Thoughts on Draft Chesapeake Trails and Connectivity Plan

 The draft Chesapeake Trails and Connectivity Plan offers a great opportunity to layout a figurative and literal roadmap on improving walkability and connectivity in the City of Chesapeake, but it needs to go into more detail on how to realistically implement the proposed trail network and provide residents and visitors with tangible improvements in the near term, i.e. in the next 1 to 3 years, not just a vision for an undefined future date.  

The draft Plan finds that today in Chesapeake, “the active transportation network is disjointed and lacks accessibility. With public transit available exclusively in the north of the City, transportation options are often limited for residents and visitors traveling to different parts of the City. The many open spaces can be difficult to reach and in many cases are not easily accessible on foot or by bike.”  This also extends to being able to reach schools, libraries, community centers, places of worship, doctor’s offices, restaurants, shopping centers, etc.  People For Bikes currently ranks Chesapeake 1248th out of 2300 cities in the US and 42nd out of 44 cities in Virginia for bikeability and network connectivity (https://cityratings.peopleforbikes.org/cities/chesapeake-va).  This is also an equity issue: not everyone has access to an automobile to get around; some are too young, some too old, some cannot afford it, and some do not want to drive.  

Building out the Plan’s proposed network of nearly 400 miles of separated bike paths, multiuse trails, bike boulevards, and bike lanes is an important endeavor, but considering the slow pace and cost of building out this entire network, the City also needs to invest in near term tactical projects.  Such efforts include better maintaining and marking existing crosswalks and sidewalks, building more and better crosswalks across the City, mapping and providing better wayfinding signage for existing trails and key sidewalk connections, funding safety education and outreach for both drivers and bicyclists, generally promoting bicycling such as by providing route maps to and bicycle parking at City events and facilities.  The City also needs to prioritize completion of funded projects, such as the Western Branch Trail connected to Suffolk, the Indian River Road bike lanes, and extending paths along Gum Road and near TCC.   Completion of the multiuse path along Volvo Parkway and building lower cost bike boulevards, such as the one proposed for South Norfolk also need to be prioritized.

As the population of the City grows and the density of our communities increases, providing a robust and safe network of bikeways, sidewalks, trails, and crosswalks will be essential to reduce congestion on our roadways and providing residents with healthier options to get to nearby parks, libraries, shops, and other destinations.  The Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee submitted a detailed letter to the Planning Commission and Planning Department with strong recommendations for improvements to the draft Plan to meet the City’s goals to be environmentally responsible and create vibrant communities that provide a high quality of life in which to live, learn, work, farm, and play, hopefully they will be accepted.

The draft Plan is going to the Planning Commission on Wednesday, August 14 for consideration.  The revised (yet to be published) draft Plan is going to the Planning Commission Meeting on September 11th, 7 pm at Chesapeake's City Hall, 306 Cedar Rd.  Persons wishing to speak must sign in with the clerk BEFORE 7 pm.   Meeting Agendas & Videos | Chesapeake, VA (cityofchesapeake.net)

You can find the first draft of the plan at https://cityofchesapeake.net/3233/Chesapeake-Trails-and-Connectivity-Plan.   

 

 

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July Newsletter

 View this newsletter online at http://www.greeningchesapeake.com/

Green Drinks Chesapeake - Wednesday, July 31

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, July 31 from 6 pm to 8 pm.  Location and guest speaker to be announced; we may or may not be at YNot Pizza.   Among other topics we'll discuss the Trails and Connectivity Plan (greeningchesapeake.com) and we also hope to have a related letter with comments to the Planning Commission ready for folks to sign on to. 

What is Green Drinks?  Green Drinks is mostly for people working on environmental issues, but anyone can come -- people from environment groups, business, government, academia, and as individuals. There is no 'us and them'. Green Drinks is a chance to mingle, share insights, inspire and delight each other. Come out and order some food or a drink (each participant pays for their own drinks and food; if drinking, please do so responsibly!) and join the conversation. Please do share the invite with others who may be interested. 

City Council Updates

  • On June 25, approved the revised Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area (CPBA) district boundaries.  The revised map included feedback from the Friends of Indian River, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Wetlands Watch, and Fernwood Farms Civic League.  We identified multiple areas that it was in the best interest to keep in the CBPA District, including the forested wetlands of Fernwood Farms and smaller sections in the Western Branch and some new areas to add in Western Branch and the Indian River area.  Overall, the City agreed on not removing around 280 acres and adding an additional 14 acres to add to the CBPA District.   See full change package at 06-25-24-Item-14_PLANNING (cityofchesapeake.net)
  • On June 18, approved a change to the Zoning Ordinance changing how Agricultural subdivision happen with the goal to prevent unplanned development in rural areas. to change the way Agricultural subdivision happen to prevent unplanned "by right" development in rural areas.  It requires a preservation easement on property being so subdivided to provide a mechanism of enforcement to ensure these parcels are used as originally proposed by the land owner.   Version A was approved. (Ritter/Whitaker)(6-3)(de Triquet, Ike, and Newins voted no).  See PLN-TXT-2023-013_Attachments.pdf (cityofchesapeake.net)
  • On June 11, voted down a proposed Advisory Referendum for Single Member Voting Wards (Ward/Carey) (3-6) (Bunn, deTriquet, Newins, Ritter, West, and Whitaker voted no)
  • Among the Zoning changes approved by the City Council in June were:
    • The project looking to build on Battlefield Blvd just north of the hospital.
    • A project for a container storage and stacking conditional use permit; the site looks like it's already something of a junk yard with a minor increase in landscaping due to the proposed new use.
      Coming up in July:
  • On July 9, the City Council will again consider a resolution to authorize and direct the city attorney to petition the Circuit Court to call advisory referendums on "a proposed ordinance imposing a fee to establish a curbside recycling program."  The referendum question would be "Should City Council adopt an ordinance imposing a mandatory fee of up to $10 per month on all households that receive City trash service in order to reestablish curbside recycling for those household only." 
  • Also in July, the City Council will consider several zoning changes including
    • Springton at Grassfield, a 172.5 acre Planned Unit Development along Dominion Blvd.  Most of this land is cleared agricultural land or fallow; it would add 1200 homes - 720 multi-family homes, 455 townhomes, 176 single family homes; it would ultimately add about 25 acres of tree canopy.  Planning Commission recommends Approval
    • McGhee’s Concrete on Bainbridge Blvd. Planning Commission recommends Approval
    • An apartment/condo complex at the south terminus of Kingsborough Square, i.e. behind the Food Lion off Battlefield. This would clear about 6 acres of woods, with only about 1.5 acres of trees replanted. Planning Commission recommends Approval
    • A YMCA Athletic Field in Great Bridge just off the end of Etheridge Manor Blvd. This would clear about 8 acres of trees. Planning Commission recommends Approval

July Planning Commission Meeting - July 10 - Meeting Agendas & Videos | Chesapeake, VA (cityofchesapeake.net).  A couple of the more noteworthy items include

  • Medium Density Residential project on Joliff Road putting 146 single family and town homes on 30.8 acres.  It does preserve area in CBPA.
  • A proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to permit R-6 Residential development in the Urban Overlay District.  R-6 is a legacy zoning district allowing single-family dwellings on lots with a minimum lot size of 6,000 sq. ft.  Currently, no new property may be rezoned to R-6, the minimum for single-family homes being R-8, i.e. 8000 sq. ft lots.  This was requested by Councilmember Whitaker with the rationale that attractive development has occurred on 6,000 sq. ft. lots and this may provide the benefit of better affordability.  Any parcel requesting to be rezoned to R-6 would need to go through the rezoning process and be approved by the City Council.   The Urban Overlay is essentially the northern parts of the City covering South Norfolk, Indian River, Greenbrier, and Deep Creek North and Camelot.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters Conservation Scorecard

The Virginia League of Conservation Voters has released their 2024 Conservation Scorecard for this year's General Assembly.  It reviews various environment related bills that were considered in Richmond this year and how legislators voted on them - and whether they were signed into law by the Governor.   Read more at 2024 Conservation Scorecard (greeningchesapeake.com)

Greenbrier Area Plan

The Greenbrier Area Plan envisions significantly increasing the density of the Greenbrier area with considerable new urban mixed-use development, new neighbor scale and age-targeted housing, adding a large capacity regional multi-purpose athletic/entertainment facility, all while enhancing the commercial retail environment and serving a major urban employment center.  One stated goal is to improve the Quality of Life for residents and workers in the Greenbrier area "by strengthening the appeal and livability of the built environment and the availability and quality of services provided."  

Focusing a greater portion of the City's growth in existing parts of the city rather than low-density "suburban sprawl" can result in preservation of open space and agricultural lands on the outskirts of the City. But in order for increased density to have provide a real benefit of bringing people and business together, the area needs to have strongly enhanced pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure to encourage people to get out of their cars.  Otherwise, if all the extra people living and working in the area are forced to rely on automobiles, the plan will result in severe traffic congestion.   We also need to figure out how to grow our urban forest while building more housing, including more affordable housing.   And all this new development needs to factor in a 21st century building standards, high quality of life, and climate resilience.   

Read more thoughts about this at Greenbrier Area Plan (greeningchesapeake.com)

More Upcoming Dates

Action Alerts
  • Share your feedback on Chesapeake Comp Plan charts by July 7 at Focus Areas: Comprehensive Plan Update (arcgis.com)
  • Hampton Roads Transit is accepting applications for the installation of bike racks and repair stations, that promote cycling as a sustainable transportation option in communities. Applications close September 30.  Applicants may include Bike Groups, Cities and Counties, Schools, Military Installations, and Other relevant organizations. Learn more at Bike Boost » Traffix (gotraffix.com).

In the News

Stay on top of the latest news and join the conversation in our Facebook group at Greening Chesapeake


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