OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Virginia Beach City Council Meeting Highlights - January 21, 2026

City Council Meetings — Wednesday, January 21, 2026
BodyVirginia Beach, Virginia
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateWednesday, January 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:56:13

Transcript — Verbatim
0:08

Welcome all.

0:09

And it's a little chilly today, but here we are.

0:12

Senator Haney, what do we got?

0:14

Mr.

0:15

Mayor, members of council.

0:16

As you all know, the General Assembly is now in session.

0:19

So we'll start off each of your meetings with Brett McKenzie, our legislative affairs director, giving the city council an update on what's going on and also when appropriate, seeking counsel guidance and feedback on how to address certain legislation that may come up of interest for the city council.

0:35

So at this time, we'll turn the floor over to Andrew and Brett, and Brent will kick off our general assembly um briefings for council for the next several weeks.

0:43

Go ahead, Brett.

0:44

The floor is yours.

0:46

Thank you, Mr.

0:46

Manager, and good afternoon, Mr.

0:48

Mayor, Madam Vice Mayor, members of council.

0:51

It's a pleasure to be with you here this afternoon.

0:53

Hopefully, it's uh maybe a degree or two warmer there in Virginia Beach than it is in Richmond right now because it is freezing.

1:00

Um as Patrick mentioned, uh, we're we'll be giving you a briefing pretty much weekly throughout the General Assembly session.

1:08

Today's uh briefing is gonna highlight some of the key dates and organizing information uh status of our legislative agenda items.

1:16

We're gonna highlight uh four areas out of our policy priority section today.

1:21

Uh, and then we're gonna highlight a few slides of legislation of interest, just some bills that you should be aware of.

1:28

Um, and we'll kind of go through all those throughout the presentation.

1:33

Um the 2026 session, as you've heard me say many times, is a 60 day what we call a long session that'll create the biannual budget this year.

1:44

Um session began last Wednesday, January 14th.

1:47

They got off to a quick start, passing uh four constitutional amendments last week, including marriage equality, restoration of voting rights, reproductive rights, and congressional redistricting.

2:00

Sure, you've all uh seen lots of news about these.

2:03

Um filing deadline for legislation is this coming up Friday at three o'clock.

2:09

Filing deadline for all the budget amendments was this past Friday.

2:12

Um we will give you an update on budget and the coming weeks as all of those budget amendments get posted in that process moves forward.

2:20

Um then two other dates I want to highlight for you.

2:25

Uh Virginia Municipal League is having their local government day on February 5th.

2:29

I hope some of you will consider signing up for that and joining me here in Richmond on that day.

2:34

And then um the session is scheduled to conclude by March 14th.

2:43

Uh with the beginning of the General Assembly session, we saw the shuffling of some committee assignments that are impactful for our delegation here.

2:51

Uh in the House, they do proportional delegation on the committee assignments with the Democrats taking up so many seats.

2:57

They gained two seats on each committee, which means two Republican members had to be removed and two new Democrats added.

3:04

That unfortunately cost delegate Tata her seat on the um uh House Appropriations Committee.

3:10

She was the last member added, and so she was uh one of the two that was removed.

3:15

Um, and then in the Senate uh with Lieutenant Governor Hashmi coming up from the Senate that opened up a spot on Senate finance where Senator Ralph was appointed.

3:31

So legislative agenda is in pretty good shape.

3:34

Um excited about the movement we've had here.

3:37

Um just to go through each of these.

3:39

So our blue line legislation has been introduced by delegate Tata and Senator Craig.

3:45

The 10-1 charter system bill uh has been introduced by Congress Fowler in the House, and we're waiting for the Senate version that Senator Rouse has filed.

3:54

Um should mention this earlier, but the Senate is a little bit further behind in the filing of their legislation, just kind of a process um difference between the House and the Senate.

4:05

So the Senate's kind of catching up after the inauguration this past weekend.

4:09

Um so we're waiting for that bill to hit the hit the system stone.

4:14

Um similarly, delegate ask you has introduced our cancer screening funding bill.

4:19

Um Senator Rouse has a version that we're waiting to hit the system.

4:23

Delegate Fagans has introduced the legislation that would expand how our uh EMS funding for the state is allowed to be spent.

4:31

Um delegate Ask you has also introduced legislation that we've uh increased the uh fire program fund.

4:40

And then um the Manhattan fishing study has been introduced by Delegate Carr and Senator Marsden, who I uh both sit on the agriculture and Chesapeake Bay Committee.

4:50

Um, to highlight two pieces of legislation that have undergone some fairly significant changes since our legislative agenda was drawn up.

5:00

The first one is the legislation dealing with the marsh terrace.

5:02

So our original um draft of that legislation and strategy there was to try and get our project just carved out from the permitting process.

5:12

Uh that was not received very well by uh the delegation or the environmental community.

5:19

Um we had some challenges there, but the environmental community has come together and offered what is a bit of a compromise.

5:27

It's not a exactly what we were hoping for, but um it basically would create a um uh a new commission that would be a sort of an appeals commission to where some of these projects that are really tough to get the permit from could get a second look and some strategies could be recommended that would uh hopefully lead to a permitting um pathway.

5:52

So I'm recommending that we uh we support that legislation.

5:55

It doesn't guarantee that we would get a permit, but at least gets us a second bite at the apple on this project.

6:02

Um and then on our pop-up event zone legislation, there was a uh fairly significant addition made to this piece of legislation.

6:13

Um you'll remember this is the legislation where if there's an unpermitted event that's significantly disrupting normal community uh operations, then a locality could establish a special enforcement zone, and inside that zone, we would have like uh uh a list of different um authority that we could implement.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Health████████████████████20%
Historic Preservation████████████████16%
Procedural█████████9%
Transportation Safety████████8%
Tax Relief██████6%
Health Insurance██████6%
State Legislation████4%
Public Engagement████4%
Cannabis Regulation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Virginia Beach City Council Meeting - January 21, 2026

The Virginia Beach City Council convened on January 21, 2026, addressing legislative updates from the General Assembly, hearing a presentation from LifeNet Health Foundation, and approving multiple consent agenda items and appointments. The meeting included a proclamation for International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

General Assembly Legislative Briefing

  • Brett McKenzie, Legislative Affairs Director, provided a weekly briefing on the 2026 General Assembly session, which began January 14. He highlighted key dates (filing deadline for bills on January 23, session ends March 14), committee changes (e.g., Delegate Tata lost her seat on House Appropriations), and the status of the city's legislative agenda.
  • Agenda items introduced: blue line legislation (Delegate Tata, Senator Craig), 10-1 charter system (Delegate Fowler, Senator Rouse), cancer screening funding (Delegate Askou, Senator Rouse), EMS funding expansion (Delegate Fagans), fire program fund increase (Delegate Askou), and Manhattan fishing study (Delegate Carr, Senator Marsden).
  • Marsh terrace legislation: Original proposal to carve out a project from permitting was not well received; a compromise creates a new appeals commission for difficult permits. McKenzie recommended support.
  • Pop-up event zone legislation: Added authority to declare a gun-free zone within enforcement zones. McKenzie noted this significant addition.
  • Policy priorities included affordable housing (bills on right of first refusal, eviction waiting period, infrastructure funding), economic development (offshore wind workforce, apprenticeship programs, creative economy grants), fiscal responsibility (bills to eliminate grocery tax, paid family leave, collective bargaining elimination, school construction sales tax referendum), and land use (bills to eliminate minimum parking requirements, allow accessory dwelling units, mandate housing stock increases, and require multifamily in commercial zones).
  • Legislation of interest: HB 505 (prohibits dual employment for council members), HB 514 (military transition benefits), HB 55 (noise camera pilot), cannabis legislation (no opt-out referendum, but local zoning retained, possible 1-3.5% sales tax), e-bike restrictions (new classifications proposed), and tax reform bills (HB 978, HB 1179 expanding sales tax to services/digital products with rate reduction and regional taxes).
  • Councilmember questions:
    • Councilmember asked about HB 412 (school board budget requiring full funding of superintendent estimate) – McKenzie called it an unfunded mandate.
    • Asked about light rail study (HB 28) – McKenzie noted prior referendum against light rail and will relay city's position.
    • Councilmember Michael questioned HB 1279 (allowing churches to build affordable housing without local approval) – McKenzie said the city opposed it as it reduces zoning authority.
    • Councilmember Michael questioned HB 1179 (tax on services like nail care, vehicle repair, etc.) – McKenzie explained it's a tax reform proposal, likely to pass given new administration, and will provide more details.

LifeNet Health Foundation Presentation

  • Will Driscoll, Executive Director of LifeNet Health Foundation, presented an overview of LifeNet Health, a nonprofit global leader in regenerative medicine and the world's largest provider of allograft implants. Based in Virginia Beach, it serves as an organ procurement organization (OPO) and tissue processor.
  • Key statistics: 1,500 employees globally (900 in Virginia Beach), 3,400 donor families supported in 2025, over 1 million allografts distributed worldwide, 215 patents held.
  • Foundation pillars: Support for donor families (bereavement, events, memorials), community outreach and donation awareness (the "Give Life Every Advantage" campaign), and research & development (cell donation, grants for future healthcare providers).
  • Personal stories highlighted: Parker (heart valve recipient), Patricia Faison (heart transplant recipient), Joey (heart transplant after kidney issues), Megan (breast cancer reconstruction via donated skin).
  • Council reactions: Councilmembers expressed gratitude, with Councilman Balucci sharing his wife's recent kidney transplant and requesting a tour. Councilman Cash praised the foundation's impact and noted the importance of family conversations about donation.

Council Comments and Other Business

  • Snowstorm preparation: Mayor Dyer asked about preparations for a potential storm. The city manager confirmed ongoing monitoring, pre-treatment of roads, and contingency plans for unique areas like Sandbridge.
  • 250th Anniversary of American Revolution: Councilwoman Henley proposed a ceremony on February 16, 2026, at the site of a skirmish at Pungo Chapel (February 16, 1781) to honor Princess Anne County Patriots. She urged including the entire Revolutionary War period in celebrations. Mayor Dyer offered a proclamation.
  • Other council comments: Councilmembers reported on attending the Urban League MLK event (with Martin Luther King III), Virginia Symphony Orchestra tribute, VBCDC retreat, Plaza Rescue Squad banquet, and Virginia Beach Restaurant Week. Mayor noted Virginia Beach being named a top global destination.
  • Closed session: The council voted to recess into closed session for legal matters (disparity study), real estate negotiations, and personnel (appointments). Certification was approved 10-0.

Consent Agenda and Resolutions

  • Consent agenda (items 1-11): Approved without comment. Items included poll location changes, employee authorization, intergovernmental agreement, loan to Sandbridge Rescue, grant funding for prosecutors, conditional zoning changes, conditional use permits, and adoption of the Park System Needs Assessment. Planning commission changes for items 10 and 11 were excluded from consent per council request.
  • Ordinances and resolutions: Approved as part of consent.
  • International Holocaust Remembrance Day Proclamation: Councilmember Bolucci read a resolution designating January 27, 2026, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Mona Shapiro Flax, President of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, accepted the proclamation and invited the community to a January 27 program.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved without objection.
  • Appointments to various boards and commissions approved 9-0 (Councilmember Henley abstained).
  • Holocaust Remembrance Day Proclamation unanimously approved.
  • General Assembly positions: Council directed staff to oppose bills that reduce local zoning authority (e.g., HB 1279, HB 262, HB 611, HB 804, HB 416) and to support compromise on marsh terrace legislation. Staff will provide further details on tax reform bills and monitor other legislation.
  • LifeNet Health presentation: Council expressed support and interest in a tour; no formal action taken.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome all. And it's a little chilly today, but here we are. Senator Haney, what do we got? Mr. Mayor, members of council. As you all know, the General Assembly is now in session. So we'll start off each of your meetings with Brett McKenzie, our legislative affairs director, giving the city council an update on what's going on and also when appropriate, seeking counsel guidance and feedback on how to address certain legislation that may come up of interest for the city council. So at this time, we'll turn the floor over to Andrew and Brett, and Brent will kick off our general assembly um briefings for council for the next several weeks. Go ahead, Brett. The floor is yours. Thank you, Mr. Manager, and good afternoon, Mr. Mayor, Madam Vice Mayor, members of council. It's a pleasure to be with you here this afternoon. Hopefully, it's uh maybe a degree or two warmer there in Virginia Beach than it is in Richmond right now because it is freezing. Um as Patrick mentioned, uh, we're we'll be giving you a briefing pretty much weekly throughout the General Assembly session. Today's uh briefing is gonna highlight some of the key dates and organizing information uh status of our legislative agenda items. We're gonna highlight uh four areas out of our policy priority section today. Uh, and then we're gonna highlight a few slides of legislation of interest, just some bills that you should be aware of. Um, and we'll kind of go through all those throughout the presentation. Um the 2026 session, as you've heard me say many times, is a 60 day what we call a long session that'll create the biannual budget this year. Um session began last Wednesday, January 14th. They got off to a quick start, passing uh four constitutional amendments last week, including marriage equality, restoration of voting rights, reproductive rights, and congressional redistricting. Sure, you've all uh seen lots of news about these. Um filing deadline for legislation is this coming up Friday at three o'clock. Filing deadline for all the budget amendments was this past Friday. Um we will give you an update on budget and the coming weeks as all of those budget amendments get posted in that process moves forward. Um then two other dates I want to highlight for you. Uh Virginia Municipal League is having their local government day on February 5th. I hope some of you will consider signing up for that and joining me here in Richmond on that day. And then um the session is scheduled to conclude by March 14th. Uh with the beginning of the General Assembly session, we saw the shuffling of some committee assignments that are impactful for our delegation here. Uh in the House, they do proportional delegation on the committee assignments with the Democrats taking up so many seats. They gained two seats on each committee, which means two Republican members had to be removed and two new Democrats added. That unfortunately cost delegate Tata her seat on the um uh House Appropriations Committee. She was the last member added, and so she was uh one of the two that was removed. Um, and then in the Senate uh with Lieutenant Governor Hashmi coming up from the Senate that opened up a spot on Senate finance where Senator Ralph was appointed. So legislative agenda is in pretty good shape. Um excited about the movement we've had here. Um just to go through each of these. So our blue line legislation has been introduced by delegate Tata and Senator Craig. The 10-1 charter system bill uh has been introduced by Congress Fowler in the House, and we're waiting for the Senate version that Senator Rouse has filed. Um should mention this earlier, but the Senate is a little bit further behind in the filing of their legislation, just kind of a process um difference between the House and the Senate. So the Senate's kind of catching up after the inauguration this past weekend. Um so we're waiting for that bill to hit the hit the system stone. Um similarly, delegate ask you has introduced our cancer screening funding bill. Um Senator Rouse has a version that we're waiting to hit the system. Delegate Fagans has introduced the legislation that would expand how our uh EMS funding for the state is allowed to be spent. Um delegate Ask you has also introduced legislation that we've uh increased the uh fire program fund. And then um the Manhattan fishing study has been introduced by Delegate Carr and Senator Marsden, who I uh both sit on the agriculture and Chesapeake Bay Committee.

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