Chesapeake City Council Meeting – July 16, 2024
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Chesapeake City Council Meeting – July 16, 2024
The Chesapeake City Council met on July 16, 2024, at 6:30 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber. Eight members were present (Council Member Ike excused). The meeting opened with invocation by Council Member Newins, pledge of allegiance, and roll call. The proposed agenda and minutes were approved unanimously. The meeting included a special presentation, public hearings on nine planning items, new business, council announcements, and a closed meeting.
Special Presentation
- Certificate of Recognition – Freedom, Sacrifice and Service Month: Mayor West presented an American flag to Carl Dozier, father of SSG Jonathan K. Dozier, honoring VFW Post 2894. The post has over 250 members, was named an All-State All-American Post for the ninth consecutive time, and received a national award selected from 6,000 VFW posts worldwide.
Public Hearings – Planning Items
Item A – Stonehurst & Jefferson Rezoning (PLN-REZ-2022-016)
- Proposal: Rezone 0.33 acres from B-1 (Neighborhood Business) to R-8 (Residential) to allow two single-family homes.
- Speaker: John Harbin (Chesapeake Land Bank Authority) spoke in support, noting the property is adjacent to existing homes and unsuitable for commercial use.
- Discussion: Council Member Carey asked about home orientation; Harbin explained houses face Liberty Street due to lot constraints. Council Member Ritter confirmed variances for lot sizes (7,170 sq ft) and asked about owner-occupancy deed restrictions, which Harbin agreed to include.
- Vote: Approved 8-0 with proffers.
Item B – Kingsborough Square Rezoning (PLN-REZ-2024-005)
- Proposal: Rezone 7.7 acres from B-2 to R-MF-2 (Multifamily Residential) for up to 200 apartments.
- Speakers: Grady Palmer (applicant representative) spoke in support, citing proximity to Chesapeake Regional Hospital and need for housing; Chris Sanders and Larry Barry (questions only). Vic Nicholls (self) opposed, raising concerns about traffic and affordability.
- Discussion: Palmer estimated 15 school-age children generated; all schools operate under city level-of-service policy.
- Vote: Approved 8-0 with proffers.
Item C – Kingsborough Square Height Exception (PLN-USE-2024-011)
- Conditional use permit for building height up to 55 feet. No public speakers.
- Vote: Approved 8-0 with stipulation.
Item D – Springton at Grassfield PUD (PLN-PUDC-2023-001)
- Proposal: Rezone 172.5 acres to PUD with expansion of public utilities franchise area. Staff recommended denial; Planning Commission recommended approval with criteria.
- Continuance Request: Bryan Plumlee (Dragas Associates) requested an indefinite continuance to address school-level-of-service issues, apologizing to those who attended.
- Speakers on continuance: Several residents opposed continuance, including Meredith Hutto, Jeff Staples, Jennifer Economy, Amelia Wallace, Linda Tindell, Antonio Taylor (Rural Chesapeake Preservation), Vanessa Butler, Andrew Prunitis, and Blaizen Bloom. Vic Nicholls spoke generally. Arguments included years of limbo for residents, developer delays, and burden on citizens and staff.
- Discussion: Council Member Carey supported continuance for due diligence; he noted the motion does not preclude future review of merits. City Manager Price clarified that if changes are substantial, council could remand to Planning Commission.
- Vote: Motion to continue indefinitely passed 6-1 (Council Member Newins voted no; Council Member Ritter abstained; Council Member Ike excused).
Item E – McGhee’s Concrete CUP (PLN-USE-2023-029)
- Conditional use permit for concrete manufacturing on 2.6 acres. No speakers for or against; applicant available for questions. Staff recommended approval.
- Discussion: Council Member Carey noted the applicant engaged well with citizens to address concerns.
- Vote: Approved 8-0 with stipulations.
Item F – YMCA Athletic Fields CUP (PLN-USE-2024-010)
- Conditional use permit for outdoor athletic facility on Centerville Turnpike.
- Speakers: Grady Palmer (YMCA) in support; Adam Kahrl (YMCA) for questions; Meagan Pecsock (self) supported but raised traffic safety on Stonely Court (no-outlet street). Vic Nicholls (self) asked YMCA to consider similar facilities in South Norfolk and Camelot.
- Discussion: Palmer confirmed 360 parking spaces will be constructed, with stipulations to add no-parking signs and manage event sizes if needed. Council Member Ritter asked about no-parking signs on Centerville Turnpike; Palmer agreed to work with staff.
- Vote: Approved 8-0 with stipulations.
Item G – Iglesias Church CUP (PLN-USE-2024-012)
- Conditional use permit for a church in a shopping center unit at 2411 Bainbridge Boulevard. No speakers.
- Vote: Approved 8-0 with stipulation.
Item H – Sign Ordinance Text Amendment (PLN-TXT-2024-001)
- Amendment to zoning code regarding sign setbacks and civil penalties. No speakers.
- Vote: Approved 8-0 (version dated April 25, 2024).
Item I – The Commons Accelerated Proffer Modification (PLN-PUDM-2020-007)
- This item was previously denied on June 18, 2024; reconsideration was granted on June 25. Staff continued to recommend denial.
- Speaker: Grady Palmer (applicant) requested the council remand the matter to Planning Commission to start the process over.
- Opposition speakers: Vic Nicholls (support staff denial), Jeff Staples (opposed continuance, called developer tactics heinous), Linda Tindell (raised safety issue of proposed entrance across from Cedar Road Elementary school and cited email exchange with Jay Leftwich and developer Robert Zerpoly).
- Discussion: Council Member Ritter moved to remand, stating the best way to improve the project is to send it back to Planning Commission with community input. City Manager confirmed staff had no objection to remand.
- Vote: Motion to remand to Planning Commission passed 8-0.
Citizens’ Comments on Agenda Items
- None.
Unfinished Business
- None.
New Business
Item A – Fieldstone (Davis Property) Accelerated Proffer Modification (PLN-REZ-2021-001)
- Amendment to proffer 2.e regarding garage door width and front building projections.
- Vote: Approved 8-0 with revised proffer statement dated May 13, 2024.
Item B – Hampton Roads Integrated BioEnergy Complex CUP Time Extension (PLN-USESW-2018-001)
- Time extension to June 18, 2025. Staff had no objections.
- Discussion: Council Member Ritter opposed, stating the original 2019 stipulations may be outdated and citizens should have a fresh review. Council Member Newins joined the opposition.
- Vote: Approved 6-2 (Council Members Newins and Ritter opposed; Council Member Ike excused).
Council Announcements and Requests
- Mayor West and Council Member Bunn attended the ribbon cutting for a new Habitat for Humanity home (1337 Commerce Avenue, South Norfolk) – a 1,500 sq ft, four-bedroom home for a single mother with two children. West thanked Council Member Whitaker and John Harbin (Land Bank Authority).
- Council Member Whitaker requested City Manager Price to expand capacity of existing recycling drop-off locations and add new sites, citing success of the program.
- Council Member Newins objected to moving forward with expansion until cost estimates are provided, noting the November referendum on curbside recycling (with a potential fee up to $10/month) that could affect need for drop-offs. Price acknowledged the request for cost information.
- Council Member Carey announced the grand opening of Dime Nail Supply in Indian River on July 13, 2024, a Black-owned nail supply business founded by Diamond Frost.
- Council Member Ritter commended City Manager Price and public safety personnel for their planning and execution of the June 28 presidential campaign rally for former President Donald J. Trump at Greenbrier Farms, highlighting coordination and the use of medics and firefighters.
Closed Meeting
- Motion to conduct a closed meeting per Virginia Code § 2.2-3711(A)(5) (discussion of business expansion) passed 6-2 (Council Members Newins and Ritter voted no). The closed meeting was held from 7:53 PM to 8:02 PM.
- Certification of the closed meeting (that only lawful matters were discussed) passed 6-0 (Council Members Newins and Ritter abstained; Council Member Ike excused).
Key Outcomes
- All public hearing items except one were approved unanimously (8-0) with proffers or stipulations:
- Stonehurst & Jefferson (Item A) – approved.
- Kingsborough Square rezoning (Item B) – approved.
- Kingsborough Square height exception (Item C) – approved.
- McGhee’s Concrete (Item E) – approved.
- YMCA Athletic Fields (Item F) – approved.
- Iglesias Church (Item G) – approved.
- Sign ordinance (Item H) – approved.
- Springton at Grassfield PUD (Item D) was continued indefinitely (6-1, one abstention).
- The Commons Accelerated Proffer Modification (Item I) was remanded to Planning Commission (8-0).
- New Business: Fieldstone proffer modification approved (8-0); BioEnergy time extension approved (6-2).
- Council directed staff to provide cost estimates for recycling drop-off expansion before proceeding.
- The meeting adjourned with benediction by Council Member Newins.
Note: The meeting transcript included unrelated content (police SWAT team description and Dominion Energy advertisement) at the beginning, which were not part of the official meeting. Summary based on minutes and agenda.
Meeting Transcript
Hi, I'm Officer Dupree Foster with the Chesapeake Police Department, and today we're gonna learn about the SWAT team. I'm here with Sergeant Sparrow. Good afternoon. Hey there. Thanks for coming out and hanging out with us. Yes, sir. So tell me a little bit about the SWAT team and what it's all about. What do you all do? So the SWAT team is a collateral unit within the department. Currently we have 26 operators and then we have one commanding officer, which is a lieutenant. The SWAT team is basically stood up to respond to high risk situations, whether they be high-risk warrant services or barricaded subjects, hostage rescue. We also do high risk tracking in the woods. Sometimes we do dignitary protection if we have uh you know VIPs coming in the area, like Vice President Pence came not too long ago. So wow, so you ought to do a lot of cool things. Yes. So what does it take to like become a SWAT team officer? A lot of people ask that. You have to go through an application process. Basically, you have to have an exceptional e-val, it exceeds e-val, uh no use of force issues or anything within your uh your file. You also have to be able to uh have good marksmanship skills, so 90% or above in uh pistol qualifications. And once you qualify for that and go through the background investigation and pass a physical fitness test, there's a five-week course. Uh we call it the basic SWAT operator course, and it encompasses pretty much everything we do. Uh since we're a collateral team, people that come out of the basic SWAT school are operational at that point. They have all the skills they needed to be an operator, um, and that includes building clearing, water operations, um, firearms, um, and all everything pretty much that we need to do our job effectively. So that training, do you all send an officer somewhere else for specialized training? No, we do that in-house. Uh we have, I would say collectively, you know, it's probably over a hundred years of experience put together between our senior operators as well as our new operators, and they come from all backgrounds, some come from the military before they were here. Uh we often uh cross-train with some military, so we pick up a lot of stuff that we can put together uh in-house and do our SWAT school. Nice, and so some of the things that the equipment that you use, can you talk a little bit about that equipment? Anything special? I guess you have a lot of special. Oh, yeah, so we have we have all kinds of equipment. Obviously, we have our basic our entry gun, so which is a 11 and a half inch barrel. It's a what we call AR-15 uh rifle. We use suppressors on those. Uh the snipers have a 308. Um it's a JP precision rifle, and that's that's for long-range uh engagements. Uh we also have the breaching unit. They have all their various tools which uh range from manual breaching tools to explosive breaching. Um, they also use high diarlic breachers. Uh we have a maritime unit which has zodiac uh little inflatable boats with motors. In case we have water out, we can get there, you know, by water. We also have a tech unit, which is probably our up-and-coming unit where we're starting to utilize more tech with the SWAT team. So we have you know miniature robots, we have large robots, we have pole cams that are on a long pole. We also have drones now, so we have drones, we've incorporated that in the SWAT team. Now with the drones, we have a separate drone team in the department. Correct. Are they joint with you all or how's that work? No. So the UAS team within the department, um, their responsibility is more or less for a major instance.
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