Hampton City Council Work Session - May 27, 2026
Hampton City Council Work Session - May 27, 2026
The City Council of Hampton, Virginia, held a work session on May 27, 2026, at 1:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting covered three major presentations: the Infill Housing Plan Book, a recap of the 2026 General Assembly session, and an update on the Virginia Enterprise Zone program. Council also entered closed session for legal and investment discussions. All seven council members were present.
Infill Housing Plan Book Briefing
- Senior Architect Robert Crawshaw (Work Program Architects) presented pre-approved home designs for approximately 136 vacant infill lots across Hampton. The designs aim to preserve neighborhood character while reducing permitting time. The plan book includes options such as 2x6 exterior wall construction (versus standard 2x4), fiber cement siding, and flexible floor plans that allow for age-in-place modifications.
- Vice Mayor Brown asked about builder feedback; Crawshaw noted that builders supported the floor plans and emphasized practical layouts and durability.
- Councilwoman Campbell expressed concern about mandating standards above code and asked about the total number of lots (staff estimated 136). She favored understanding cost implications.
- Councilwoman Mugler complimented the designs and stated that enhanced construction materials would contribute to stronger neighborhoods and increased property values. She supported the 2x6 option.
- Vice Mayor Brown also voiced support for 2x6, noting its durability and energy efficiency as selling points.
- Mayor Gray queried whether builders could be required to use the plans. City Attorney Courtney Sydnor explained the plan book is an incentive, not a mandate, and legal authority to mandate design standards on private property is limited.
- Councilman Bowman expressed concern that without mandate, builders could still build substandard “shotgun” houses. Mayor Gray requested staff explore legal options to impose minimum design standards.
- Council generally agreed to proceed with 2x6 construction for the pre-approved plans. Staff will finalize plans and bring them back for adoption.
2026 General Assembly Session Recap
- Ed Reed (Two Capitols Consulting) reviewed the legislative session, noting the ongoing budget impasse. The regular session concluded but the state remains in special session due to disagreements over data center taxation and other revenue issues.
- He highlighted vetoed bills: retail cannabis, skill games, collective bargaining, and the Tysons casino bill. Paid family medical leave was signed into law with most provisions effective in 2028.
- Hampton’s legislative package: Delegate Ward’s waste-to-energy bill was continued; Delegate Thornton’s pop-up event bill continued to 2027. City Manager Bunting clarified the pop-up event legislation aims to provide localities with public safety tools, not designate event zones.
- Successful legislation included: additional enforcement against illicit hemp/cannabis products, extension of the Joint Subcommittee on Recurrent Flooding, and limited authority for traffic enforcement cameras.
- Budget requests: $2.5 million for the Safer Communities Program remains in both House and Senate budgets; requests for Hampton Health District and Fort Wool restoration are pending.
- Councilwoman Harper thanked Mr. Reed for a well-organized presentation tailored to Hampton.
Virginia Enterprise Zone Update
- Leonard Sledge, Chief Officer for Community and Economic Development, presented the Virginia Enterprise Zone (VEZ) program. Hampton has two state-designated zones: the Hampton Roads Center Zone (zone 35) and the Hampton Urban Zone (zone 8), both recently renewed through 2029 and 2030 respectively.
- In fiscal year 2024, Hampton’s Urban Zone ranked 9th among 45 zones statewide; the Hampton Roads Center Zone ranked 20th. Collectively, Hampton businesses received approximately 5% of all state Enterprise Zone grant funding ($13.7 million total).
- Nine grant applications were submitted in the current cycle, all for real property improvements. Beneficiaries include VersAbility Resources, Threat Tec, Langley Federal Credit Union, and others.
- Mr. Sledge outlined enhanced marketing efforts and a new staff member dedicated to grant administration. Staff will also evaluate opportunities to expand zone boundaries within state guidelines.
- Councilwoman Mugler asked about expansion; staff will return with recommendations if additional acreage is identified.
Closed Session
- Council unanimously voted (7-0) to enter closed session at 2:56 PM for legal advice, potential public fund investment for a regional transportation facility, condemned structure litigation, and appointments. The meeting reconvened at 4:52 PM, and council unanimously certified the closed session.
Key Outcomes
- Council directed staff to finalize the Infill Housing Plan Book with 2x6 construction as the standard pre-approved option. Staff will also research legal avenues to impose design standards on privately developed infill lots.
- Council expressed support for the Infill Housing designs and requested a follow-up for formal adoption.
- Council thanked Ed Reed for the legislative update and noted continued advocacy on budget and policy priorities.
- Council acknowledged the Virginia Enterprise Zone update and encouraged staff to explore boundary expansion and increased participation.
- All closed session votes were unanimous.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to the Hampton City Council work session. Madam Clerk, will you call a role, please? Councilman Bowman. Vice Mayor Brown. Councilwoman Campbell. Present. Councilwoman Fairby. Present. Councilwoman Harper. Present. Councilwoman Muggler. Present. Mayor Gray. Present. And we are going to uh take a couple of take one item out of order on the agenda and moving uh item number three to uh the first item to be presented. So I'm going to ask city manager to introduce the first item. Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor, and council members for your indulgence in moving the item out of order. Um this item is the info housing plan book briefing that we were going to have last time, but were not able to because of the unavailability of the consultants to make it. They are here today to present to you, and rather than sit throughout our whole agenda, we appreciate you taking them first. It's my pleasure to introduce senior architect Robert Crawshaw, who will um take you through the work that's been done to date to prepare this infill housing plan book. This is not an item for action today, but rather one for information and conversation. Thank you. Good afternoon. How are you doing? Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Um again, my name is Robert Crosshaw. Um, Robert, if I'm in trouble, Rob, if you want to be casual with me. Um we're gonna recap of the work to date on the Hampton Infill effort. Um, we are a small architecture firm with urban design component in Norfolk, Virginia. Um I previously lived just down the road on Charles Street near the stadium. Um so this effort started with community engagement back in July of last year, where we were asking general questions. Our team went out and photographed some of the existing neighborhoods. Um we took from that and made a report that sort of shared the styles of architecture that we found, but we didn't want to stop there. We had the engagement, we asked questions about a community vibe, if we were missing any of the neighborhood styles and features of the building. And with the community vibe, we were trying to understand the need for privacy versus connection to the community. So this was translated into is your front porch forward, or is your front porch push back? Do you read the front porch as transactional, meaning you're just moving through your front porch to get into your house, or is it an outdoor room where you sit and you participate and what's going on in the neighborhood? Um the uh architectural styles, we had identified, I think about eight and reduced them down to four or five that were common through the neighborhoods that we looked at. And the emphasis was trying to understand the character that has been developed over the years in these neighborhoods so that we could work to do something that's sympathetic to that effort, sympathetic to those styles. We had some historic precedents for those houses that we saw throughout, but we also wanted to understand from both the builders at the time and the community members. Are there styles components of the architecture that are your uh that the community is most fond of, or they identify most clearly with craftsman style or with cottage style, etc. So trying to understand those fine details that kind of make the um the new designs very sympathetic to what's going on because craftsmen here is not the same as craftsmen across the country. Um following that effort, we went to work by developing plans and elevations and various versions of that based on the criteria for site widths and um different conditions where we wanted houses to be able to turn a corner. Um then we met in reverse order. The first session was uh community three meetings and then builder at the end so that we could gather the most information from the builders before we started drawing. This we reversed it. We checked in with the builders first, and we're at we were saying, hey, this is what we heard in the last meeting, uh, and this is how we've advanced it. And then we had three subsequent meetings with different neighborhoods throughout Hampton. And here you can see us taking inventory.
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