Chesapeake City Council Meeting - October 27, 2026

The Chesapeake City Council met at 6:30 p.m. on October 27, 2026, in the City Hall Council Chamber at 306 Cedar Road. All members were present at roll call; Vice Mayor Ritter was excused at 8:13 p.m. The council approved a $39,295,000 general obligation bond ordinance, routine consent items, major funding and policy items, board and commission appointments, an Edinburgh PUD lot-size modification, and a Crestwood at Parkside resolution. Closed sessions on City Hall security were held from 5:15-5:30 p.m. and 8:13-8:26 p.m.; the meeting adjourned at 8:27 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• The proposed agenda was approved 9-0, and the minutes of September 8, 15, and 22 were approved without objection.
• The consent agenda was approved 9-0 with the exception of City Clerk Item 1A, the $18,260.44 refund to Plan Bee Academy Inc., which was removed for follow-up. After Vice Mayor Ritter asked staff to verify the status of Plan Bee Academy, the refund was approved separately 9-0.
• Other consented actions included a refund of $11,322.66 to Columbia Chesapeake OPCO LLC; acceptance of Steven Turack's resignation from the Airport Authority; acceptance of $865 from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles for the Selective Enforcement-Alcohol Grant; acceptance of $5,000 from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for the Public Safety Answering Point Education Program Grant; authority to apply for a $10,000 Virginia Trees for Clean Water Grant; acceptance of $180,000 from the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services for the CIBH Workforce Funding Grant; and acceptance of $140,000 from the City of Virginia Beach for the Substance Abuse Outpatient Program, including transfer of two positions from the Opioid Settlement Grant.
• Resolutions were approved authorizing memoranda of understanding with the Chesapeake Commonwealth's Attorney for prosecution of designated city code and state law misdemeanors, traffic infractions, overweight citations, and related appeals, and with constitutional officers and the Chesapeake Public Defender on mutual cooperation, transparency, and fiscal stewardship.
• Councilmember Jeffries disclosed that he is a police department employee and could benefit from consent items involving police grants; he was advised he could participate after the disclosure and did participate.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Vic Nichols opposed the Edinburgh PUD lot-size reduction, recalling community opposition when large lots were previously changed to smaller lots, and criticized board and commission appointments as increasingly political rather than merit-based.
• Adam Villett, a Crestwood at Parkside resident, supported the Crestwood resolution. He said 72 houses in the Lake Drummond precinct are on the east side of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River while the rest of the precinct is on the west side, forcing some voters to travel about six miles to vote while other civic league members voted five blocks away. He presented maps showing the affected area is largely industrial, swamp, and river land with no housing.
• Linda Tyndale opposed the Edinburgh lot-size reduction, arguing that smaller lots would concentrate housing and increase runoff and wetland disturbance. She asked the council to keep the original 150 foot by 150 foot lot size or reduce the number of units.
• Robin Osborne, Angela Conz, Mary Jane Hamblin, Amanda Walker, and Debbie Eaton spoke in support of City Manager Item 9 and the Land of Grace Farm AFID grant. Amanda Walker, owner of Land of Grace, said it is the only USDA-certified organic farm in Hampton Roads, described her son's Crohn's disease as the motivation for the farm, said this was the third time she had asked for city support, and noted that Chesapeake has never applied for the AFID grant since it became available in 2021 while Virginia Beach has been awarded it twice.
• Ozanne Duran asked for a project-by-project accounting of borrowing authority before approving $39.3 million in bonds, citing $384 million in authorized but unissued bonds as of June, $296 million already appropriated to capital projects, and $53.7 million in borrowing authority expiring in December. He also objected to sections 1C, 1D, and 1E of the Commonwealth's attorney MOU that continue broad misdemeanor prosecution authority, and to allowing written reports to replace meetings with constitutional officers in the related MOU. On agribusiness, he supported Option A but opposed Options B and C, preferring state-administered grants over city-controlled programs and expressing concern about city-run farmers' markets.
• In non-agenda public comments, Vic Nichols pressed for road improvements ahead of a planned Costco at Greenbrier and criticized council responses to resident concerns. Ozanne Duran said he submitted a proposed resolution on October 1 regarding grocery stores selling deteriorated produce and asked the council to enforce the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

Discussion Items

• Public hearing - bond ordinance: Approved 9-0. The city manager explained that the city code limits annual borrowing authority to debt retired in the previous year plus $4.5 million, so failing to authorize the $39,295,000 would reduce capacity needed for the capital improvement program.
• Regular Item 6: Approved 9-0. Council approved a substantial amendment to the Program Year 47 2021-2022 HOME American Rescue Plan Action Plan reallocating $650,000 to the Heron's Landing Apartments HVAC replacement project and $250,000 to the ForKids Virginia Eviction Reduction Program.
• Regular Item 7: Approved 9-0. Council appropriated $185,000 from the High Priority One-Time Account to the Deep Creek Strategic Acquisition of Real Property capital improvement project.
• Regular Item 8: Approved 9-0. Council approved an amendment to the City of Chesapeake Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Trust Agreement.
• Regular Item 9 - agribusiness/agritourism: Approved Option A 8-1, with Mayor West voting no. Option A authorizes the city to apply for an AFID Infrastructure Grant on behalf of Land of Grace Farm and provide matching funds up to $25,000, subject to appropriation. Supporters said the agriculture department had selected Land of Grace through the established review process and that the grant would benefit residents and local farming. Mayor West said he objected to the process, not the farm, because the city normally awards grants to a class of people or organizations rather than a single individual.
• New Business A - Edinburgh PUD: Approved 8-1, with Councilmember Newins voting no. The accelerated proffer modification, requested by PRECON Development Corp Inc., allows lot sizes in Edinburgh CC4 to be reduced from 150 feet by 150 feet to 100 feet by 150 feet, with no increase in the total number of lots. Staff said the change minimizes disturbance to wetlands identified since the 2001 approval.
• New Business B - Crestwood at Parkside: Approved 9-0. The resolution recognizes community concerns about the impact of adopted congressional and state legislative districts. The city attorney stated it is a symbolic acknowledgment, not an amicus brief or legal challenge, and that the city lacks authority to change legislative districts.

Appointments to Boards and Commissions

• First slate approved 9-0: Chesapeake Hospital Authority reappointed Doug Davis, Alireza Farpour, and David Paradise and appointed Thomas Blechinger; Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority appointed Rebecca Adams and Haneef Majied; South Norfolk Revitalization Commission appointed James Locke and Kimberly Ward; Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Board reappointed Chrissy Nieves and appointed Sharon Byrdsong and Brenda Fleming; Chesapeake Interagency Consortium reappointed Shawn Barnwell, Kenya Brown, Jessica Joyner, Nerissa Rhodes, Nikole Taylor, and William Wimbish and appointed Elexus Rogers; Human Services Advisory Board appointed Courtney Coleman, Terese Delbridge, Joseph Glover, Millicent Lee, Kelsey Little, and Shynara Manley; Parks, Recreation and Tourism Advisory Board reappointed Jean McClellan-Holt and appointed Steven Bernstein, Danyale Campbell, Bryson Moran, and Daizia Williams; Transportation Toll Facility Advisory Committee appointed David Vitto.
• Second slate approved 8-0: Planning Commission reappointed Muriel Barefield and appointed Kathleen Kaurup. Councilmember Bunn recused and left the chamber for this vote.

Council Requests and Directives

• Vice Mayor Ritter asked staff to develop a farmer microgrant program with input from the Chesapeake Agricultural Advisory Commission and the ad hoc agriculture/agritourism committee, funded from the High Priority One-Time Account for the spring growing season, and said she intended to bring forward Option C as new business.
• Councilmember Jeffries asked staff to work with economic development and local grocery stores to create more shelf space for local farmers' products.
• Councilmember Newins asked for a legislative priority on setbacks from industrial uses such as battery storage and data centers near residential areas and for a comprehensive memo on road infrastructure projects.
• Councilmember Ward asked for speed monitoring on Georgetown Boulevard and Camelot Boulevard and for review of precinct changes that have moved voters out of Camelot; Vice Mayor Ritter asked for additional speed trailers in the next budget.
• Councilmember Bond noted that South Bay Communications and Security celebrated 25 years in Chesapeake and expanded to more than 10,000 square feet in Deep Creek.

Key Outcomes

• Bond ordinance approved 9-0.
• Consent and regular agenda items approved as noted; Agribusiness Option A approved 8-1 with Mayor West voting no; Edinburgh PUD approved 8-1 with Councilmember Newins voting no; Crestwood at Parkside resolution approved 9-0.
• Board and commission appointments approved; the Planning Commission slate passed 8-0 after Councilmember Bunn's recusal.
• Closed meeting motions and certifications passed 8-0 after Vice Mayor Ritter was excused; the council discussed governmental facility security and City Hall response plans.
• The meeting adjourned at 8:27 p.m.