July Newsletter

In this edition ● Green Drinks ● Chesapeake Sustainability Network ● Greenbrier Area Plan ● Data Centers ● Planning Commission ● City Council ● Action Alerts ● Upcoming Events ● Volunteer Opportunities ● In the News

Green Drinks Chesapeake - Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Our next Green Drinks meeting will be on Wednesday, July 30, 6 pm at El Toro Loco Mexican Restaurant.  Our guest speaker will be Emily Johnstone-Brown from the Virginia Dare Soil and Water Conservation District to talk about the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP).

What is Green Drinks?  Green Drinks is mostly for people working on environmental issues, but anyone can come -- people from environmental groups, businesses, 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.

Chesapeake Sustainability Network

We're working on organizing the new Chesapeake Sustainability Network.  The goal is to create a network of organizations, individuals, and businesses advocating for environmentally responsible growth in the City of Chesapeake and the Hampton Roads region.  Our vision is to create a "green" city that provides a high quality of life for everyone who lives, learns, works, farms, and plays in our city.  This includes sustaining a healthy and livable environment with clean air, clean water, ecologically vibrant green spaces, and climate resiliency for all. 

Our Steering Committee is working on laying out the Network's ground rules.  We've also started to revamp our website at https://www.greeningchesapeake.com/.  You can also join the conversation on our Facebook Group.  

Greenbrier Area Plan

The Greenbrier Area Plan will be presented to the City Council for approval at their July 15 meeting.  

The draft plan does an excellent job of defining human-scaled neighborhoods and commercial districts that are pedestrian and bicycle friendly, balancing the needs of people while accommodating vehicular traffic.  Practically all the comments from the Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee were incorporated in the draft.  At the May 14th Planning Commission review of the plan, there were several speakers asking for revisions to the plan to do more on tree preservation, outdoor lighting policies, and bird-safe building practices.  While one commissioner acknowledged that "we'll never get the perfect document", the Planning Commission recommended the approval of the document as presented by a vote of 7-0, without any additional changes.  

Read more about the Greenbrier Area Plan and concerns about tree preservation, outdoor lighting, and bird-safe buildings at Greening Chesapeake: Greenbrier Area Plan

Data Centers

In a big win, the Etheridge data center was voted down 7-0 by the City Council.  Nearly 50 speakers gave two and a half hours of comments on how the data center would negatively impact the community.  Chesapeake City Council rejects data center proposal - WHRO 

But the push for data centers in Chesapeake isn't dead. Council Members specifically asked if there were other possible locations to build. When the next data center project comes along and if it's on land already zoned industrial, it can get built BY RIGHT - no City Council action needed, no Proffers, no noise restrictions. There is a need to continue to educate Council Members on the overall impact of data centers.  As one of the Planning Commissioners suggested, the City should consider making data centers a Conditional Use so that the City can set standards for these facilities. The City should also consider developing a Data Center Policy on where and how to build data centers, akin to the Solar Energy Policy that was written for solar farms.  

Planning Commission

Of interest at the Planning Commission in July:
  • PLN-REZ-2025-007 asks to downzone 22 acres from RE-1 Residential Estate District to A-1 Agricultural District. 
  • PLN-TXT-2025-005 would change the Zoning Ordinance to increase the permitted density of single-family homes in the urban overlay district (generally Indian River, South Norfolk, Greenbrier, Riverwalk, Deep Creek north of I-64) from 7 homes per acre to 9 homes per acre.   
  • PLN-TXT-2025-003 looks to modify the Ordinance for parking requirements to "reduction of and flexibility in required parking", but the proposed text is available at the time of this writing.
City Council

Under consideration at the City Council in July we will see:
  • PLN-REZ-2024-019 - a Virginia Natural Gas Compressor Station located off Military Highway just north of Eva Gardens/Newton Creek neighborhoods.  Net tree canopy loss of about 1.6 acres.  Returns for reconsideration after vote to Deny in June.  Chesapeake council to reconsider Virginia Natural Gas project (Virginian-Pilot) 
  • PLN-REZ-2023-024 - a Hotel on Gum Road in Western Branch; tree canopy loss of about 2.2 acres
  • PLN-REZ-2024-009 Residential (Multi-Family – 96 units) /Commercial off Centreville Turnpike; tree canopy loss of about 5 acres; the project does preserve 6.9 acres of forested wetlands
  • PLN-REZ-2024-010 Residential (Townhouse – 26 units) off Centreville Turnpike; farm site, project likely adds about 0.5 acres tree canopy.  
  • PLN-REZ-2024-018 Residential (Multi-Family – 137 units) on Elbow Road, near Centreville Turnpike; tree canopy loss about 9 acres; sets aside 9.2 acres as Conservation-Recreation zoning
  • PLN-USE-2025-004 Contractor/Storage Yard in Camelot; this 0.5 acre site will include a planted buffer and no significant change in tree cover.
Action Alerts
Upcoming Events
  • The next Chesapeake Bay Foundation Climate Lecture Series presentation will be on Cooling Our Cities with Tree Canopy.   Anne Little, Founder of Tree Fredericksburg, Ann Jurczyk, CBF's Virginia Urban Restoration Manager, and Daniel Brooks, Virginia Department of Forestry Community Forestry Specialist will explore the growing challenges of urban heat islands, how climate change intensifies these effects, and the critical role that urban tree canopy plays in cooling cities, improving air quality, and enhancing community resilience.   Tuesday, July 8, 6:30PM at the Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach.  Register at https://events.cbf.org/treecanopy
  • The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is holding a virtual session of its Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards (VoiCeS) program.  This multi-week adult education course is designed to deepen your understanding of the Chesapeake Bay and how you can make a difference in its restoration. Held virtually over six consecutive Wednesday evenings, this interactive course features expert speakers covering a wide range of environmental topics relevant to Virginia, plus chances to get out in the field. Wednesdays, July 9–August 13, 6:00–8:00 p.m. Online via Zoom. Register at https://events.cbf.org/vavoices25
  • Live along the water?  Want to help restore the oyster population in our river in the Chesapeake Bay?  The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is hosting Oyster Gardening training in June and July.    Sign up at https://www.cbf.org/how-we-save-the-bay/programs-initiatives/virginia/oyster-restoration/oyster-gardening/hampton-roads-oyster-gardening-seminars-new-gardeners.html
  • Chesapeake Farmers Market opens June 7 - Chesapeake Farmers' Market at City Park
Volunteer Opportunities

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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Greenbrier Area Plan

The Greenbrier Area Plan will be presented to the City Council for approval at their July 15 August 19 meeting.  

On May 14, the Planning Commission recommend Approval of the May draft of the Greenbrier Area Plan.  It will probably be presented to the City Council at a Work Session in June and go for approval in July.  

The May draft did an excellent job of defining human-scaled neighborhoods and commercial districts that are pedestrian and bicycle friendly and balancing the needs of people while accommodating vehicular traffic.  Practically all the comments from the Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee were incorporated in the draft.  

But the Plan falls short on taking proactive steps on tree preservation, adopting healthy lighting standards, and protecting birds.   Business as usual will result in the loss of another 300 acres of tree canopy when vacant parcels are developed around Greenbrier.  The only tree preservation recommendations our group made that were incorporated were suggestions for tree planting at the highway interchanges and the edges of City Park.  They also added a mention of increasing tree canopy in Areas of Enhancement. 

Not included were recommendations to 

  • Expand Oak Grove Lake Park to preserve 94 to 110 acres of City and State-owned forested wetlands adjacent to Oak Grove Lake Park.  Although owned by City and State, the land is currently zoned for residential development.
  • Add new project: Implement a street tree planting program in medians along Battlefield Blvd, Knell's Ridge Blvd, Volvo Parkway, Greenbrier Parkway, Military Highway, and Kempsville Road.  Planting 500 trees creates about 5 acres of tree canopy which will help mitigate urban heat island effects, calm traffic, reduce runoff, improve air quality, and beautify the area.
  • Identify incentives to encourage development projects in Areas of Transformation and Areas of Enhancement to a) preserve mature trees during development and b) voluntarily plant tree canopy at coverage percentages higher than the 10% to 20% required by ordinance. 
  • Identify incentives to encourage retrofits of existing parking lots to plant new trees and implement stormwater management best practices.
Part of the rationale the Planning Department shared was that the vision was for Greenbrier to absorb more expected growth in the City and thereby reduce development pressure in the southern part of the City.   Regarding expanding Oak Grove Lake Park, they felt that required more intensive consultation with Parks, Recreation, and Tourism.  

For lighting standards, in the Design Guidelines they added that "Lighting fixtures associated with buildings should consider Dark Sky recommendations, surrounding land uses, and limit light pollution", but only as a "recommended", i.e. not required, guideline.    They did not include the level of detail found in the recently approved Virginia Commerce Park Design Guidelines.   Added to the Building Design section, it is not obvious that this applies to parking lot lighting and it wouldn't directly apply to street lighting, since there is a separate section of the document for the Public Realm and Streets.  It does not address the street lighting color temperature to recommend warmer (<3000K) lighting.  

For bird-safe window design, in the Design Guidelines they added a mention of "building materials and detailing that support the natural habitat and wildlife such as bird-friendly window designs" but with no further detail and only as a "recommended", i.e. not required, guideline.  

You can find the current draft of the documents at Greenbrier Area Plan | Chesapeake, VA
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