

57:08for

57:09uh for the city.

57:10And I I hope that we can can kind of uh

57:14get back to this uh

57:16idea of important. I would really like

57:18to see a list of all of these trees that

57:20have been designated as champion trees

57:22in the city to see how many of them are

57:24still around.

57:26And what we are are doing to

57:29uh

57:30appreciate those things.

57:32But I really think that uh if we if we

57:36uh look a little bit farther

57:38uh and um

57:40make a an an effort to find these uh

57:44trees and make sure that we are doing

57:47what we need to do to protect them and

57:49preserve them. But I think having them

57:51recognized as a part of the BMP process

57:54will encourage developers instead of

57:56clearing a lot to leave these trees. And

57:59I think that's why this particular uh

58:02tree, what is called the Freedom Oak,

58:04why it's being challenged right now that

58:07it looks like it may be in the way of a

58:09planned development. And we really don't

58:12want that to happen. So, I hope we can

58:14can uh kind of uh rekindle

58:17uh this program that we had for years,

58:20see what we've got left, see what we've

58:22got around, and um and and see if we can

58:26increase the uh the attention that we're

58:29giving to our trees because I know that

58:31this is something that's very important

58:33uh to our folks. We talk about um

58:38a for uh not not just affordability, but

58:40but the the appearance of things. And

58:44this helps our city a lot. And I I think

58:47it's uh it's important. And if you want

58:49to make somebody really upset in their

58:51neighborhood, you start talking about

58:53cutting down their trees. And that's not

58:54going to go over very well. So, I hope

58:56we can rekindle this old project that we

58:59had and see where we are with it and

59:01what we can do going forward.

59:05>> I'm married.

59:05>> Yes, just wanted to mention with what

59:08you're talking about. There's an old

59:10tree. It has a man that goes and puts a

59:13little metal on it. And there's one in

59:15your district right by the uh

59:19that Baptist church.

59:22And they have the sign. And they're so

59:24excited about

59:25>> What is it?

59:26>> Morning Star.

59:26>> Morning Star.

59:27>> So, they have one.

59:29But they need to continue that because

59:31yeah, we are very much

59:34Uh, we want to keep all of these trees.

59:37And once I had to go back when I was um

59:39councilwoman for Kempsville,

59:42go down Newtown, and these people were

59:44mad because they didn't understand why

59:46the people on the other side, which was

59:48Norfolk,

59:49were cutting down the trees.

59:52So, you know, Virginia Beach people

59:54really care about their trees.

59:56>> Well, I like I say, I I don't know what

59:58it would take to to say that we're a

1:00:00tree city, but I hope we can restore

1:00:02that concept and

1:00:03make sure that we do go forward with

1:00:05that that idea.

1:00:08>> Okay.

1:00:10Anybody else? Rosemary?

1:00:11>> I just want to say I'm having a uh

1:00:14district community summit tomorrow night

1:00:16at Princess Anne Rec Center from 6:30 to

1:00:188:30.

1:00:19Uh, we've tried to get as much notice

1:00:20out as possible and

1:00:23uh we hope people will come out. And

1:00:24this is going to be an opportunity for

1:00:26us to hear from the public rather than

1:00:28us letting the public to hear from us.

1:00:30So, uh the staff has worked really hard

1:00:33uh to prepare for this. So, anyway, just

1:00:36want everybody to know about it.

1:00:38>> Okay, Barbara.

1:00:39>> That reminds me I I have a

1:00:41forum, of course, every fourth Thursday,

1:00:43and that's this coming Thursday. This

1:00:45will also be at the Princess Anne Rec

1:00:47Center because I had to be someplace

1:00:49that was open to the public all the

1:00:50time.

1:00:51And then we'll be going back to building

1:00:5319. So, uh

1:00:55District 2 forum is Thursday, uh 5:00,

1:00:585:15 at Princess Anne Rec Center.

1:01:00>> Councilor

1:01:01>> I was just this past weekend a couple of

1:01:03events at Mount Trashmore. I want to

1:01:04congratulate Tree Kelty with the Hampton

1:01:06Roads Black Food Festival. I know you

1:01:08were there, Mayor. And anyone else if I

1:01:10if I missed you, um but it was a great

1:01:12turnout considering how cold it was. So,

1:01:14people were holding their tents down,

1:01:16but still getting ribs and like it made

1:01:18it all work out. So, I want want

1:01:20her and the organizers of that event.

1:01:22And um

1:01:24last night or yesterday I took Olivia to

1:01:26where Wonder Grows. So we just walked So

1:01:28it's a couple days since it was I don't

1:01:30even know. It was really bad weather on

1:01:32Saturday, but

1:01:34uh it was Tuesday Monday, folks were

1:01:35just kind of going around Mount

1:01:37Trashmore and like their dogs and

1:01:38strollers and people were just kind of

1:01:40literally wandering over like, "What is

1:01:42this? And what's going on?" And it's

1:01:44very cool, very beautiful, and I we were

1:01:46leaving just as it was starting to light

1:01:48up. So we have to go back to see it once

1:01:50it's illuminated, but I believe the park

1:01:52hours

1:01:53if folks want to see it illuminated,

1:01:55they're extending the hours to 8:00 p.m.

1:01:57so that people can experience that. And

1:01:59this art is going to be displayed

1:02:01through December 16th. So um get out

1:02:04there. It's very cool and just a nice

1:02:07thing that um the arts uh and culture

1:02:10folks have done. So well done.

1:02:11>> Okay, great. Work.

1:02:14>> Thank you, Mayor. Uh I attended last

1:02:16Saturday night the second annual Zeke

1:02:18Creativity Awards at the Zeiders

1:02:20Theater. There were a lot of great

1:02:21nominees uh recognized, but Stacy

1:02:24Schiflett took the award for the night.

1:02:26So congratulations to her for She's very

1:02:28involved in our community. I'm glad she

1:02:29got that recognition. Oh, that's great.

1:02:32Good stuff.

1:02:34Hey, anybody else?

1:02:35Uh let me just say I'm delighted that

1:02:37this council

1:02:39uh does frequent engagements with people

1:02:42in their districts.

1:02:44And I think that's a really good way to

1:02:46keep a pulse on things, explain things,

1:02:49and

1:02:50communication's a two-way street. Thank

1:02:52you. Appreciate that.

1:02:55Okay, and uh

1:02:57any other council comments at all? Okay.

1:03:01Uh Mary.

1:03:03>> Uh under ordinance resolutions, is there

1:03:05any issues with any of these items?

1:03:09Seth?

1:03:10>> I would just like to comment on the uh

1:03:12legislative agenda. I think it's an

1:03:14extremely good presentation this year.

1:03:18For some reason they have elaborated on

1:03:20on all of the policies that we're

1:03:22requesting and have done a really good

1:03:24job of explaining each of these items. I

1:03:26think it's

1:03:27Somebody did an outstanding job of

1:03:28putting that together.

1:03:30>> Report.

1:03:33>> So under planning, number one, um

1:03:36the only speaker is the attorney and for

1:03:39it, so

1:03:40uh

1:03:41And then I think it's number seven there

1:03:43are speakers, one of them

1:03:46Bonnie.

1:03:47>> Bonnie Road.

1:03:50>> So you want to pull number

1:03:52It's number seven.

1:03:57>> [clears throat]

1:03:57>> Yeah.

1:03:57>> That's your report.

1:03:58>> Yeah. And Bonnie Road, so

1:04:02going back

1:04:06to number two uh James Baker and that is

1:04:09in District 5 and I'm fine with that. Uh

1:04:13just number three Jeffrey Foster, that's

1:04:16in District 5 and I'm fine with that.

1:04:19Number four, Jordan George Festelides

1:04:22and that's in District 6.

1:04:24>> Can I interrupt you for a minute,

1:04:25please?

1:04:27>> Uh

1:04:33Sorry.

1:04:35Uh Prime Storage District 6, they've

1:04:38requested a withdrawal. Everybody okay

1:04:40with that?

1:04:43Uh number six, 449

1:04:47London LLC and that is in District 3.

1:04:52>> They've requested deferral to another

1:04:53>> Do that with 10.

1:04:55Defer that.

1:05:09>> And of course number seven is being

1:05:11pulled. Number eight is

1:05:13Beach Vibe and that is in District 6.

1:05:15>> Consent agenda, please.

1:05:17>> And number nine, Wave Investment.

1:05:20That's District 6.

1:05:22>> Consent agenda, please.

1:05:25>> And that's

1:05:26And that's it.

1:05:26>> Black Bear on this number one. I'm

1:05:28sorry.

1:05:29Is that on consent?

1:05:30>> I've had no complaints, so I think

1:05:31everything's fine with that one.

1:05:33>> Okay, I I didn't know.

1:05:34>> There was right, there's one speaker who

1:05:37It's just the applicant. It's the

1:05:38attorney. And I said that.

1:05:40>> Okay, I didn't know. He only wants to

1:05:42speak if there's

1:05:43>> Black.

1:05:45>> Can I make two comments on

1:05:47item number eight, Beach Vibe stays on

1:05:50Cypress Avenue. That is a um

1:05:52taking an existing one-story office

1:05:54building, adding a second story for

1:05:57seven short-term rentals. So,

1:05:59essentially that's going to keep the

1:06:00office use on the bottom floor and add

1:06:02short-term rentals up uh on the second

1:06:05adjacent to nine other STRs. That is in

1:06:08a commercial area and that's why it's a

1:06:10mixed use and I support this

1:06:12application.

1:06:13And secondly, not on the agenda tonight,

1:06:15but should be on November 10th if anyone

1:06:17can confirm that, is the self-storage

1:06:20application on Alaskan Road with next to

1:06:23the former movie theater and

1:06:26I was disappointed it's not on the

1:06:27agenda tonight, but I'll waiting We'll

1:06:29wait till November 10th.

1:06:31Correct?

1:06:33>> It's been noticed for the 10th.

1:06:35>> Okay. Thank you.

1:06:37>> Okay, Stacy.

1:06:39>> Can I get a clarification

1:06:40>> on conditional number eight on number

1:06:41seven?

1:06:43>> That's the one on Bonnie Road.

1:06:44>> Yeah.

1:06:46>> What kind of clarification do you need?

1:06:48>> You said it was pulled. What

1:06:50>> Yes, it's pulled.

1:06:51>> We We have speakers.

1:06:52>> We have speakers.

1:06:53>> Okay. Yeah, that's that's why. Okay.

1:06:54Thank you.

1:06:56Thank you.

1:06:56>> Yeah.

1:06:57>> Okay, are we ready?

1:06:59Uh the chair will will entertain a

1:07:01motion to recess into a closed session

1:07:03pursuant to the exemptions from open

1:07:05meeting allowed by section 2.2 37 11A

1:07:10code of Virginia as amended for the

1:07:12following purposes. Public contract

1:07:14discussions of the award of a public

1:07:16contract involving the expenditure of

1:07:18public funds and discussion of the terms

1:07:21and scope of such contract when this

1:07:24discussion in an open would adversely

1:07:27affect [snorts] the bargaining position

1:07:29or negotiation of strategy of the public

1:07:32body pursuant to section 2.2

1:07:3637 11A 11A 29. Town Point Break Festival

1:07:41and Project Gap and personnel matters

1:07:45discussions, considerations, or

1:07:47interviews of prospective candidates for

1:07:50employment, assignment, appointment,

1:07:52[snorts] promotion,

1:07:53performance, demotion, salaries,

1:07:56disciplining, [snorts] or resignation of

1:07:59specific

1:08:00public officers, appointees, or

1:08:02employees of any public body

1:08:05pursuant to section 2.2 37 11A 1.

1:08:10Council appointments, boards,

1:08:12commissions, committees,

1:08:13authorities, agencies, and appointees.

1:08:16Do I have a motion?

1:08:17>> So moved.

1:08:18>> Second.

1:08:20>> Councilwoman Wooten?

1:08:21>> Aye.

1:08:22>> Councilwoman Thomas?

1:08:23>> Aye.

1:08:23>> Councilwoman Roundtree?

1:08:25>> Aye.

1:08:25>> [snorts]

1:08:25>> Councilwoman Batten Ramsey? Aye.

1:08:27Councilwoman Rennick?

1:08:27>> Aye.

1:08:28>> Councilwoman Rodman?

1:08:29>> Aye.

1:08:30>> Councilwoman Rawls?

1:08:30>> Aye.

1:08:31>> Councilwoman Schumann?

1:08:32>> Aye.

1:08:32>> Vice Mayor Wilson?

1:08:33>> Aye.

1:08:34>> Mayor Dyer?

1:08:34>> Aye.

1:08:35>> Councilwoman Zehr?

1:08:35>> Okay, we'll recess this into closed

1:08:37session.

1:08:47>> I'm going to call this meeting to order.

1:08:50And today we are privileged to have for

1:08:53our

1:08:53invocation the Reverend David Ettinger,

1:08:56pastor of Bay Lake United Methodist

1:08:58Church.

1:08:59Okay.

1:09:01If you are willing and willing and able,

1:09:03please stand.

1:09:09>> Thank you, Mayor.

1:09:11Let us pause now for a moment of

1:09:13reflection.

1:09:15Divine creator, we gather this evening

1:09:17with grateful hearts, remembering that

1:09:20the city is more than its buildings, its

1:09:22streets, or its boundaries.

1:09:24A city is its people.

1:09:26People of different backgrounds,

1:09:28beliefs, and traditions.

1:09:30United by the common hope that dignity

1:09:32will be honored and justice will

1:09:34prevail, and every person will matter.

1:09:37Bless those entrusted with the

1:09:38responsibility of leadership.

1:09:41Grant them wisdom beyond personal

1:09:43interest, courage beyond convenience,

1:09:45and patience in motions of disagreement.

1:09:49Remind us that leadership is not simply

1:09:51an exercise of authority,

1:09:53but a privilege of service that reaches

1:09:56into homes, touches families, and shapes

1:09:59futures.

1:10:01Grant us the humility to listen before

1:10:03we speak, the understanding to respect

1:10:05those with whom we disagree, and the

1:10:08courage to do what is right.

1:10:10We give thanks for all who serve and

1:10:12strengthen this city, often quietly,

1:10:14without recognition.

1:10:17And when the work of this evening is

1:10:18finished,

1:10:20may we have accomplished more than the

1:10:22business of government.

1:10:24May we have strengthened the bonds of

1:10:25this community.

1:10:27Guide our minds with wisdom, fill our

1:10:29hearts with compassion, and direct our

1:10:31actions in common good.

1:10:34So be it.

1:10:35>> Thank you. God bless you. And if we may

1:10:38now do a moment of silence, a silence

1:10:40for all of those who paid the ultimate

1:10:43price

1:10:44to protect our nation and the city of

1:10:46Virginia Beach.

1:10:55And thank you. Pledge of Allegiance.

1:10:58>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

1:11:01United States of America and to the

1:11:04republic for which it stands, one nation

1:11:07under God, indivisible, with liberty and

1:11:11justice for all.

1:11:12>> Thank you all very much.

1:11:15>> [snorts]

1:11:25>> Okie dokie.

1:11:29Madam Clerk, if we could have the roll

1:11:31call.

1:11:37>> I apologize.

1:11:38All present excluding Council Member

1:11:40Jackson Green who is absent.

1:11:42>> Okay, thank you very much. Um and now

1:11:45can I have a motion please for the

1:11:47certification of the closed session?

1:11:50>> So moved.

1:11:51>> Second.

1:11:52>> Okay, any discussion? Let's open the

1:11:55vote.

1:11:58>> The vote is open.

1:12:01>> [snorts]

1:12:03>> Can you go ahead and close it?

1:12:07By vote of 10 to 0, you certify the

1:12:09closed session to be in accordance with

1:12:10the motion to recess.

1:12:12>> Thank you.

1:12:13Do I have a motion to approve the

1:12:14minutes of the informal and formal

1:12:16sessions of October 6th, 2026

1:12:20and special uh formal session of October

1:12:2413th of 2026?

1:12:27>> So moved.

1:12:28>> Second.

1:12:32>> The vote is open.

1:12:36>> And Madam Clerk,

1:12:37I want to abstain on the October 13th as

1:12:40I was not here.

1:12:41>> Thank you. So by a vote of Close it.

1:12:47>> Okay.

1:12:47>> Nine to I'm sorry, nine to zero um with

1:12:50Council Member Lucci abstaining on both

1:12:51sets of minutes, and it'll be eight to

1:12:54zero for the October the 13th minutes.

1:12:56You have approved the minutes as

1:12:58submitted.

1:12:59>> Okay, thank you very much. Okay, now is

1:13:01the time that our city councilors look

1:13:04forward to, and that is the honoring

1:13:05individuals and groups that make us the

1:13:09city of Virginia Beach the great city

1:13:10that it is.

1:13:12The first one will be a resolution of

1:13:14Baylake United Methodist Church 70th

1:13:18Anniversary, and Reverend Endinger,

1:13:21pastor, come on back up.

1:13:23And reading of the of the resolution

1:13:25will be my friend and colleague, Josh

1:13:28Shulman.

1:13:31>> Thank you, Mayor.

1:13:33Um Reverend Endinger, that was a

1:13:35beautiful prayer you offered. Thank you

1:13:37very much, and it's an honor for me to

1:13:39read this resolution.

1:13:41I see members of uh your church

1:13:43community here,

1:13:44and welcome. Um

1:13:47a lot of friendly faces, and thank you

1:13:49for uh

1:13:50the great neighborhood relationship that

1:13:53you have with the folks in Baylake Pines

1:13:56and along the Bayfront.

1:13:58So, it gives me great pride to read the

1:14:00resolution. Whereas, [snorts] founded in

1:14:021956 under the sponsorship of Upworth

1:14:06Methodist Church in Norfolk, and with a

1:14:08membership of 75 people, Baylake United

1:14:11Methodist Church grew its congregation

1:14:14and membership to a thousand plus over

1:14:15the span of 70 years.

1:14:17And whereas, as years passed, what began

1:14:20as a vision to establish a Methodist

1:14:22presence in the growing Bayside

1:14:24community has become a vibrant

1:14:27congregation whose ministry has touched

1:14:29count- countless lives in Virginia Beach

1:14:32and around the world through worship,

1:14:34discipleship, outreach, and mission.

1:14:36And whereas, since 1993, Baylake United

1:14:39Methodist Church has sheltered and fed

1:14:42the homeless living in Virginia Beach by

1:14:44providing overnight shelter, meals,

1:14:46clothing, and personal care items,

1:14:49reflecting its commitment to caring for

1:14:51neighbors in practical and compassionate

1:14:53ways.

1:14:54And whereas Bay Lake United Methodist

1:14:56Church established a tree lot fundraiser

1:14:58that, over the last 70 years, has

1:15:01blossomed into a vital hub for

1:15:03hospitality and community connection

1:15:06with the proceeds from the tree sales

1:15:07supports the church church's outreach

1:15:10and community organizations.

1:15:12Whereas, for many years, Bay Lake United

1:15:14Methodist Church has prepared and

1:15:16distributed food bags to Bayside

1:15:17Elementary School, ensuring students

1:15:20have weekend meals. And whereas, in

1:15:222024, Bay Lake United Methodist Church

1:15:25reaffirmed its commitment to the

1:15:27community by embracing the General

1:15:29Conference

1:15:31of the United Methodist Church's

1:15:32decisions regarding the ordination of

1:15:35LGBTQ+ clergy and the celebration of

1:15:38same-sex marriages. And whereas, in

1:15:422026, Bay Lake United Methodist Church

1:15:44celebrated a 20-year partnership with

1:15:46Upward Sports through Upward Soccer

1:15:49League. This program has provided

1:15:51athletic experiences for children ages 3

1:15:53to 8th grade,

1:15:55resulting in a welcoming environment

1:15:57where children and families experience

1:15:59encouragement, teamwork, and God's love

1:16:02while also developing and improving

1:16:04their soccer skills.

1:16:05Volunteers from Bay Lake United

1:16:07Methodist Church have stepped into vital

1:16:09leadership roles, serving as league

1:16:11directors, coaches, referees, and moment

1:16:14of encouragement leaders each spring.

1:16:17And whereas Bay Lake United Methodist

1:16:19Church has a long history of supporting

1:16:20Boy Scouts of America and remains

1:16:23committed to Scouting America, which led

1:16:25to the establishment of Bay Lake youth

1:16:28programs encompassing Cub Scouts Pack 67

1:16:32and Scouts Troop 67 boys and Troop 5067

1:16:37girls. And whereas, through Bay Lake

1:16:40United Methodist Church's dedicated

1:16:42service over the years, the congregation

1:16:45has remained deeply committed through

1:16:47the following: The congregation care

1:16:49ministries faithfully support older

1:16:51adults, home-bound members, and those

1:16:54experiencing illness or hardship,

1:16:56including the pastors providing the

1:16:58spiritual needs of older adults living

1:17:00within the Baylake Retirement and

1:17:02Westminster Canterbury communities.

1:17:05Music ministries enrich worship through

1:17:07the gifts of the choir, while children,

1:17:10youth, adult small groups, and Sunday

1:17:11school classes provide opportunities for

1:17:14spiritual growth and fellowship. The

1:17:17endowment committee continues to invest

1:17:19in future generations through

1:17:21scholarship support. And wow, you guys

1:17:23are busy. Whereas through worship,

1:17:26education, missions, community outreach,

1:17:29and faithful stewardship, Baylake United

1:17:32Methodist Church has continually adapted

1:17:35to meet the needs of a changing

1:17:36community while remaining rooted in its

1:17:39beliefs. Now, therefore, be it resolved

1:17:41that the Virginia Beach City Council

1:17:43hereby celebrates the 70th anniversary

1:17:46of Baylake United Methodist Church and

1:17:48recognizes 70 years of dedication,

1:17:51success,

1:17:52untiring efforts, and tenacity of the

1:17:55congregation and its members. Given by

1:17:58the Council of the City of Virginia

1:17:59Beach, Virginia, this 20th day of

1:18:01October 2026, and presented this

1:18:04resolution duly signed by each member of

1:18:07the Virginia Beach City Council.

1:18:08Congratulations.

1:18:10Well deserved. RIGHT DOWN.

1:18:15>> [applause]

1:18:22>> CAN ALL MEMBERS OF THE BAYLAKE COME

1:18:24DOWN, PLEASE?

1:18:26This is my church.

1:18:41>> Come on in.

1:18:50Come on in.

1:18:52Keep coming out.

1:18:53>> All the way around.

1:18:58>> Thank you.

1:19:01Sorry, this chair.

1:19:24No blinking allowed.

1:19:30Thank you very much.

1:19:33>> Take Olivia to see the exhibit. She'll

1:19:36like it.

1:19:38>> [clears throat]

1:19:45[clears throat]

1:19:49>> Mr. Mayor, uh members of the City

1:19:51Council, we are honored uh tonight to to

1:19:53receive this resolution.

1:19:56And we look forward to serving our

1:19:58Virginia Beach community,

1:20:00particularly along Shore Drive uh in our

1:20:03area around our church for the uh years

1:20:05to come.

1:20:0670 more years is what we're looking for.

1:20:08So, uh we are uh

1:20:10here for the people of this community in

1:20:13whatever way they need us. And so, we

1:20:14thank you again

1:20:16for this resolution this evening. Thank

1:20:18you.

1:20:18>> And uh if I could say this, and thank

1:20:21you all for coming.

1:20:23Uh it's often said Virginia Beach is the

1:20:25war uh smallest large city because of

1:20:28the people

1:20:29that were the relationships that we

1:20:31have.

1:20:32>> [gasps]

1:20:33>> And one thing I found out over time, and

1:20:35I'm sure council members agree,

1:20:37>> [sighs and gasps]

1:20:38>> you know, one of the strength of

1:20:39Virginia Beach is our faith-based

1:20:41communities of many faiths. And it's a

1:20:44glue that holds us together, that

1:20:46defines us as the great city of Virginia

1:20:48Beach. So, I just want to sincerely

1:20:50thank you and everybody that came, and

1:20:53thank you for helping make Virginia

1:20:55Beach the great city that it is. Thank

1:20:57you and God bless you. Thank you, Mr.

1:20:59Mayor. THANK YOU, COUNCIL.

1:21:01>> [applause]

1:21:05>> NOW, THIS IS NOT ON THE AGENDA, BUT WE

1:21:07HAVE a very special presentation.

1:21:10Stacey Cummings, please.

1:21:13>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

1:21:17We have a resolution honoring a

1:21:20long-time employee of the city and a uh

1:21:23great servant and supporter of the city,

1:21:26Phil Davenport.

1:21:28I'd like to read this resolution from

1:21:29the city council.

1:21:32Whereas, Philip A. Phil Davenport

1:21:34accepted a position with the city in

1:21:361973

1:21:38and dedicated 44 years serving much of

1:21:40his career in the Department of Public

1:21:42Works. And whereas, Phil earned a

1:21:45Bachelor of Psychology from Old Dominion

1:21:49University,

1:21:50a Master Certificate from George

1:21:52Washington University in Governmental

1:21:54Contracting, an Associate Certificate

1:21:56from George Washington University in

1:21:58Project Management, and a Certificate

1:22:01from Old Dominion University in Conflict

1:22:03Management. And whereas, throughout his

1:22:05tenure with the city, Phil took on

1:22:08countless roles and responsibilities,

1:22:10beginning his career in the Purchasing

1:22:12Division, and then transferred to Public

1:22:14Works Highway Division as a Highway

1:22:17Accountant.

1:22:18From there, he secured positions in

1:22:20multiple divisions within Public Works,

1:22:23including Business Office Administrator,

1:22:26Administrative Service Managers,

1:22:28Business Manager, and assumed

1:22:31management of the contracts office.

1:22:34In 2005, he took on the role of acting

1:22:36technical services administrator.

1:22:39In 2006 and again in 2011, he assumed

1:22:43the role of interim director acting

1:22:45director of public works. On July 1st,

1:22:482014, Phil was named the director of

1:22:51public works and continued until he

1:22:53retired on December 31st, 2017.

1:22:58And whereas Phil was instrumental in the

1:23:00creation of a number of programs that

1:23:02helped innovate public works, including

1:23:05the stormwater enterprise fund and the

1:23:07Virginia Energy Purchasing Governmental

1:23:09Association for collective bargaining

1:23:12with Virginia Power. And whereas Phil

1:23:15served on a variety of boards and

1:23:17commissions during his tenure with the

1:23:19city, including chair of the city's

1:23:21transportation committee, Hampton Roads

1:23:24Utilities Coordinating Committee,

1:23:26Southeastern Public Service Authority as

1:23:29an alternate ex officio of chair of the

1:23:33regional public works and utilities

1:23:35planning.

1:23:37And whereas Phil's exemplary public

1:23:39service helped establish the foundation

1:23:42for public works, allowing for effective

1:23:44service to the city and its citizens.

1:23:47He left behind a remarkable record of

1:23:48accomplishments.

1:23:50And whereas on April 16th, 2018,

1:23:53following Phil's retirement, he was

1:23:55appointed by the city council to the

1:23:57Bayfront Advisory Commission for an

1:23:59unexpired term through June 30th, 2020.

1:24:03Following the appointment, he was

1:24:05reappointed on June 23rd, 2020, June

1:24:086th,

1:24:092023, and May 19th, 2026,

1:24:13each 3-year terms.

1:24:15Phil served as chair from February 2022

1:24:19December 2024 and remained on the

1:24:22commission through June 2026.

1:24:25While serving, he advocated for funding

1:24:27and implementation for a variety of

1:24:30major CIP projects, reviewed planning

1:24:32commission items, and provided

1:24:34recommendations to the city council.

1:24:37Phil strived to improve communication

1:24:39between the city and its Bayfront

1:24:41residents by providing monthly updates

1:24:43on public service work projects, and

1:24:45reestablished the committee structure,

1:24:48allowing for deeper discussions on

1:24:49topics such as infrastructure, design,

1:24:53communications, and local issues. And

1:24:55whereas on this day, we honor a public

1:24:57servant and leader who deserves

1:25:00permanent recognition for his decades of

1:25:02service and his enduring contributions

1:25:05to the city of Virginia Beach.

1:25:07Now, therefore, be it resolved by the

1:25:09city council of the city of Virginia

1:25:11Beach, Virginia, Philip A.

1:25:15Phil Davenport is hereby recognized and

1:25:18honored for his extraordinary

1:25:20leadership, unwavering commitment to our

1:25:22city. Given this,

1:25:24the city council of Virginia Beach,

1:25:27Virginia, this 20th day of October 2026,

1:25:31and presented this resolution duly

1:25:33signed by each member of the Virginia

1:25:35Beach City Council.

1:25:37Thank you. Would somebody be so kind to

1:25:39help Phil, you know, COME ON UP?

1:25:42>> [applause]

1:25:51[applause]

1:25:53>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING DOWN. YOU

1:25:54CAN FOLLOW MY WIFE.

1:25:55>> THANK YOU.

1:25:57>> [clears throat]

1:26:04>> I'm going to check this out.

1:26:06>> [clears throat]

1:26:10>> This is nice.

1:26:11>> No.

1:26:12>> This is nice.

1:26:13>> Thank you.

1:26:17>> Hi.

1:26:21>> Do you want him here at this time?

1:26:22>> Yeah, I want him over here.

1:26:23>> Over here?

1:26:24>> Yeah.

1:26:25How are you doing?

1:26:27>> Good.

1:26:28How are you doing, boss?

1:26:29>> Doing well.

1:26:56>> Craig, you need to stand.

1:27:02You need to stand.

1:27:03>> I'll work around it.

1:27:18Now what?

1:27:20>> We're going to punt.

1:27:28>> [laughter]

1:27:29>> Oh.

1:27:30Heaven forbid.

1:27:36>> Okay, looking right here, please.

1:27:39Ooh, I get a microphone.

1:27:44>> And I'm not seeing the flash go.

1:27:59>> Congratulations, and thank you.

1:28:03>> [applause]

1:28:10>> Okay.

1:28:18>> Does it face

1:28:19Which way do you want it?

1:28:20>> Right this way.

1:28:21>> This way?

1:28:21>> Just keep spinning it.

1:28:23>> You can come on up.

1:28:24Thank you for

1:28:25>> So, do you want to hold it or do you

1:28:26want to speak into this?

1:28:27>> No, just speak into it.

1:28:28>> Okay, yes, sir.

1:28:29Introduce yourself to the camera.

1:28:32Whatever you want to do.

1:28:33>> Is

1:28:34Is it good?

1:28:34>> Yes.

1:28:35>> All right.

1:28:39>> Okay. I think it's

1:28:40>> Okay. Um

1:28:43Thank all of you.

1:28:47You kept me here

1:28:4944 years.

1:28:51>> [laughter]

1:28:53>> So,

1:28:55I really thank you.

1:28:56This is a wonderful place to work.

1:28:59I

1:29:00I wish

1:29:02>> [sighs]

1:29:02>> everybody could have

1:29:05the same

1:29:07>> [sighs]

1:29:08>> same experience.

1:29:10>> [laughter]

1:29:14>> Sorry.

1:29:16Yeah, but thank all of you.

1:29:19You're doing a great job.

1:29:22Just like you did most of the time when

1:29:24I was here.

1:29:25>> [laughter]

1:29:27>> We had to film.

1:29:30>> [sighs]

1:29:31>> But thank you thank you.

1:29:33And I really

1:29:34really appreciate this.

1:29:37It's too much. Too much.

1:29:40Yeah.

1:29:41>> Well, let me say Phil that we are a

1:29:43grateful city.

1:29:45You know, we've been around since 1963

1:29:48and it's been just a wonderful place and

1:29:50a wonderful place to live, work, and

1:29:52play for so many people over that time.

1:29:55And it's people like you that helped

1:29:57build that legacy of what we are today.

1:30:01It started with your hard work and

1:30:03efforts over time doing so many

1:30:06wonderful things, taking a small city

1:30:10and evolving it into the magnificent

1:30:12city that it is. So, we are very

1:30:15grateful to you and your family and all

1:30:17your supportive friends. Thank you and

1:30:20God bless you. We love you. Take care.

1:30:22>> Well, and as much

1:30:24as much as I thank you,

1:30:26I thank my wife, really,

1:30:29because she has

1:30:32always supported me.

1:30:33>> Oh, yeah. I'll tell you what. That

1:30:35that's But once again, you you and your

1:30:38family and everybody that you're

1:30:40surrounded with,

1:30:41the honor and respect to you, Phil

1:30:43Davenport. Thank you and God bless you.

1:30:45>> And I will just say one more one more

1:30:47thing, if I may, which is

1:30:51you know, I I congratulate the church

1:30:54that was founded in 1950,

1:30:57council

1:30:58in '63,

1:31:00and I was a little bit ahead of

1:31:03you and the church.

1:31:05>> [laughter]

1:31:06>> Maybe one day you'll catch up with me.

1:31:10>> You got it.

1:31:11Hey, God bless you and thank you, folks.

1:31:15Phil Davenport, his wonderful family and

1:31:17friends.

1:31:21Okay, now I understand we have some Boy

1:31:22Scouts here.

1:31:24Hey, Boy Scouts, come on down.

1:31:31>> [snorts]

1:31:31>> And their leader, too.

1:31:42Yeah, go on to the podium.

1:31:45Welcome.

1:31:49Hey, and you folks are also with Bay

1:31:51Lake Methodist?

1:31:52>> Um

1:31:53I am.

1:31:54He's he's a member. He's actually from

1:31:55another troop that that they're friends.

1:31:57>> but that's good, too. Okay. And

1:32:00please have the young man say his name.

1:32:02Introduce yourself.

1:32:05>> My name is Owen.

1:32:07>> Okay, come on up. I got something for

1:32:09you.

1:32:10Now you, my friend.

1:32:12And this is a city pen.

1:32:14>> Hello, my name is Justin.

1:32:18>> Hey, come on up.

1:32:22And Scoutmaster, you are the one that

1:32:24put in your time, talent, and treasure

1:32:25into everything. Introduce yourself.

1:32:29>> I'm James. I'm actually one of the

1:32:30committee members. The Scoutmaster's um

1:32:33actually doing a training today.

1:32:34>> Okay, well, good. I'll give the city pen

1:32:37for you and them. How's that sound?

1:32:39Okay. That'd be great. Here you go.

1:32:43Thank you.

1:32:44That's the future of America, folks.

1:32:46THANK YOU ALL.

1:32:49>> [applause]

1:32:57>> OH, THAT'S GREAT. OKAY, MOVING ON TO

1:32:59BUSINESS. UH, we're going to have public

1:33:01comment on the 202027 draft legislative

1:33:05agenda.

1:33:07>> We have two speakers. The first speaker

1:33:09is John Zirkle.

1:33:15>> I'm sorry.

1:33:20>> Hey, welcome, John.

1:33:24>> I'll try to keep it brief. Uh, basically

1:33:27just want to speak uh on two things.

1:33:29One, uh

1:33:31speaking on behalf of the Virginia Beach

1:33:32Hotel Association, uh we strongly

1:33:34support the pop-up special event zone

1:33:36that you have in your legislative

1:33:37agenda. And I think you'll find the

1:33:39safety task force is going to have a

1:33:41recommendation for that as well. So,

1:33:43thank you for having that in there. Uh

1:33:44the other one is uh the opposite. We

1:33:46want you to remove the 1% tax increase

1:33:50uh that you're proposing

1:33:51uh for the state legislative agenda. The

1:33:54state has approved already the 1% to go

1:33:57towards schools. The understanding is

1:33:59Virginia Beach is asking if that can be

1:34:01expanded to include flooding and the

1:34:03various capital projects.

1:34:06The tax rate in Virginia Beach sales tax

1:34:08is not that bad, but when you add it to

1:34:10the restaurant tax, you go from 12% to

1:34:1213%. When you add it to the hotel tax,

1:34:15you go from 15% to 16%.

1:34:19Hotel taxes are already 29th out of 150

1:34:23top destinations.

1:34:25Restaurant tax is already at the top.

1:34:27These are taxes that we really can't

1:34:28afford at a time when we're already

1:34:30struggling. It's also a regressive tax

1:34:33and affects the low-income

1:34:35low-income earners disproportionately

1:34:38than others. The real estate tax is by

1:34:41all means the best way to do this. And

1:34:43the flood referendum even said the real

1:34:46estate tax will pay for flooding. And

1:34:48you had the authorization to increase

1:34:49the tax, I believe

1:34:51it's set up to a dollar five, which

1:34:53would be equal to Chesapeake's at the

1:34:54time.

1:34:55Uh we've gone the opposite and lowered

1:34:57it, which is great. Uh but we feel the

1:34:59sales tax increase is just not

1:35:01appropriate. Uh we think that we can

1:35:03find other ways to pay for the various

1:35:05projects. And the regressiveness of this

1:35:07tax, we think is detrimental to our

1:35:09residents as well. So, uh the Restaurant

1:35:12Association and the AAA Atlantic Avenue

1:35:13Association are in agreement on this

1:35:15with the hotels as well. And we hope you

1:35:17consider removing that portion from your

1:35:19package.

1:35:20>> Thank you. Thank thanks for coming,

1:35:21John.

1:35:21>> Thank you.

1:35:22>> Mr. Mayor.

1:35:23>> Yes.

1:35:24>> Okay.

1:35:25Uh Mr. Mayor.

1:35:26>> Good, John.

1:35:27John, I just want to make clear

1:35:29that what is in the legislative agenda

1:35:32is not

1:35:34uh a 1% increase in the sales tax. It

1:35:37[snorts] is

1:35:39>> [clears throat]

1:35:39>> uh it's only asking the state

1:35:41legislature to if in fact we were to go

1:35:45that way, that we would have the

1:35:47flexibility to split that or to

1:35:51reallocate between schools and storm

1:35:54water. It's not a 1% increase in the

1:35:57sales tax. Now, before that were to

1:36:00happen, there would have to be a

1:36:01referendum of all the citizens um

1:36:04adopting that, and then it would give us

1:36:07the flexibility to reallocate. So,

1:36:09there's not That's not on the table, the

1:36:111% sales increase in Virginia Beach.

1:36:14>> Okay, so this is different than what

1:36:15Norfolk and some of the other cities are

1:36:16doing, where they're in their

1:36:19>> municipalities throughout the state that

1:36:21have put it on their referendum They've

1:36:22put it on their uh ballot for a

1:36:25referendum. Virginia Beach is not one of

1:36:27those, and we have not There's been no

1:36:28discussion about a referendum. We're

1:36:31moving forward with this.

1:36:32>> So, that's why we'd like to not have it

1:36:34in the package, cuz we don't want it to

1:36:35come to a referendum. We don't want it

1:36:37to move any further than it has right

1:36:38now.

1:36:39>> Well, what's on the agenda is not asking

1:36:42to put it on the referendum. And

1:36:45removing it wouldn't change that

1:36:47ability. It's asking

1:36:48>> The tax would be an increase over the

1:36:50current tax if you got the split that

1:36:53you're asking for, and you it would have

1:36:55to go to a referendum just like the one

1:36:57in Norfolk is happening for the schools,

1:36:59if I'm not mistaken. I think that's how

1:37:01it works. So, that would increase the

1:37:03sales tax, if I'm less than I'm

1:37:05mistaken. That's not on the table. We're

1:37:06not talking about a tax increase.

1:37:08>> Okay. But, if you get if the state

1:37:10approves what you currently have in your

1:37:11package, you can put it up for a

1:37:13referendum, and that would increase your

1:37:15income uh sales tax, correct?

1:37:17>> That would be up to the people.

1:37:18>> Okay. I think you can keep that from

1:37:20getting that far. I don't think the

1:37:21people accept a tax increase at this

1:37:23point. Thank you, Mr. Cummings.

1:37:25>> Okay. Thank you.

1:37:26Okay, thank you, John.

1:37:27>> The next and last speaker is Holly

1:37:29Martyre.

1:37:32>> Can I say this?

1:37:39Hey, Holly. Good evening.

1:37:42>> I just heard him speak. I've enough

1:37:44taxes. The real estate tax already hurt

1:37:47me, you know, it's hurting people. And

1:37:50when I saw it was taxed, I wasn't even

1:37:51going to come tonight until I looked up

1:37:53what um it was about. And I saw taxes.

1:37:57I'm done with taxes. Enough is enough,

1:37:59you know, it's like you guys are killing

1:38:01the Virginia Beach residents.

1:38:03And you're supposed to work for us, not

1:38:05against us. So, raising more taxes is

1:38:09going to hurt even more.

1:38:11Like I said last week, I was out of a

1:38:12job or 2 weeks ago.

1:38:14I finally [snorts] got a temp job, but

1:38:16we'll see. Hopefully, it's contract to

1:38:18hire, but um enough taxes. It's

1:38:22hurting everybody in Virginia Beach.

1:38:24It's hurting well, except for the rich,

1:38:26but um it's hurting people like me, you

1:38:28know, the more taxes, the more I get

1:38:30hurt. You know, I struggle.

1:38:33And I'm I've been late on my water bill,

1:38:35my Dominion bill. It's like enough is

1:38:38enough. Like, you know, if you keep

1:38:40raising taxes, I'm going to be homeless.

1:38:43So, or I'll lose my house. I may not be

1:38:45homeless, but I I don't want to lose my

1:38:46house. I have 12 years to go with my

1:38:48mortgage. Tax No more taxes.

1:38:51Okay, it's just enough.

1:38:53And it's hurting I'm sure plenty of

1:38:55people in here. Maybe the rich don't

1:38:57care because they have the money, but I

1:39:00don't.

1:39:01So, I'd appreciate you think about it

1:39:03before you do it cuz

1:39:05hopefully, you know, once the elections

1:39:08come, we'll get new people that won't

1:39:11raise taxes. Okay, that actually care

1:39:14about the Virginia Beach citizens cuz it

1:39:16doesn't seem like many of you do.

1:39:19And you know, we need people who

1:39:21actually care enough about us not to

1:39:24hurt us.

1:39:25Okay, so I'm just done with the taxes.

1:39:28No more.

1:39:31Cuz you'll be hopefully voted out if you

1:39:33do raise taxes again. Hopefully, you'll

1:39:35be voted out. Everyone that votes for

1:39:37taxes.

1:39:38And I know there's people running that

1:39:41haven't that aren't in right now on city

1:39:43council and those are the ones I'm

1:39:45hoping get in cuz they actually care

1:39:47about the I've actually walked for two

1:39:48of them. Door knocked for two of them.

1:39:51And um

1:39:53in my district I don't even know what

1:39:54this I think in my district it's

1:39:55unopposed.

1:39:57But um I could write somebody in if I

1:39:59want but um I'm just over it.

1:40:02I think a lot of people here are

1:40:04probably over the taxes too. I sure hope

1:40:06so. You know, we're just done. I mean

1:40:09what are you going to raise it till

1:40:10we're all homeless?

1:40:11Enough is enough.

1:40:14And that's it. Thank you.

1:40:15>> Okay. Thank you for coming.

1:40:16>> Mayor, that's all the speakers.

1:40:18>> Okay. I guess we'll be moving on. Um

1:40:21matter of we we have some speakers.

1:40:24Uh so I'm going to go ahead and read the

1:40:25script.

1:40:27Um I want to remind everyone that the

1:40:29city council speaker policy that allows

1:40:32certain representatives of groups to

1:40:34speak for 10 minutes applies only to

1:40:37planning items. All other speakers,

1:40:40whether speaking individually or on

1:40:42behalf of a group, we have up to we'll

1:40:45have up to 3 minutes to speak on a

1:40:47single item.

1:40:48Speakers are reminded that comments

1:40:50during the formal portion of the meeting

1:40:53must be limited to the subject of the

1:40:55item that is being considered by council

1:40:57at the time you are called.

1:41:00For items placed on the consent agenda,

1:41:03the speaker will have up to 3 minutes to

1:41:05address any single item. If a speaker

1:41:07wishes to address multiple consent

1:41:11agenda items, the speaker will have a

1:41:13cumulative total of 6 minutes to address

1:41:16those items.

1:41:17Again, the speaker must limit his or her

1:41:20comments to the subject matter of the

1:41:23items they have signed up

1:41:25to address.

1:41:27And finally, I call upon all speakers

1:41:30and all persons in the chamber to be

1:41:32civil in their discussion and decorum.

1:41:35Whatever views you hold and wish

1:41:37express, the City Council wants to hear

1:41:40from you. In order to ensure that all

1:41:43viewpoints and all persons are

1:41:45respected, clapping, cheering, booing,

1:41:47speaking loudly, or making other

1:41:50disruptive sounds while a speaker has

1:41:52the floor is not permitted. All speakers

1:41:56have an equal right to be heard.

1:41:58>> [snorts]

1:41:58>> Any member of the audience who

1:42:00interferes with a recognized speaker's

1:42:02time will be warned and if the

1:42:05disruptive behavior continues, will be

1:42:08required to leave the chamber.

1:42:10Additionally, threats and intimidation

1:42:12of others is prohibited at all times.

1:42:16Okay, at this point um

1:42:19do we have the consent agenda?

1:42:21>> We do, Mr. Mayor. Um

1:42:23an ordinance and a resolution, number

1:42:24one is the ordinance

1:42:26to authorize vacation of approximately

1:42:302,079 square feet at

1:42:34a portion of a variable width public

1:42:36pedestrian access easement located along

1:42:40the western boundary of 4576 Bonnie Road

1:42:45Ray construction and maintenance of a

1:42:48portion of the Thelia Creek greenway

1:42:52on the trail. Number two is the

1:42:54ordinance to authorize the

1:42:56acquisition of an agricultural land

1:42:59preservation easement ARP from Chester

1:43:03O. Eason and Carol C. Eason trustees of

1:43:08the Chester and Carol Eason Revocable

1:43:12Living Trust. Chester O. Eason and Derek

1:43:17J. Eason um 81.6 plus or minus acres and

1:43:22the issuance of the city of its contract

1:43:26obligations in the maximum

1:43:29uh principal amount of 755,182

1:43:33dollars and the transfer of funds to

1:43:37purchase US Treasury strips.

1:43:43Number three is a resolution to

1:43:45designate the first

1:43:47full week

1:43:49of November 2026

1:43:52as

1:43:53Alzheimer's Awareness Week and authorize

1:43:56the city manager to

1:43:58eliminate the Greenwich Flyover

1:44:01building 30

1:44:03and other city facilities with that

1:44:07with teal lighting

1:44:09requested by council members Berluti,

1:44:13Hutcheson, Remick, Ross-Hammond, and

1:44:15Cummings.

1:44:16Number four is the ordinance to

1:44:18authorize and accept

1:44:21dedication of East Mitchel Ray, the

1:44:25>> [clears throat]

1:44:25>> vacuum valve

1:44:27monitoring system project, that's CIP

1:44:30100440.

1:44:32Number five is the ordinance to accept

1:44:35and

1:44:36appropriate

1:44:381,584,357

1:44:41dollars from the Federal Emergency

1:44:44Management Agency

1:44:47to

1:44:48the FY26-27

1:44:49Fire Department operation budget.

1:44:55Ray continued operation of Virginia

1:44:58Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue

1:45:00Team.

1:45:03>> [gasps]

1:45:03>> Number six is the ordinance to accept

1:45:05and appropriate

1:45:071,396,305,535

1:45:12dollars and 40 cents from the US

1:45:14Department of Homeland Security to the

1:45:17FY26-27

1:45:19Fire Department

1:45:20operating budget and authorize

1:45:23868,116

1:45:26dollars and 61 cents

1:45:28local

1:45:30uh match rate the salary and associated

1:45:33benefits of the

1:45:3519 full-time

1:45:37positions.

1:45:38Number seven is the ordinance to accept

1:45:40and appropriate

1:45:42$1 million from the uh

1:45:46the United States

1:45:48Tennis Association to the FY 2026-2027

1:45:51capital improvement program to um

1:45:54project 100 714

1:45:57uh ten- tennis court renovations number

1:46:00four

1:46:01and authorize local matches $567 No,

1:46:05excuse me, $656,670

1:46:09with our capital project 100 714

1:46:13um tennis court renovations

1:46:16and capital project

1:46:1861002

1:46:21tennis court renovations. Um please

1:46:27Please uh

1:46:28renovation to the to uh

1:46:30>> [snorts]

1:46:30>> the tennis courts.

1:46:32Uh number eight [clears throat]

1:46:34is the ordinance to appropriate

1:46:37$505,000

1:46:39from the fund balance of the police

1:46:41federal

1:46:43and state seized asset special um

1:46:46revenue fund to the FY 2026-2027 police

1:46:50depar- operating budget rate the

1:46:53software

1:46:54uh equipment and

1:46:56training.

1:46:58Number nine is the ordinance to accept

1:47:00and appropriate

1:47:02$500,000 in pass-through revenue from

1:47:06the Commonwealth um

1:47:08to

1:47:10Nemo United Methodist Church

1:47:13street uh the city manager to enter into

1:47:17a memorandum of understanding

1:47:19uh with the Virginia Department of

1:47:22Historic Resources restoration of Emmaus

1:47:26United Methodist Church building.

1:47:28Number 10 is the ordinance to accept and

1:47:30appropriate

1:47:32$416,862

1:47:35in an

1:47:37>> [clears throat]

1:47:37>> an additional aid to localities grant

1:47:40funding from the Virginia Department of

1:47:43Fire De-

1:47:44Fire Program to the FY2026-27

1:47:48Fire Department operating budget rate

1:47:50training instruction of training um

1:47:55center, the firefighters equipment, and

1:47:59uh

1:47:59protective

1:48:02protective clothing.

1:48:05Number 11 is the ordinance to accept and

1:48:07appropriate $25,000 from the Virginia

1:48:10Department of

1:48:12uh Housing and Community Development and

1:48:15$13,394.66

1:48:18from the United States Department of

1:48:20Housing

1:48:22and Urban [clears throat] Department HUD

1:48:24to the 2026-27

1:48:27Department of the Housing and

1:48:29Neighborhood

1:48:30Preservation [clears throat]

1:48:32operating budget raises support the

1:48:34Virginia

1:48:35Homeless uh Solutions programs and

1:48:40uh

1:48:41amend various

1:48:43grants.

1:48:43>> Open the uh public hearing and planning.

1:48:46>> Okay, number one has been pulled.

1:48:48Number two

1:48:50is the James P.

1:48:52Baker and

1:48:55Patrick O. Baker, trustees of the name

1:48:58uh

1:48:59James

1:49:00Baker and

1:49:01Patricia M. Baker Revocable Trust for a

1:49:05street closure and that is in District

1:49:075.

1:49:08Uh number

1:49:09three, the Jeffrey Foster and Angela

1:49:12Foster for a street closure

1:49:15uh for one half of

1:49:18uh, unimproved unnamed alley and that is

1:49:21in district five.

1:49:23Number four is the George Pesselides and

1:49:25trustee

1:49:26of the Pesselides trust and street

1:49:30closure

1:49:31ray approximately

1:49:332.679 square feet and that is in

1:49:36district six.

1:49:43Number five is the uh, Prime Storage

1:49:46Bills Road LLC

1:49:49uh, the modification of properties short

1:49:51conditional use permit of zoning that is

1:49:54in district six and that is for

1:49:55withdrawal.

1:49:58Number six

1:50:00the um, 449 London

1:50:03LLC and a conditional

1:50:06change of zoning from R10

1:50:09residential district to

1:50:12conditional 1.1 light industrial

1:50:15district ray to develop the with a uh,

1:50:18storage and um,

1:50:21contractors vehicles equipment and that

1:50:24is for conditional use permit and that

1:50:27is to be deferred until November 17th.

1:50:33>> [snorts]

1:50:34>> Uh, number seven has been pulled. Number

1:50:37eight is the

1:50:39the Beach Five Stays LLC

1:50:42uh, Legacy Business Center

1:50:45LLC for conditional use permit uh, for

1:50:47short-term rentals accent and that's um,

1:50:50in district six.

1:50:51And number nine uh, Wave Investment

1:50:54Group LLC for conditional use permit for

1:50:58short-term rentals at 414

1:51:0019th Street and that is in district six.

1:51:03Move for approval.

1:51:04>> Do I have a second?

1:51:06>> Second. Second.

1:51:07>> Mayor, Vice Mayor, I apologize for

1:51:09interrupting. However, um, claiming item

1:51:11L5 which is 449 London LLC, the request

1:51:15was was for the referral to go to

1:51:16November 10th, not the 17th.

1:51:19>> Okay, I'm sorry. November 10th.

1:51:20>> Thank you. Just wanted to make sure we

1:51:22were

1:51:23>> Okay. Any other discussion? Let's open

1:51:26the vote.

1:51:35>> You want me to close this?

1:51:39By vote of 10 to 0, you have approved

1:51:41the consent agenda as read by Vice Mayor

1:51:42Wilson.

1:51:43>> Okay, thank you. We'll go back to

1:51:45planning item number one, James

1:51:47Masters and Mary Osterhaus

1:51:51for variance of section 4.4 B and D of

1:51:55sub subset

1:51:57subdivision regulations to recreate two

1:52:00parcels that are

1:52:03deficient in width and direct access to

1:52:06the public street for the property

1:52:08directly north of 1940 Gun Barrel Road

1:52:11and two parcels west of 3953 Dolly Road

1:52:15in District 2.

1:52:20Yeah.

1:52:20>> The The first speaker is Brian Peoples.

1:52:23He's the attorney for the applicant.

1:52:24>> Okay. Yeah, okay.

1:52:25>> And then we'll call you up.

1:52:27>> Okay.

1:52:29>> [snorts]

1:52:33>> Good evening.

1:52:34>> Okay, good evening Mr. Mayor and members

1:52:36of the city council.

1:52:37My name is Brian Peoples. I'm an

1:52:39attorney for the applicants who are

1:52:42Jim

1:52:43Masters and Mary Osterhaus. They're over

1:52:45here. They're sitting with me in the

1:52:46audience there.

1:52:47Married couple, they own these parcels

1:52:49and as was mentioned they're seeking a

1:52:51variance

1:52:52of

1:52:53two different sections of the

1:52:54subdivision, one requiring that each lot

1:52:57have direct public public access to a

1:52:59street and the other requiring a certain

1:53:01lot width on the street. I did send a

1:53:03letter to the planning commission dated

1:53:05September 8th, 2026 which should be a

1:53:07part of the record. I hope that you have

1:53:09read that and I mention it just to make

1:53:10sure that it's, uh, part of the record.

1:53:12Uh, prior to the Planning Commission

1:53:13meeting that we had last month, the city

1:53:15staff recommended approval of our

1:53:17application, uh, with certain conditions

1:53:19and we agree with all of those

1:53:21conditions, except for one, which I'll

1:53:23talk about, uh, again briefly at the

1:53:24end. Uh, the one that we didn't agree

1:53:26with was condition five. Uh, condition

1:53:28five required that a new ingress and

1:53:30egress easement and a shared maintenance

1:53:32agreement, uh, be recorded with the

1:53:34final subdivision plat. Uh, the reason

1:53:36that we didn't agree with that is

1:53:38because there's already a recorded, uh,

1:53:40easements and there the applicant, I'm

1:53:42sorry, the owners, my clients already

1:53:43have an obligation to maintain the

1:53:45easement and it just became very

1:53:47apparent that the lot owners who would

1:53:50need to grant a new easement, uh, were

1:53:52not going to be willing, uh, to do that.

1:53:55A little bit of detail about, uh, this

1:53:57application,

1:53:59really all we're trying to do is seeking

1:54:00to do here is vacate some internal lot

1:54:02lines.

1:54:03Uh, the clients, my clients own all the

1:54:06affected lots. Uh, this is an

1:54:07administrative issue that got caused by

1:54:11a prior owner, two owners ago, uh, who

1:54:13subdivided some parcels with deeds, but

1:54:16they neglected to go through the the

1:54:18process with, uh, with the city. And so,

1:54:21those were not correctly done, uh, with

1:54:23the city. It's very important to

1:54:25understand we're not asking for any

1:54:26exceptions or variances, uh, to build

1:54:29more houses. We're not seeking to

1:54:30subdivide the lots into smaller lots.

1:54:32We're not trying to make a

1:54:34neighborhood or anything like that. Not

1:54:36seeking any rezoning. This is an AG-2,

1:54:39uh, zoning and it's going to remain

1:54:41that, meaning there can only be one

1:54:43house on each of these lots, even after

1:54:44the lot lines are vacated. Uh, all we're

1:54:46trying to do here is correct an

1:54:48administrative oversight that was caused

1:54:50by prior owners. And the reason is

1:54:52because, uh, the applicants may want to

1:54:55sell these lots and what they don't want

1:54:56to do is progress this issue forward to,

1:54:59uh, to future owners. They want to give

1:55:01good title and buildable lots to their

1:55:03buyers um should they choose to sell. Uh

1:55:05there are two parcels at issue and um if

1:55:08you happen to be looking at the survey

1:55:10uh that I sent, it could be a little

1:55:12confusing because north is to the right.

1:55:14So, just sometimes I have to take it and

1:55:16turn it this way to remember that. Uh

1:55:18but the first parcel that I talk about

1:55:20is the uh is labeled A1 on the survey.

1:55:22It's a 4.4.5

1:55:24acre parcel located to the north. And

1:55:27inside of the bigger parcel A1, you'll

1:55:29see a small little rectangle in there.

1:55:31And that small little rectangle looks

1:55:33like it's part of a different lot at uh

1:55:3635 I'm sorry, 3953 Dolly Road, but in

1:55:39fact it's a whole separate lot. And what

1:55:40we're trying to do is vacate those

1:55:42little internal rectangle lot lines and

1:55:44make it into one 4.5 acre lot and also

1:55:48to increase an existing 20-ft wide

1:55:50easement that runs from Dolly Road um

1:55:54to the parcel that's to the west, which

1:55:56is owned by Steadfast Equestrian, which

1:55:58actually my clients uh the applicants

1:55:59own that as well. Uh again, my clients

1:56:02uh own all the affected lots and we're

1:56:03just trying to vacate that internal lot

1:56:05line. As far as I know, there is no

1:56:07objection by anyone uh to this. And so,

1:56:09if there's no questions about that, I'll

1:56:11move to the next parcel, which is the

1:56:13one uh to the south, the larger piece.

1:56:16Um I call it the 9.76 acre parcel. Uh

1:56:19there's a big parcel called X1 uh that

1:56:21my that my clients own. Uh there's also

1:56:24another parcel, which is a very small

1:56:26rectangular little shaped parcel uh that

1:56:29is kind of

1:56:30on the way, if you will, between X1 and

1:56:33two Gum Bridge Road, which is the road

1:56:35uh to the south. And again, the

1:56:37applicants, my clients, own that little

1:56:39rectangle, but it's labeled as a

1:56:41separate parcel, parcel X. And all we're

1:56:43trying to do is combine parcel X and X1

1:56:46together into one lot, so it's not uh

1:56:48not two lots.

1:56:50At the end of what's now labeled as

1:56:51parcel X, which is the uh

1:56:54the access way,

1:56:55there's an 18-ft wide access easement

1:56:58that runs between two adjacent houses

1:57:00and it gets to Gum Bridge Road. And the

1:57:03land over which that easement runs is

1:57:05owned by Elizabeth Ward. Now, Ms. Ward

1:57:07and some of her family members and

1:57:09friends have made some claims about that

1:57:10easement in the past and I won't go into

1:57:13it in great detail because all of those

1:57:15claims were thoroughly examined by city

1:57:17staff and by the planning commission and

1:57:19they were found frankly to be without

1:57:21merit. Briefly, it's been claimed that

1:57:24the easement does not exist. It's been

1:57:26claimed that the land was stolen at some

1:57:28point in the past and probably most

1:57:31interesting, there was a claim that

1:57:33because the objectors put things on my

1:57:36client's property and in the easement to

1:57:38block that blocked it, that the variant

1:57:41shouldn't be requested because the

1:57:42easement has been blocked.

1:57:44What they put or their predecessors put

1:57:46was a cement pad, a shed, a fence and

1:57:48perhaps part of a septic system.

1:57:51This matter did go to the planning

1:57:53commission last month and some of those

1:57:55objectors spoke at the planning

1:57:56commission meeting and in addition to

1:57:58those claims which they had previously

1:58:00sent in with letters and such, they

1:58:02claimed that the easement wasn't

1:58:03intended for vehicular traffic but that

1:58:05it was limited to farm equipment

1:58:07and

1:58:08that is not accurate. I spoke at the

1:58:10planning commission last month and

1:58:12presented the whole chain of title which

1:58:14is also included in the letter that I

1:58:15sent in and we explained that the land

1:58:17is not stolen, the easement is properly

1:58:19recorded, the easement provides an 18-ft

1:58:22wide right of ingress and egress to and

1:58:24from Gum Bridge Road, that it's not

1:58:26restricted to farm equipment, it does

1:58:28allow vehicle traffic and any objects

1:58:30which the objectors may have placed on

1:58:32the easement or on my client's property

1:58:35are a trespass which have to be removed.

1:58:37And the planning commission, I'm very

1:58:38pleased to say, agreed with us

1:58:40completely, unanimously. They

1:58:42unanimously voted to approve the

1:58:44application and they unanimously

1:58:45approved voted to approve it without

1:58:47that condition five that I spoke about.

1:58:50And I'm very happy to report that after

1:58:52that meeting, those um objects which

1:58:54were on my client's property and on the

1:58:56easement have for the most part been

1:58:57removed and the rest of them are in the

1:58:59process of being removed. So, we really

1:59:01do appreciate actually um the objectors'

1:59:03cooperation in that. We also appreciate

1:59:06the work of the staff and the planning

1:59:07commission. Um obviously, we agree with

1:59:10the planning commission's recommendation

1:59:12and we ask you to vote that way. I'll

1:59:15also point out that if someone believes

1:59:17they have a legitimate claim as to the

1:59:19chain as to the title of the property or

1:59:21that it's been stolen or that the

1:59:23easement isn't properly recorded or

1:59:25doesn't exist,

1:59:26this is not the venue for that. The

1:59:27venue for that would be the circuit

1:59:29court of the city of Virginia Beach.

1:59:32Uh there was also an objection regarding

1:59:34a fire code. I explained in my letter

1:59:36that that was uh that was incorrect. The

1:59:38fire code section that the objectors

1:59:40were citing actually exempts farmland

1:59:42and this is farmland. Uh there's also a

1:59:45section in the Virginia Administrative

1:59:47Code, which is 3 VAC 552-170-B3.

1:59:51Sorry, I'm a lawyer. I have to say that.

1:59:52Uh which says that an 18-ft access way

1:59:56is fine under the fire code as long as a

1:59:58house that's going to be built there is

2:00:00built with a sprinkler system. And so,

2:00:02if in the future someone wants to buy

2:00:03this parcel and build a house there,

2:00:06they can do that with the 18-ft easement

2:00:08as long as they build it with a

2:00:09sprinkler system, which I don't know,

2:00:10but I suspect homes have to be built

2:00:12with that now uh anyway. And you don't

2:00:14have to take my word for that because

2:00:16the fire marshal looked at this plan and

2:00:18agreed with it, doesn't have any

2:00:19problems with it, and has given it the

2:00:21thumbs up. The objectors also complained

2:00:23about some trees. They said there's a

2:00:25row of trees that are growing down the

2:00:27easement down one edge of the easement

2:00:29and they don't want the trees to be cut.

2:00:31Well, first let me say that

2:00:34the applicants have no intention of

2:00:35cutting those trees because they don't

2:00:36block anything. Uh secondly, if they in

2:00:38fact are blocking the easement, it's not

2:00:41that's not legal. Uh the Virginia Code

2:00:43uh section 55.1305

2:00:45says you can't block an easement. So, to

2:00:47the extent that the easement might be

2:00:49being blocked, that's not okay, and my

2:00:52clients have the right to remove it. But

2:00:53again, that's not a factor because the

2:00:55trees that are along one edge of that

2:00:57access easement aren't blocking aren't

2:00:59blocking anything. Uh so,

2:01:02again, we just ask that you affirm the

2:01:04planning commission, that you approve

2:01:06this application, and you do it without

2:01:08that condition number five, the

2:01:09condition number five being the one that

2:01:11requires a new easement to be recorded

2:01:13because an easement already exists, and

2:01:15the condition number five requiring a

2:01:17new maintenance agreement to be

2:01:18recorded, which uh isn't necessary

2:01:20because my clients already have the

2:01:22responsibility to maintain the easement.

2:01:24And if there are no questions, uh that

2:01:25concludes my remarks.

2:01:27>> All right.

2:01:28>> I have to say that this is one of the

2:01:30most confusing things I have ever tried

2:01:32to figure out. I tried to read all of

2:01:35that documentation that came in our

2:01:37data, and I just could not follow it. It

2:01:39seemed to go from one issue, which

2:01:41seemed to be a court-related issue, to

2:01:44another rather than just sticking with

2:01:45the basic planning items.

2:01:49I am totally confused. I'm looking at

2:01:52our planning director. Could you please

2:01:54clarify just what it is this application

2:01:57is asking, and what we're supposed to be

2:01:59doing?

2:02:03>> Thanks for the question. They are

2:02:05looking to take four lots. There are

2:02:07four pieces of property that are

2:02:10currently platted. The plat that was put

2:02:12to record did not have the planning

2:02:13director's signature back when it was

2:02:15recorded. So, in order to validate those

2:02:18lots, they want to go from the four lots

2:02:19that you see on the screen, I think it's

2:02:21what was shown, to two lots.

2:02:24The two lots that they are creating are

2:02:26short in their street frontage and

2:02:28street line measurement, and they are

2:02:30accessed through easements. Therefore,

2:02:32they don't meet the current subdivision

2:02:34regulations. So, from four lots to two

2:02:36lots, legitimizing the parcels.

2:02:40>> And ma'am, if I could, I couldn't agree

2:02:43more. And really the objections that are

2:02:46that I was speaking to and that we spoke

2:02:47about at the planning commission have

2:02:49nothing to do with what we're actually

2:02:51asking to do. What we're asking to do is

2:02:53simply as um as she said, combine

2:02:58a couple of little tiny lots with a with

2:03:00a big lot.

2:03:02To do that twice, in other words, one on

2:03:04each parcel to fix something that was

2:03:06mistaken in the chain of title or with

2:03:08the with the process a while ago. I have

2:03:10just I addressed the objections because

2:03:12they were brought up and they were sent

2:03:14in letters and I think we have someone

2:03:15speaking about it, so that's why I

2:03:17mentioned all of those things. But as

2:03:18far as what we're asking to do, it

2:03:19really is um is just that, just vacating

2:03:22some internal

2:03:23>> taking out those lot lines and making

2:03:25those and this was to correct something

2:03:28that had been done before that just

2:03:30wasn't signed off on. Correct. We're not

2:03:32creating anything new.

2:03:34>> No, we're not creating new lots. We're

2:03:36taking four lots and creating two lots.

2:03:38They will meet the minimum lot area.

2:03:40They will just be short the direct

2:03:42frontage on the public street. Both lots

2:03:44will be accessed through an access

2:03:46easement that exists.

2:03:47>> Well, I know all of the things and I'm

2:03:49afraid the things that we're going to

2:03:50get into now just aren't related to

2:03:52that.

2:03:54And I think we have to keep it very

2:03:56specifically on this issue

2:03:59and not other things that don't relate

2:04:02to this issue.

2:04:04>> And to clarify, the planning commission

2:04:06did already strike condition five. It's

2:04:08So as their number in your package, you

2:04:11wouldn't want to strike the current

2:04:12condition five. Planning commission

2:04:13already struck condition five that was

2:04:15in their package. There is also a

2:04:17condition that's included that they must

2:04:19meet all the fire department

2:04:20requirements to provide a fire apparatus

2:04:23access way. That's included in the

2:04:25conditions.

2:04:27>> Okay. All righty. Well, as long as

2:04:28everything is confined just to those

2:04:30issues and we're not going to get off on

2:04:32anything else.

2:04:34Those are the issues we're dealing with.

2:04:37No more.

2:04:38And if you hear us getting off into

2:04:40another area, could you please stop the

2:04:42conversation so we make sure we're

2:04:43staying on the only issues that we're

2:04:46looking at. And thank you. Okay.

2:04:48>> Thank you.

2:04:51Okay, thank you.

2:04:52>> The next speaker is

2:04:54Marilyn Curry.

2:05:02>> Good evening.

2:05:03>> Good evening. Um Mr. Henley, thank you

2:05:05for your service. I own uh what used to

2:05:08be Joe Hofferburger's farm, and my farm

2:05:11is 6 acres. It's a dairy goat farm, and

2:05:13it goes from uh Gum Bridge Road um down

2:05:17Dolly Road. So, these people are are

2:05:20going to be working on their land

2:05:21directly behind my property.

2:05:24Um my first question that was the most

2:05:26important, I think, has been rectified

2:05:28by what the lawyer said. Uh all I

2:05:31received in the mail was a very

2:05:33confusing little map,

2:05:35and uh I wanted to make sure that they

2:05:37weren't trying to put a right-of-way

2:05:40somewhere that was going to uh conflict

2:05:43with my property uh over to either Dolly

2:05:46or Gum Bridge, and I don't think that's

2:05:48going to be the problem. I think they

2:05:49have another easement that they're

2:05:50working on. So, I'm I'm thankful to hear

2:05:53that that is

2:05:54>> now that it's not im-

2:05:56It's not adversely impacting your

2:05:58property, and your property is not being

2:06:00taken and so forth. You've got all that

2:06:02straight.

2:06:02>> Yes. Yes, ma'am. Um I do have a couple

2:06:05other concerns if I can bring them up.

2:06:08Um

2:06:09as you know, we're out in Pungo, and so

2:06:11we do not have

2:06:13city water, sewer, that type of thing.

2:06:15Uh

2:06:17just a few months ago in July, we had a

2:06:20torrential rain, and we have a tendency

2:06:22to flood back there. And behind my barn,

2:06:26to my property line, uh the water got up

2:06:29past my knees to my fence line. Um

2:06:33we do have a ditch line that runs back

2:06:35there, but it doesn't really help a lot

2:06:37of times.

2:06:38>> Okay, let me stop you because that

2:06:40doesn't affect this application. That's

2:06:43a whole another issue that we need to

2:06:44deal with.

2:06:45>> Okay.

2:06:45>> Can we set that aside and you do that

2:06:48otherwise and let's just stick with this

2:06:50issue that we're looking at tonight.

2:06:52>> Um, and another another thing that I'm

2:06:56worried about is because we don't have

2:06:59city water, we all have wells out there.

2:07:02Now, we've had a very very dry year and

2:07:05twice this year I have a a well for my

2:07:08barn and it ran dry twice this year. So,

2:07:12it concerns me the more that our area is

2:07:14subdivided, how is that going to impact

2:07:17our personal water supply for our farms?

2:07:20Um, that is a concern for me.

2:07:22>> Well, again, that doesn't really affect

2:07:24this application. That's another whole

2:07:26issue that we need to talk about.

2:07:28>> Yes, ma'am.

2:07:28>> Okay.

2:07:29>> Um,

2:07:30uh, and and my last thing is, uh,

2:07:34as you know, Ms. Henley,

2:07:36we've watched I've been a

2:07:38a resident of Pungo. We moved here in

2:07:41the area in

2:07:43in, uh,

2:07:45uh, 2005 and I've hopped around a couple

2:07:48places till I bought my farm.

2:07:50When I bought in 2005 down in Pungo, it

2:07:53was all wide open and it just gets

2:07:55chopped up and chopped up and chopped up

2:07:56into smaller pieces and it concerns me

2:07:59uh, that

2:08:01one of these days what makes Pungo so

2:08:03special is going to be gone and it's

2:08:06just going to be a pile of subdivisions

2:08:08and

2:08:09>> Thank you very much. Appreciate your

2:08:10comments.

2:08:10>> Well, that doesn't have anything to do

2:08:12with this application. So, give me a

2:08:14call, we'll talk about these other

2:08:15things, but I think your your issues are

2:08:18not related to this. This is just a

2:08:21separate issue.

2:08:22>> Okay.

2:08:22>> Okay, so give me a call and we'll talk

2:08:23about those things. Okay. you.

2:08:25>> you for your time.

2:08:27>> Are we ready for a motion?

2:08:29>> I'm sorry. Well, I'm

2:08:30>> Then I will approve the

2:08:31>> I think I need to ask Mr. Peoples back

2:08:33here.

2:08:34>> That's before us.

2:08:35>> Do I need to ask Mr. Peoples back up for

2:08:38rebuttal?

2:08:41>> Okay, any other discussion?

2:08:43>> Mayor, I mean, I just want to make sure

2:08:44we're following procedure. Mr. Peoples

2:08:46has a He can come up for rebuttal for 3

2:08:48minutes.

2:08:50>> I'm

2:08:51I really didn't have a have a rebuttal.

2:08:53I think um Miss Henley and and uh the

2:08:55speaker agreed that her comments are,

2:08:58you know, have some, you know, validity,

2:09:00but not not really in relating to this.

2:09:03And the only other thing I would say

2:09:04that is if

2:09:06it ever comes to pass that this

2:09:08parcel should be developed, I put a

2:09:10house on it or anything like that,

2:09:11there's a very thorough screening

2:09:13process. You know, there's a uh sediment

2:09:15and control erosion and sediment control

2:09:17plan that would have to be approved, and

2:09:19plans have to be approved, and all this.

2:09:21People just don't go, you know, just

2:09:23willy-nilly build a house there. So, I'm

2:09:25understand the concern, but uh not

2:09:27within the scope of this application,

2:09:29and there's a whole separate process to

2:09:31to deal with those complaints.

2:09:33>> Okay, thank you.

2:09:33>> Thank you.

2:09:35>> All right, so my motion was to approve

2:09:36the application that's before us.

2:09:38>> Yep, that's the second it.

2:09:40>> Okay, any other discussion? Let's open

2:09:42the vote.

2:09:43>> Give us just 1 second, please.

2:09:50They're voting. Yeah, they already made

2:09:51a motion and a second. So, it was um

2:10:03The vote is open.

2:10:10Councilman Bulloch, you may have your

2:10:11vote. Thank you. Five voted 10 to 0,

2:10:14you've approved the application.

2:10:17>> Okay, the next item is uh planning

2:10:18number seven,

2:10:20uh Bonnie Road

2:10:21Apartments, LLC

2:10:24for a conditional change of zoning from

2:10:27I-1

2:10:28light industrial to conditional A-24

2:10:31apartment district

2:10:33to develop 209 unit multi-family

2:10:36community at 4576

2:10:39Bonnie Road, District 4.

2:10:40>> Lisa Murphy is at rate is the attorney

2:10:43for the applicant.

2:10:50Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members

2:10:51of City Council, City Manager, City

2:10:53Clerk, and City Attorney and staff. For

2:10:56the record, my name is Lisa Murphy. I'm

2:10:58here today on behalf of the applicant,

2:11:01Bonnie Road Apartments, LLC.

2:11:03With me tonight are Tuck Bowie,

2:11:05president of the Terry Peterson

2:11:06Companies, and Henry Sells, who is

2:11:08project manager with Timmons Group, and

2:11:10they are available to answer any

2:11:12technical questions that you might have

2:11:14that I'm not able to answer.

2:11:16As the Mayor indicated, the applicant is

2:11:19seeking to conditionally rezone an 11.8

2:11:22acre parcel known as 4576 Bonnie Road,

2:11:26and that is from I-1 light industrial to

2:11:29A-24 in order to construct a 209 unit

2:11:33multi-family residential community. The

2:11:36concept plan for the community is up on

2:11:38the screen right now.

2:11:40The community will consist of two

2:11:42four-story residential apartment

2:11:44buildings. One building is organized

2:11:47around a private resort-style amenity

2:11:49courtyard, and the second building that

2:11:52was up on your screen is oriented

2:11:54towards the recently completed failure

2:11:56Creek Greenway. As you all know, the

2:11:59failure Creek Greenway is a major

2:12:00pedestrian and bicycle corridor that

2:12:03connects Bonnie Road area to the

2:12:05Virginia Beach Town Center. Um

2:12:08the parking

2:12:09is limited in the front of the building.

2:12:11It's It's been designated to the sides

2:12:14and the rear, and this allows the

2:12:17development to maintain a more prominent

2:12:19building president presence along Bonnie

2:12:21Road.

2:12:23Uh there'll be a prime one primary

2:12:25entrance on Bonnie Road and then a

2:12:26separate gated commerce

2:12:28emergency access. Proffered right-of-way

2:12:31improvements include an 11-ft sidewalk

2:12:33along Bonnie Road, a right turn lane

2:12:36with 100 ft of storage and 100 ft of

2:12:39taper into the property and a left turn

2:12:41lane with 100 ft of storage and 100 ft

2:12:44of taper um as well. If there is

2:12:47insufficient right-of-way or design

2:12:50limitations that would prevent the

2:12:52construction of that required left turn

2:12:54lane, then the property would be

2:12:56developed without that left turn lane

2:12:59into the property.

2:13:01Proffered landscaping includes street

2:13:02frontage and building foundation

2:13:04plantings along Bonnie Road as well as

2:13:06interior parking lot landscaping

2:13:08throughout the site. Um one of the

2:13:10things that you'll notice looking at

2:13:12this site even though it's 11.8

2:13:15approximate acres, about 2 acres of the

2:13:18site is actually wetlands and

2:13:20environmentally sensitive area. So

2:13:22you've got Chesapeake Bay resource

2:13:24protection areas, the failure Creek

2:13:27Greenway, those wetlands that I

2:13:29mentioned,

2:13:30and other environmental preservation

2:13:32requirements and buffers. As a result,

2:13:35that leaves about 2 acres of the

2:13:37property that really can't be developed.

2:13:40Uh the proposed site layout balances

2:13:42environmental protection with

2:13:44redevelopment objectives. The far

2:13:46eastern portion of the property will

2:13:48remain in its undeveloped state. So

2:13:51that's the

2:13:52cross-hatched section that also has

2:13:55frontage on Bonnie Road.

2:13:57Uh

2:13:58CBPA variance was approved that would

2:14:01have allowed for 8 18,000 sq ft of um

2:14:06impact into the RPA.

2:14:08This proposed development actually

2:14:10reduces that by 50%. So it's a much more

2:14:12environmentally sensitive than the prior

2:14:15development plan. The proffered building

2:14:18elevations that were up on your screen a

2:14:20minute ago

2:14:21uh incorporate high-quality exterior

2:14:23materials, including vinyl siding, brick

2:14:26veneer, and glass uh complemented by

2:14:28earth-tone neutral color palette.

2:14:31Uh to achieve an enduring architectural

2:14:34design, the buildings utilize a pitched

2:14:36roof. And for that reason, we are uh

2:14:39requesting a slight variation to the

2:14:42maximum height limited limitation for

2:14:44this uh A-24 district.

2:14:47>> [snorts]

2:14:47>> Given the enhanced architectural style,

2:14:49the urban location of the proposed

2:14:51project, and the project's consistency

2:14:54with the comprehensive plan, this

2:14:56additional height that's provided by

2:14:57that pitch in the roof um will not have

2:15:00a significant detrimental effect on

2:15:02surrounding properties.

2:15:04As I mentioned, the uh the smaller of

2:15:06the two buildings fronts the Greenway.

2:15:09Uh we feel

2:15:10that this design really reinforces the

2:15:12city's investment in the Greenway system

2:15:15and supports its function as both a

2:15:17recreational amenity for um

2:15:20not only citizens, but also for

2:15:22specifically for residents here, and its

2:15:25function as a uh transportation

2:15:28corridor. We anticipate that many of the

2:15:30folks uh that live here will work in the

2:15:34town center area, and they'll be able to

2:15:35ride their bikes and walk to work, which

2:15:37is

2:15:38uh an amenity that you really can't get

2:15:40to many other places.

2:15:42This evening, you approved a 5-ft

2:15:44reduction in that uh an existing public

2:15:47access easement that runs along the uh

2:15:50eastern portion of the property. We

2:15:51appreciate appreciate that. It assists

2:15:54with the overall uh development again,

2:15:57given that limited nature and the size

2:15:59of the developable portion of the

2:16:01property. Um as an added benefit, the

2:16:05redevelopment of this site uh there is a

2:16:07proper that requires the the overall

2:16:11site plan and the stormwater management

2:16:13for the property to incorporate the

2:16:15stormwater from the the city's multi-use

2:16:18trail. So, that will all be

2:16:20incorporated in the overall design.

2:16:22On-site parking lot lighting and canopy

2:16:25trees along the western edge of the

2:16:26parking lot will also enhance trail

2:16:28safety

2:16:30and overall user experience in a way

2:16:32that an undeveloped vacant lot really uh

2:16:34can't do. As your staff report

2:16:37indicates, the application is consistent

2:16:39with the city's comprehensive plan and

2:16:41Pembroke strategic growth area

2:16:43objectives, which as you know encourage

2:16:45infill and redevelopment and which

2:16:48identify the central business district

2:16:50including the Bonnie area as an area

2:16:53intended to accommodate future growth

2:16:55and development. This development is

2:16:58also consistent with the comprehensive

2:17:01comprehensive plan's objective

2:17:03of expanding housing opportunities

2:17:05within the city as the mayor mentioned

2:17:08at the informal session having more

2:17:11housing in the city and in all of

2:17:13Hampton Roads is critical.

2:17:16This project provides 209 units in

2:17:19exactly the area that your comprehensive

2:17:21plan calls for additional

2:17:24development and additional apartment

2:17:26communities. The Pembroke SGA

2:17:29implementation plan also identifies the

2:17:32Bonnie Road area as suitable for

2:17:34mid-rise and high-rise development

2:17:36because of its interstate visibility,

2:17:39access to major transportation

2:17:41corridors, and proximity to employment

2:17:45sectors.

2:17:46In conclusion, the development advances

2:17:49key planning goals of

2:17:51infill development, multimodal

2:17:53connectivity, urban design quality, and

2:17:56efficient land use while transforming a

2:17:58transitional uh, industrial office site

2:18:02into a very high-quality residential

2:18:04community that will strengthen the

2:18:06Bonnie Road corridor and support, uh,

2:18:09continued growth of Virginia Beach's

2:18:11urban core. Staff has recommended

2:18:14approval, Planning Commission has

2:18:15recommended approval, and we

2:18:17respectfully request that you approve,

2:18:19uh,

2:18:20this conditional rezoning application.

2:18:22I'll stand by for questions.

2:18:23>> Any questions?

2:18:25Okay, thank you.

2:18:26>> Thank you.

2:18:28The next speaker is Joshua McDonald.

2:18:33Joshua McDonald.

2:18:38Kelly [snorts] McDonald.

2:18:44And Sheryl Youngs.

2:18:48Guess no one showed up. Those were the

2:18:49three speakers we had registered.

2:18:51>> Okay, at this point, do we have a

2:18:53motion?

2:18:54>> So moved.

2:18:56>> Second, anybody?

2:18:57>> Second.

2:19:00>> Any discussion?

2:19:02Let's open it.

2:19:03>> One [clears throat] second, please.

2:19:04[snorts] All right.

2:19:09The vote is open.

2:19:21By vote of 10 to 0, this application has

2:19:23been approved.

2:19:24>> Okay, thank you all very much.

2:19:28Okay, appointments.

2:19:30>> Yes, Mr. Mayor, we have one, and it's

2:19:32for the Virginia Beach, uh, Community

2:19:33Development Corporation to appoint Chris

2:19:35Souther. Move for approval.

2:19:38>> Second.

2:19:39>> Okay, let's open the vote.

2:19:45>> Just one second.

2:19:51Sorry.

2:19:54Sorry, we're having you use me to a

2:19:56verbal vote.

2:19:59>> [snorts]

2:20:07>> I'm going to do a verbal vote. I'm

2:20:08sorry, we're having a problem with the

2:20:09system. Uh Councilman Belucci?

2:20:11>> I.

2:20:12>> Thank you. Councilman Cummings?

2:20:13>> I.

2:20:14>> Councilman I mean Mayor Dyer?

2:20:16>> I.

2:20:16>> Councilman Handley?

2:20:18>> I.

2:20:19>> Councilman Hutchinson?

2:20:20>> I.

2:20:20>> Councilman Jackson Green is absent.

2:20:22Councilman Remick?

2:20:23>> I.

2:20:23>> Councilman Rawls-Salmon?

2:20:25>> I.

2:20:25>> Councilman Rawls?

2:20:26>> I.

2:20:27>> Councilman Showman?

2:20:28>> I.

2:20:28>> Vice Mayor Wilson?

2:20:29>> I.

2:20:30>> By a vote of 10 to 0, you have appointed

2:20:32uh the individual named by Vice Mayor

2:20:35Wilson.

2:20:37>> Okay, any unfinished business? New

2:20:39business. Thank you all. We are

2:20:41adjourned.

2:20:48>> [music]