1. Considering data center ordinance changes under consideration in Chesapeake, what policies would you support regarding the siting of data centers and the management of associated impacts, such as setbacks, noise, pollution, water use, energy demand, backup generators, environmental impacts, and infrastructure costs?
Answer: Per my petition signature, on Council I will oppose data centers anywhere in Chesapeake. When I served at the Navy Yard, my wife and daughter and I lived in Prince William County which (with others in Northern Virginia) went “all in” on large-scale data centers, and now seriously regrets the noise pollution and resource draws on neighborhoods. As an attorney, I appreciate that Council appears to have abandoned one of the premises it used to justify the proposed “conditional use” ordinance for data centers, which would have allowed them in important parts of rural Chesapeake like Fentress. This was its claim that a complete ban would violate the “Dillon Rule” limits on local government powers in Virginia, notwithstanding prior bans by local governments on environmentally harmful practices like fracking. Particularly where Council was not prepared to accept the reduced maximum daytime and nighttime decibel levels and increased setback requirements proposed by the Planning Commission, I oppose the “conditional use” approach. Even if those issues were addressed, the uncertainty over fossil fuel backup generator testing and usage (from which we have seen massive disruptions to the electrical grid and pollution) and the potential excessive draws on public water systems while we deal with droughts, lead me to favor a ban/oppose any conditional use.
2. How would you promote making more clean energy available to residents, businesses, and institutions in Chesapeake? What is your position on siting of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and utility scale solar? What do you believe the City can do to promote rooftop, balcony, and parking lot solar?
Answer: Because Washington D.C. cancelled incentives which made renewable energy more accessible to residents, businesses, and institutions, and tried to stop renewable projects like the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, on Council I would use available powers to increase the percentage of on-the-grid renewables available to our residents. I spoke at Planning Commission on 6/10/2026 in support of the proposed BESS, because it would provide residents power generated from renewables in periods of high demand without use of polluting “peaker” plants. I heard the concerns of Hickory residents, and support citing the BESS elsewhere in Chesapeake. I believe we can follow our General Assembly authorizing rooftop/balcony solar, by encouraging parking lot solar in rezoning proffers, while maintaining tree canopy requirements.
3. Between 2014 and 2021, the City had a net loss of over 800 acres of trees, largely to development. What polices will you support to protect tree canopy during development? Would you support increasing the tree canopy requirement on site plans for low-density single-family home development?
Answer: Yes, I would support increasing the tree canopy requirement (as authorized by recent General Assembly legislation) because trees not only reduces apparent temperatures by up to 10 degrees with shade, but also provide flood control through water absorption. To improve tree canopy, I would also support requiring additional proffers in business rezoning applications to increase the tree canopy, so that we end up with more trees in new development projects (as we should see with the approved Costco development).
4. Our region faces a significant shortage of housing that is affordable to people earning the area median income or less. How would you promote building more housing in communities that maintains a high quality of life and a healthy and livable environment?
Answer: We need 15,000 new homes including affordable multifamily housing, and we are not on track. Though we must avoid overdevelopment and maintain agriculture in Chesapeake, I would use our rezoning authorities to ensure that such developments adopt features seen in the Knick’s Reserve and Stillwater communities, including sidewalks, gardens, and community events spaces, along with multifamily housing. This will ensure that we are adding complete neighborhoods which prioritize life and walkable design.
5. Chesapeake continues to experience flooding, sea level rise, and increasingly intense rainfall. What are your priorities for improving flood resilience to protect neighborhoods, businesses, and natural resources?
Answer: My priorities are to mitigate increased flooding risks by nurturing natural features and improving built ones. We should protect tree canopy and existing wetlands by requiring proffers to maintain or improve them in rezoning applications. rather than allowing the paving over or other destruction of wetlands, as the Viridian Reserve North development unfortunately allowed. We need to improve stormwater pipe capacity and replace slow-draining ditches to adapt to higher volume storms, and work to improve our community rating in federal assessments so we can obtain additional resources to buy out chronically flooded properties.
6. One of the top resident priorities is "Preservation of large areas of open space and forest.*" How should Chesapeake balance continued economic growth with the preservation of open space, forests, wetlands, farms and rural character? How would you expand the City's urban forestry and natural lands management, such planting and maintaining trees, managing invasive plants, maintaining natural trails, and training staff on best practices? * As reported in the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Master Plan study.
Answer: We should reduce expanding built-up area and parkland in developments at the expense of natural forest, the opposite of the approach taken in Viridian Reserve North. Naturally forested areas can be a valuable buffer area to absorb stormwater, and though I support responsible development efforts for more housing, I also support using proffers to increase the portions of communities left in a more natural state.
7. Considering that many daily trips that people make are over short distances, often less than 1 or 2 miles, how would you work to make our streets safer and more connected for people walking, biking, and using mobility devices?
Answer: I would prioritize sidewalks, crosswalks, and measures like “HAWK signals” in areas like Military Highway, Portsmouth Boulevard and Campostella Road, where parents hesitate to even have their children walk to school. We need to review speed limits for pedestrian safety, improve bicycle safety in places like Indian River Road, put in wildlife crossing signs in areas like Greenbrier, and fix railroad crossings.
8. How would you improve access to public transportation in our City?
Answer: Many areas need better connectivity by sidewalks to closer bus stops. I support ensuring better bus access to locations like the Chesapeake CARES center off of Military Highway, so that there can be more effective usage of buses and HRT OnDemand services.
9. Considering the new 25-year contract the City signed with SPSA for combined single-bin trash and recycling collection, and considering the steadily increasing tipping fees (cost per ton collected) associated with the new contract, what steps should the City take to encourage residents, businesses, schools, and institutions to REDUCE the amount of solid waste put out for collection?
Answer: While it should increase recycling participation and diversion of otherwise unusable recyclables, single bin collection is not a complete solution. There are residents in housing not using City waste services, so the City needs to improve on recycling centers that have often been overloaded and unsightly in the past.
10. Would you support implementing a 5¢ fee on plastic bags to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags and to fund local environmental cleanup, litter and pollution mitigation, or environmental education efforts, and/or to provide reusable bags to recipients of SNAP or WIC benefits? Why or why not?
Answer: Because plastic bags themselves often seem to end up as pollution, I am supportive of pricing in the direct costs of cleaning them up into the product with a measure like this. Residents can avoid the costs entirely (unlike most of the dozen-odd taxes on property and services) by using reusable bags.
Answer: Council needs to follow-through on Staff promises for more community meetings on topics like data center regulations. It also must stop arbitrarily reconsidering issues residents already took the time to speak against at Council, and manipulating speaker order to create the appearance of balance where there is none (as in the Virginia Natural Gas compressor station rezoning). Showing Council listens is key to encouraging citizens with an interest in their community to volunteer for those departments, boards, and commissions.
12. What other sustainability, environmental, or quality-of-life issue do you believe deserves greater attention? Please elaborate.
Answer: Council needs to look at overexpansion of hunting areas and unsafe target shooting in Southern Chesapeake. DWR supporting conversion of some former farms near homes into hunting areas raises safety and quality of life concerns. We should push back on these proposals and increase safety requirements.