Hampton City Council Legislative Session - January 8, 2025
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Hampton City Council Legislative Session - January 8, 2025
The Hampton City Council held a legislative session on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers. Mayor Jimmy Gray presided, joined by all seven council members. The meeting covered consent agenda items, three public hearings on use permits, a combined public hearing on five budget amendments totaling over $20 million, public comment from four residents, and the appointment of Mayor Gray to the Virginia First Cities board. The city manager was out of town; Deputy City Manager Brian DeProfio represented staff.
Consent Calendar
All six items on the consent agenda were approved unanimously by a 7-0 vote:
- Resolution requesting VDOT to add/delete certain streets from the classified system.
- Amendment to the Citizens Police Advisory Group resolution.
- Correction of appointment terms for CPAG, Peninsula Agency on Aging, and Neighborhood Commission.
- Authorization to donate Taser equipment to Gloucester County Sheriff's Office.
- Authorization to donate a ballistic vest and carrier to Creston, Ohio Police Department.
- Approval of minutes from the October 23, 2024 work session.
Public Hearings
1. Use Permit – Dominion Energy Communication Tower (902 G Street) Chief Planner Donald Whipple presented a proposal to replace an existing 170-foot tower with a new self-supporting tower. The tower will be used by Dominion Energy with potential for co-location. Staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval with nine conditions. Councilwoman Mugler confirmed the existing tower would be removed after the new one is operational. No public speakers. The council voted 7-0 to approve the use permit with nine conditions.
2. Use Permit – Raising Cane’s Restaurant (1044 W. Mercury Blvd) The applicant sought extended hours of operation for an existing fast-food restaurant (Sunday–Thursday 9am–2am, Friday–Saturday 9am–3am) as a Restaurant 3 use. Staff recommended approval with eight conditions, including hours of operation 5am–3am daily (consistent with other fast-food restaurants). No public speakers. Council voted 7-0 to approve with eight conditions.
3. Use Permit – Karma Restaurant and Lounge Expansion (85-87 Lincoln Street) This application involved expanding an existing restaurant into an adjacent suite and requesting extended hours (5am–2am daily) with live entertainment. Staff recommended Sunday–Thursday 5am–12am, Friday–Saturday 5am–2am. The Planning Commission recommended approval with 13 conditions and an amendment for 5am–2am daily with an updated security plan. An alternative option included specific holidays for extended hours. Applicant Courtney Ray expressed concerns about third-party promoter restrictions, security camera 24-hour access, and hours of operation. Council discussed the lack of a community meeting and the incomplete security plan. Councilwoman Mugler moved to defer the item to February 26, 2025, requiring a completed and approved security plan and a community meeting. The motion passed 4-3 (Bowman, Brown, Ferebee, Mugler in favor; Campbell, Harper, Gray opposed).
Combined Public Hearing – Budget Amendments (Items 10-14) Deputy City Manager DeProfio explained that the budget amendments exceeded the 1% threshold, necessitating a public hearing. The five items:
- Item 10: $20,006,400 EPA Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant for Aberdeen Gardens Community Resilience Implementation Strategy (no local match).
- Item 11: $2,000,000 from capital fund balance to cover increased costs of ongoing capital projects.
- Item 12: $42,427 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant for police equipment.
- Item 13: $150,000 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant for terrorism/active shooter and bleeding control training in Hampton Roads.
- Item 14: $11,843 State Homeland Security Program Grant for Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) regional collaboration on the Peninsula. No public speakers. Each item was approved separately by 7-0 votes.
Public Comments & Testimony
Four residents spoke during the public comment period:
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Travis Adams (resident): Congratulated new and returning council members. Advocated for property tax reform, specifically a split-rate tax on land to encourage development. Cited the Willow Oaks Shopping Center as an example where property value dropped from $15 million (2019) to $10 million (2024), and tax burden fell from $220,000 to $80,000 while the center remains largely empty. Urged council to consider this approach, referencing Pittsburgh and Detroit.
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Aaron Weaver (resident): Praised Vice Mayor Brown for his leadership and responsiveness to neighborhood concerns, citing specific instances where Brown stood alone for the community. Thanked all council members and emphasized partnership between citizens and council.
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Joan Weaver (resident): Called for immediate action on the Hampton History Museum inclusion of the Virginia State School for the Deaf and Blind history. Demanded discontinuation of further "community conversation" and urged council to act. Questioned the status of $1.5 million previously set aside for the project. Also asked not to forget the Old Wythe neighborhood. Praised various council members and Vice Mayor Brown.
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Andrew Stith (resident): Congratulated Vice Mayor Brown. Raised concerns about lack of accommodations for people with disabilities: poor crosswalks, lack of signalized crossings, and need for better lighting and reflective gear. Also criticized the quality of renovated homes (specifically VA loan properties) and called for stricter city, state, and federal ordinances requiring new electrical, plumbing, and fixtures in refurbished homes.
Staff response: Deputy City Manager DeProfio confirmed that the $1.5 million for the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind project remains set aside, awaiting the conclusion of the community planning process.
Other Business
Appointment: Council voted 7-0 to appoint Mayor Jimmy Gray to the Board of Directors of Virginia First Cities, filling the seat of former Mayor Donnie Tuck.
Vice Mayor Brown Remarks: Thanked citizens, acknowledged his upbringing and the support of the community. Pledged to work collaboratively, stating "we may not agree, but we should never be disagreeable." Emphasized the council's commitment to making an impact.
Councilman Bowman Remarks: Thanked citizens and looked forward to listening and being their voice. Quoted Henry Ford: "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda approved 7-0.
- Dominion Energy communication tower use permit approved 7-0 (with 9 conditions).
- Raising Cane’s use permit approved 7-0 (with 8 conditions).
- Karma Restaurant expansion deferred to February 26, 2025, by a 4-3 vote, contingent on a completed security plan approved by HPD and a community meeting.
- Five budget amendments approved individually by 7-0 votes, including $20 million EPA grant for Aberdeen Gardens.
- Mayor Gray appointed to Virginia First Cities board 7-0.
- Public comments received; staff provided clarification on the $1.5 million fund.
- Meeting adjourned at 8:03 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening uh everyone and welcome to uh city council legislative session this evening and uh I want to uh begin by asking the clerk to call a roll councilman Bowman, present Vice Mayor Brown, present, councilwoman Campbell, present, councilwoman Fairby, present, councilwoman Harper, present, councilwoman Muggler, present, Mayor Gray. Present. Uh this evening the uh invocing will be uh given by uh council member Muggler, and so I ask you to please stand and join us for the invocation and then the Pledge of Leaders. Oh God, we come before you with gratitude. We thank you for being a God of love who is with us now in these chambers. You never leave us or forsake us. We thank you for making each of us in this room, every person we meet, every citizen of this city and every city in your own image with dignity and infinite worth. We thank you for the calling you have given each of us on this city council to be good stewards of your creation, to love our neighbors as ourselves. We thank you tonight, God, for these your servants, our mayor, our city manager, our city staff. We all come to this room tonight as complex human beings carrying burdens, carrying joy and hope, trusting that you alone can hold us together, oh God, in your love and peace. Help us, Lord, to trust you more than our fears and our wounds and even our accomplishments. And so as we pray that you would be glorified tonight through the decisions of this city council, we pray that you have the eyes to see how our lives are all connected and how our common good is upheld when we listen and respond to those with most vulnerable among us. May your truth be revealed, may your light shine brighter, may the voices of those most silenced be heard loud and clear. Defend their cause, oh God, through the governing body tonight. We pray for wisdom, for strength, for courage to do what is right and good for all citizens. May we put the interests of others above our own, and may we act with love for the common good. May we be good neighbors, recognizing your image in every person. We thank you again for this council, our mayor, our city staff, our first responders, and all those who work to make this place we call home such a wonderful city. In the name of Jesus, whose perfect love makes all things possible. Amen. Uh, all of our new council members and elective vice mayor. So uh we have uh joining us uh this evening for the first time is uh newcomers to City Council, uh Councilwoman Carolyn Campbell and uh Councilman Randy Bowman. And then also sworn in today was uh Councilwoman Michelle Taylor Farabee, who's uh I guess on your second tour of duty on City Council. She spent a year with us uh about two years ago filling in for vacancy, so uh glad to have her back, and then also sworn in uh council member uh Hope Harper, and uh so we'll uh you know, uh winner this uh election and uh top vote getter in the election today, so we're glad to have Hope back with us. And then we had an election. We elected a new vice mayor, so congratulations to uh councilman and now Vice Mayor Stephen Brown. And so this is uh our new team. This is your new city council uh for the next uh couple of years, and so I am uh uh honored to be able to work with this group. Uh I think we have uh assemble uh based on the voters in the community and the citizens of Hampton uh put together a really good team. And uh, you know, I thought about as we come together for this uh this new term uh of City Council uh when I was a fire chief. We used to do a uh, you know, we we worked very hard and did some remarkable work in bringing uh uh career and volunteer firefighters together, uh different perspectives, different uh thoughts and ideas of uh uh you know under one mission, and we were very successful in doing that and uh creating uh a really great team. And so uh my deputy chief and I, after you know, experiencing some success with bringing career and volunteer firefighters together. We with we did a presentation that we we uh did for you know talking about how we were able to get uh people with diverse mindsets and um you know education levels and experience levels and uh commitment levels to work together under one mission, and we name that uh the goal in marriage is not to think alike, but is to think together. And so I think that uh what we have to do, and our challenge is uh, you know, we come from different uh political persuasions and different backgrounds and experiences, and so you know our goal here is to uh do the best work for the citizens of Hampton and make our city a great city. So it's not all about thinking alike, it's about thinking together. And I'm confident that we're gonna do things together to uh make some remarkable changes and do some really great work for our city. So glad to have you all on board and uh looking forward to uh things to come. So with that, uh I'm gonna ask uh uh clerk to uh read the protocol for the consent agenda. Ms. Glass. The consent agenda is comprised of non-controversial matters before the council, which require a vote by the council due to their routine nature. Typically, these items are adopted by one motion without separate discussion. Tonight your consent agenda requests that VDOT adjust the street list into the maintenance system. It amends the resolution establishing the citizens police advisory group to change the calculation of the quorum requirement. It corrects the terms of some appointees on the citizen police advisory group, Peninsula Agency on Aging, and the Neighborhood Commission. It authorizes the Hampton Police Division to donate tasers, which would otherwise be destroyed, to the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office, and one surplus ballistic vesting carrier to the Creston Ohio Police Department, and it approves the minutes of one city council meeting. Okay, and with that, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? Mr. Mayor, I move approval of tonight's consent agenda. Second.
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