Shore Drive Community Coalition

McLeskey has asked a judge to temporarily halt the sale of the land for environmental preservation

From Pilotonline.com:

The Trust for Public Land, which is leading the partnership in the purchase of the property for conservation, is aware of the lawsuit, said Kent Whitehead, the Chesapeake project director for the organization.

“It may cause a slight delay, but we remain confident that the conservation of this property will eventually come to fruition,” Whitehead said in an e-mail.

Make your tax deductible donation to preserve 100% of PHP

Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation Foundation is accepting your tax deductible donations to help preserve 100% of Pleasure House Point.

What’s the harm with a small commercial development on this property? The answer is simple. There is no do-over.

And:

Top Reasons to Donate:

1. Save the largest undeveloped parcel of land on the Lynnhaven River for generations to come.
2. Preserve your City’s Green Space and the opportunity to experience shoreline habitat, wetlands, and maritime forest.
3. Protect the natural habitat of birds and marine life.
4. Produce healthy lifestyle opportunities by having trails in close proximity to residences in one of the highest density areas in the City. *
5. Raise property values and prevent added congestion in this area. **
6. Be part of a legacy purchase; we will not have this opportunity again.

Learn more at the Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation Foundation Pleasure House Point Fundraiser page.

Like a high school student at Cape Henry Collegiate once said about the importance of preserving PHP:

  “I don’t feel like this is an adult issue. It’s our future. It’s our Virginia Beach.”

Please be generous in sharing this link, and in donating.

Any amount will help. Thank you.

PHP is your unknown backyard. Click to view larger.

City Council Pending Item List

Click to view the 20 page document. (.pdf Version)

Click to view the 20 page document. (Google Document Version)

There is a lot of info in there that will affect your life in the Shore Drive community.

City’s latest announcement about PHP

At SavePHP.org:

“The city anticipates working with citizens and partner groups to develop a plan for use of the public open space, building on the city’s existing plans to preserve land and improve water quality in the Lynnhaven watershed, including a return of the famous Lynnhaven Oyster fishery.”

PHP site partnership opportunity presentation at SDCC Meeting

July 26th we had a very exciting presentation from the City of Virginia Beach, the Trust for Public Land and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

View the 5 slides that were presented. (.pdf version)
View the 5 slides that were presented. (Google Docs version)

Op-Ed from Chairman of Dollar Tree thanks SDCC for work on PHP so far

Read entire Op-Ed by Mr. Macon Brock at ePilot.com:

But thanks to this partnership and the many groups such as Shore Drive Community Coalition, Lynnhaven River NOW and other members of the community who worked hard to prevent intensive development on this land, it is encouraging to know this treasure will have the best, most capable, caring environmental stewards — if the rest of the needed funds to purchase the property materialize.

Grace’s letter to the Editor of the Pilot about the opportunity with PHP

It is not available at Pilotonline.com yet, so here it is here:

It is not sufficient to thank the present Mayor and City Council of Virginia Beach for their role in the recent negotiations to preserve Pleasure House Point, although it’s a good place to start.  This effort has been underway for so long, there are others who should be recognized, as well.  In addition to the sitting Council, previous Council members and past Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, are to be commended for maintaining the acquisition of this tract at the top of the Open Space wish list.

  The Virginia Beach Wetlands Board of 2006-07 demonstrated great courage and wisdom in challenging the environmental claims made by the developer.  Numerous respected organizations like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Lynnhaven River NOW, bayfront civic leagues and individual professional experts joined countless ordinary citizens to document and publicize the value of this parcel.  I am pleased to say that the Shore Drive Community Coalition was a part of this effort.

  I, for one, do not rejoice in the difficulties the Sandler brothers are currently facing.  No one should revel in the misfortune of others.  The economic hardship facing many Virginia Beach residents is personal devastation.  Small comfort to them, but without such financial conditions, it is doubtful that much, if any, of Pleasure House Point could remain in its natural state.  We are thankful that something good might come in the midst of bleakness
.

Thank you, all who have labored so diligently.  Mayor Will Sessoms, Vice Mayor Louis Jones and honorable Council members, take a bow.

“By the end of the meeting, Wells Fargo agreed to sell the property for $13 million”

Read and comment on article at Pilotonline.com:

On the other hand, if Wells Fargo held out for more money and sold to another developer, environmental permits would be needed before construction could begin and homebuyers would have to return to the market.

SDCC thanked for their work by Chesapeake Bay Foundation

From The Bay Daily:

The property, known as Pleasure House Point, has been the focus of extensive community debate, with local groups such as Shore Drive Community Coalition, Lynnhaven River NOW, and CBF vigorously opposed to development proposed for the parcel.

Thank you.

To the volunteers who protected 100% of Pleasure House Point

The incredible news you heard today:

“Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr.  announced today that the 122-acre property known as Pleasure House Point may be acquired and protected under terms of a deal between Wells Fargo bank and The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national environmental group.  The property has been a top city open-space priority for a decade. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and The Trust for Public Land plan to partner with the city to pull together funding to meet the $13 million purchase price.

Pleasure House Point, located just west of the Lesner Bridge and south of the Chesapeake Bay, is at the confluence of Pleasure House Creek and Crab Creek, overlooking the Lynnhaven River. The property’s owner, L.M. Sandler & Sons, had planned to build a large waterfront development there known as Indigo Dunes.”

... is at the very least exciting for Hampton Roads residents and future generations.

Over the next days, and weeks you will undoubtedly hear more details about the possibilities of what Pleasure House Point will be.

From housing a wildlife refuge & rehab center to being part of the Lynnhaven River Blueway and being a leader in educational programs for disabled children & adults. Pleasure House Point will be home to an inspiring facility that will not only protect a jewel of Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads - but can just as assuredly, incubate big thinking on so many levels we have not had a chance to comprehend. Yet.

If it were not for countless hard working, selfless volunteers who dedicated an incomprehensible amount of time, energy, and effort to save Pleasure House Point from development and to raise the level of awareness to the property’s value for preservation, open space, and environmental education, we would not be having this conversation right now.

Without you, dear volunteer we would not be at this place in time.

Without you, dear volunteer, this opportunity to tell your grand children you were there when… would not be possible.

We hope a thank you is enough. But we know it’s not.

We know protecting 100% of Pleasure House Point is merely a starting point for something bold and grand that you will be proud of.

And in case you haven’t heard it enough, for the work you’ve put in to accomplish this feat - thank you. Thank you dear volunteer. You do and will continue to make a difference.

City Announces Partnership to Acquire Pleasure House Point

City Announces Partnership to Acquire Pleasure House Point
Plans include environmental education center and preservation of open space

City News Release Date:  Tuesday, July 13, 2010 6:30 p.m.
 
...“Thanks to The Trust for Public Land, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the citizens of Virginia Beach, we have a plan to save the vast majority of Pleasure House Point from development,” Mayor Sessoms said. “The strength of this partnership gives us the best chance yet to preserve this unique property. Our persistence is paying off!”...
 

To read the entire news release, click on this link Partnership to Acquire Pleasure House Point

You can also check for additional updates on this topic at the Pilotonline’s article Virginia Beach to buy, preserve Shore Drive property

SDCC’s October 26th meeting includes one idea how to make PHP public space

You’ve heard rumors about Indigo Dunes, preserving PHP as a public park, that the City should pay $25M to buy it, etc.

Attend SDCC’s Meeting October 26th to find out:

the latest on Indigo Dunes & Pleasure House Point.
ask your questions and get answers about how to make PHP public open space.
view an idea to create an environmental learning center on PHP and how it could affect our beloved neighborhood.

Rumors of the Mayor, City Manager and the President attending are, as of the date of this post, unfounded rumors.

Watch this website and our eNewsletter for official info.

Executive order expanding grants to protect Ches Bay

From the Official Website:

Federal agencies have released seven draft reports on protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay.

They include:

develop focused and coordinated habitat and research activities that protect and restore living resources and water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed (U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Interior).

Hampton Roads short on preserving open space in Virginia plan

“If we continue as we have, Virginia will develop more land in the next 40 years than we have in the last 400 years,” the governor said in a speech.
If he did not take action in this way, Kaine added, “the opportunity to do it will not be there for future governors and future Virginians.”

Only 5,000 acres of 339,000 preserved are in Hampton Roads.
Read & comment on article at Pilotonline.com.

How about adding Pleasure House Point as public open space for future generations?
Here’s one idea how to do it.

U.S. District Court Judge in D.C. Finds Permit “Arbitrary and Capricious”

Not for pending provisional permit for Indigo Dunes, but after a 20 year fight, for a permit for King William Reservoir.

Significant case to follow for those involved with Indigo Dunes?

In his ruling yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. said the Army Corps “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” when it found that the reservoir was the least damaging practicable alternative. The judge also found arbitrary and capricious the Corps’ conclusion that the permit will not cause or contribute to significant degradation of the waters of the United States and that the permit complies with the public interest.

More at CBF.org.

Latest info[note date on post!] on pending permit with Army Corp of Engineers for Indigo Dunes.

The Bank is current point of contact for Pleasure House Point?

Question #8 – Do you think now is a good time to approach the Sandlers with some type of acquisition plan (cash, land swap, tax deferral, wetland bank creation) for Pleasure House Point (Indigo Dunes)? Louis Jones
– The City has approached the Bank about a possible outright purchase of the property.  The Bank is the current point of contact for the property and the City is discussing a possible all cash purchase of the property.  Whether it would all be maintained as open space or some of it sold off for smaller less dense development, would have to be determined after purchase.

From this Q&A.

Report shows Hampton Roads lacks public parkland

Check new report, Bracing for Change at The Trust for Public Land.

By comparison, much more crowded New York City actually has more parkland than all five of the Hampton Roads cities combined. And even though the five Hampton [Roads] cities cover a much larger area than New York, Boston or the main cities of San Francisco Bay, the other three regions all have more parkland as a percentage of their cities’ land area than Hampton Roads.

ACOE comment period for Indigo Dunes ends

Comment period for the ACOE to accept the public’s input ended today at 4:00pm.

No word on our pending FOIA. No word on a scheduled public hearing.

Wetlands Watch opposes ACOE permit app for Indigo Dunes

From Wetlands Watch:

We believe that this proposed project will result in irreversible adverse effects constituting a significant adverse impact to the Lynnhaven River watershed, as well as the Chesapeake Bay, when viewed against past impacts and those anticipated in the reasonably foreseeable future.

The applicant proposes to permanently impact 1.37 acres of tidal vegetated wetlands, 1.21 acres of nontidal vegetated wetlands, 2.44 acres of waters of the United States, and 0.77 acres of tidal non-vegetated wetlands. We maintain that these impacts are sufficient to deny the permit application given the significantly impaired state of the Lynnhaven River and the Chesapeake Bay. The avoidance of these impacts is to be considered prior to and independently of any proposed mitigation measures.

Wetlands Watch Comments. [4pg PDF]

CBF opposes Indigo Dunes application to ACOE

Thanks to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for submitting comments:

CBF opposes the issuance of this permit for the reasons detailed below, including its failure to comply with the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §1251 et seq., and urges the Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) to deny the application.  However, should the Corps not deny the permit at this time, CBF submits that the Corps must, at a minimum, hold a public hearing on the proposed project. 
The Project Fails to Avoid and Minimize Wetland Impacts

CBF Comments. [3pg PDF]