Hampton City Council Work Session: Budget, Zoning, and Closed Session - May 13, 2026
Hampton City Council Work Session – May 13, 2026
The Hampton City Council held a work session on May 13, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:05 p.m. The meeting included presentations on proposed restaurant zoning amendments, a final budget discussion before the evening's scheduled adoption of the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget, and a closed session. The Infill Housing Plan Book briefing was deferred.
Consent Calendar
- Deferral of Infill Housing Plan Book Briefing (Item 26-0148): The item was deferred to the May 27, 2026 work session because the consultant was unable to attend. City Manager Mary Bunting explained that both Council and the public should have the benefit of hearing from the consultant in addition to staff. The motion to defer was made by Vice Mayor Steven Brown, seconded by Councilmember Carolyn Campbell, and carried 5-0 (Councilmember Bowman was excused, Councilmember Ferebee arrived later).
Discussion Items
- Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments for Restaurant 2 Use (Item 26-0162): Zoning Administrator Melvion Fulgham presented proposed amendments to address public safety concerns at establishments that combine alcohol service, live entertainment, late-night operations, and higher occupancy (100+ patrons). The amendments would trigger enhanced security measures (certified security personnel, exterior cameras connected to the Hampton Police Department's Real-Time Information Center, identification scanning) when establishments meet all four thresholds: alcohol service, intensive live entertainment, occupancy of 100+, and operations beyond 11:00 p.m. The proposal distinguishes between incidental (e.g., solo musicians, trivia) and intensive entertainment (e.g., DJs, karaoke), with security starting at 11:00 p.m. until 30 minutes after closing. Restrictions on third-party promoters, window transparency during evening hours, and continued prohibition of dance floors were also discussed. Staff noted the proposal will go through the Planning Commission before returning to Council for final action.
- Council Feedback on Restaurant 2 Amendments: Vice Mayor Brown questioned the security staffing ratio and suggested window transparency should be required during all operating hours, not just evening. Mayor Gray questioned the 11:00 p.m. security start time vs. the midnight closing for Restaurant 2; City Manager Bunting clarified that the 30-minute post-closing security is for patron safety. Councilmember Mugler recommended adding camera connection verification to the business opening checklist before occupancy permits are issued. Mayor Gray supported a checklist to ensure business owners acknowledge all conditions, noting that some have claimed they "didn't know" requirements. Ms. Fulgham confirmed staff is revising the zoning administrator permit application to improve clarity.
- Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Discussion (Item 26-0163): City Manager Bunting reviewed items that do not require budget amendments but are noted for the public record: (1) Hampton's renewed participation in the Virginia Arts Festival, to be funded through end-of-year savings or the grant process; (2) possible restoration of Arts Commission grant funding (cut from $100,000 to $42,500 during prior economic downturns); (3) a pending request from the Barrett-Peake Foundation for educational programming related to historic cemetery preservation; (4) support for the Jazz Legacy Festival's expansion through the Convention and Visitor Bureau; and (5) a proposal to use the 1.1% high-performance bonus already in the budget, plus end-of-year savings, to provide a comparable bonus for all city employees, after the state announced a bonus only for certain constitutional and quasi-state employees.
- State Budget Impact: Councilmember Campbell inquired about the Virginia state budget stalemate. Ms. Bunting explained the city assumes level state funding; if no state budget is adopted by July 1, Hampton would advance funds for state-supported functions and be reimbursed later. She noted a $2.5 million Safer Communities grant is included in both House and Senate proposals and has been budgeted; if ultimately not approved, staff would recommend expenditure adjustments.
Key Outcomes
- Infill Housing Plan Book: Deferred to the May 27, 2026 work session (motion carried 5-0).
- Restaurant 2 Zoning Amendments: Council provided feedback; staff will incorporate suggestions (including Vice Mayor Brown's window transparency recommendation) and the item will proceed through Planning Commission review before returning to Council for formal action.
- FY 2027 Budget: No amendments were proposed during the work session. Adoption is scheduled for the regular meeting later that evening.
- Closed Session: Council convened a closed session at 1:37 p.m. (motion carried 6-0) to discuss a prospective business for Hampton Roads Center North, disposition of publicly owned land in Downtown Hampton, consultation with legal counsel, and appointments listed on the agenda. The meeting reconvened at 3:05 p.m., and the closed session was certified unanimously (6-0). Council also approved appointments to the Community Policy and Management Team (CPMT). The meeting adjourned at 3:05 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to the Hampton City Council work session. Uh Madam Clerk, will you call the roll, please? Councilman Bowman, Vice Mayor Brown, Councilwoman Campbell, present, Councilwoman Ferraby, Councilwoman Harper present, Councilwoman Muggler, present, Mayor Gray. Present and uh Councilman Bowman is out of town today and will not be joining us. Councilwoman Farabee will be a bit late, but will join us during this meeting. Uh so with that, um the first item on the agenda is on the in-field housing plan book, but we are going to defer that item until May 27th meeting. And so that I need a motion and a second to defer the item. May I just explain for the public? Um that the consultant was not able to be here today after all. Um, and so they asked if we could reschedule them, and we wanted to make sure that the council and the public had the benefit of hearing from the consultant as well as the staff. So we would very much appreciate you making this accommodation. Okay, yeah, absolutely. So uh we need a motion and a second to uh defer this item to be seven. Second, all right. I have a motion and second for the discussion on it. All right, madam clerk. You call the roll. Councilman Bowman, Vice Mayor Brown, Councilwoman Campbell, aye, councilwoman Faraby, Councilwoman Harper, aye, councilwoman Muggler, aye, and Mayor Gray. Aye. And so with that, I'll ask the city manager to uh introduce the next item. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, as council knows, but for the benefit of the public, um we have been updating our zoning ordinances to make sure we're providing proper protections for public safety, particularly as they relate to our restaurants that have large gatherings and large events. Uh one of the things council had asked us to do was to look at the restaurant two use, which is actually currently a zoning administrator permit, but to make sure that we had appropriate public safety standards for those, just as we do for restaurant threes, which are actually use permits by council. And so today we're going to be having a briefing from our community development team. And it looks like I was going to introduce Kim Michael, but it looks like we're actually going to have our zoning administrator uh make that presentation for you today to get your reaction to the proposed changes. Good afternoon, Mayor, members of council. I'm the zoning administrative for the city of Hampton. Today I am presenting a proposed zoning ordinance amendment related to restaurant two establishments under the initiating resolution 26-0054. The purpose of this work session is to review the proposed operational and security standards intended to address late-night activity, public safety concerns, and compatibility impacts associated with certain restaurant operations. Alcohol service, live entertainment, late-night operation hours, and larger occasions. The proposal also aligns restaurant two standards more closely with the current ordinance related to security staffing, three policy directions where operational characteristics are similar. Currently, the restaurant to establishments with an ABC license may operate between the hours of 5 a.m. and midnight. The ordinance also limits live entertainment area to 75 square feet and prohibits dance floor or similar open gathering spaces. Existing security requirements are relatively limited. When live entertainment occurs, an attendant is required to monitor the ingress-egress points. This would be the access points for patrons and the parking area. Staff believes that these standards, existing standards do not adequately address operational impacts associated with the higher intensity entertainment environments. As a part of the review, staff evaluated how surrounding localities regulated similar establishments. However, each locality imposes additional controls related to live entertainment, late night hours of operation, and security requirements. Most localities require security plans and security personnel when establishments operate late at night or offer entertainment activities. This slide continues with the security staffing practices. While the surrounding localities apply these requirements under the under varying conditions, the overarching standards is at least one certified security officer per interest to monitor the ingress-egress and with additional exterior monitoring of parking lines and surrounding areas depending on the occupancy and operation intensity. The proposed Hampton. Yes, sir. Yeah, no problem. Just to security in terms of the one per entrance and one in the parking lot. I don't see whether there is any indication of numbers of security based on the numbers of attendees. So these cities don't have, for instance, one security person per 100 per 175.
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