Cape Henry Shores Civic Association 

                                                               P.O. Box 5351

                                                     Virginia Beach, VA 23471      

October 10, 2007

Mayor Oberndorf and City Council Members

2401 Courthouse Drive

Municipal Center, Bldg. 1

Virginia Beach, VA 23456

Re:  Forwarding of petition in opposition to the Marina Shores proposed condominium

       development

Dear Mayor Oberndorf and City Council Members,

The Cape Henry Shores Civic Association voted unanimously at our July 24, 2007, meeting to prepare and circulate to our community residents a petition in opposition to the Marina Shores proposed condominium development. We believe that such a development is not in the best interests of our community’s citizens and the citizens of the Bayfront/northern Great Neck Rd. corridors because of the following reasons:

• The projected 1000 additional vehicle trips per day resulting from the estimated 500 new residents on the site would be a severe impact on the already strained traffic flow and patterns along the northern Great Neck Rd.-Shore Drive corridors. In terms of the proposed complex’s single, vehicular entrance-/exit- way at Lynnhaven Dr. intersection with Great Neck Rd., shared by Long Creek Cove community residents of 87 single-family homes, it could at times even create backed up, northbound Great Neck Rd. traffic extending to atop if not south of Great Neck Rd. Bridge, a potentially worst-case impact under bridge icing conditions.

• High-density housing development adjoining Long Creek will increase noise and degrade environmental quality along this waterway stemming directly from increased emission noise, airborne contaminant pollutants and petroleum-based runoff emanating from the vehicles of its residents, visitors, and vendors.

• Significant population increases along the northern Great Neck Rd. and Bayfront corridors, such as the Marina Shores proposal entails, will further contribute to traffic gridlock during routine daily commutes and especially during hurricane preparedness periods when it would further impact the capacity of a significant proportion of the Bayfront and North Beach area’s population to sufficiently evacuate in a timely manner in the event of a category 2 or greater hurricane. The city’s storm water management system is simply not capable to sufficiently mitigate flooding of Shore Dr. in the face of heavy rain and storm surge levels effected by such hurricanes.

• Long Creek is one of the last vestiges of inland navigable waterway whose banks range from scenic, serene wetlands and uninhabited First Landing State Park, to adjoining up-scale mainland and Bay Island residential property, to modest-to-moderate-height commercial structure properties to its north adjoining its more eastern reaches to the Lynnhaven River. Indeed, Long Creek has a historically profound esthetic, natural resource, and environmental partnership in delicate, harmonious balance with mankind. To open this beautiful inland waterway to the development of ‘white elephant,’ high-density residential, high-rise structures is so far removed from preserving this carefully crafted balance as to render the proposal incongruous - if not unconscionable, and of significant detrimental, long-term consequences to the accustomed quality of life of the otherwise vast majority represented by its boating patrons and its contiguous waterfront as well as Bayfront area residents whom are all highly captivated by Long Creek, endeared to it, and strongly committed to its preservation.

The residents of the Cape Henry Shores community of 187 total homes have given their overwhelming support of signature approval to the enclosed petition in opposition to the Marina Shores proposed condominium development. The levels of support by home are 86 per cent of the total 187 homes and 89 per cent of the total 179 homes responding to the circulated petition (for a 179/187 or 96 percent availability-reporting outcome). A total of 255 signatures of our community residents are affixed to the circulated copies of the petition (available upon request). Our residents have spoken, and I agree with them that we cannot passively sit by in our widespread opposition to the Marina Shores proposed development on Long Creek. Therefore, we hereby respectfully ask the city to appropriately act and defeat it.

Thank you for considering this matter.

Sincerely,

Gilbert J. Shortt,

President, Cape Henry Shores Civic Association

Enclosure: Copy of the Cape Henry Shores Civic Assn. petition circulated to CHS

                  residents (18 Aug.-15 Sept. 2007), “Marina Shores to Build 222 New Condo

                  [Units].”

                                                                                                                        Enclosure (1)

   MARINA SHORES PROPOSAL TO BUILD 222

                                          NEW CONDOS

The plan proposes to terminate the existing building,

business and the current marina and replace them with

            condos. The new plan will have several structures 8

          to 10 stories high. That is about 110 feet or double the

height of the current boat storage building. A

conservative estimate is that this project would result in

an additional 450 automobiles, or nearly 1000 additional

auto trips a day, and an additional 500 new residents in

our area. This proposal was approved by the

Chesapeake Bay Board on June 29, and will be considered

by the city’s agencies and the common council in the

near future.

This petition is in opposition to the proposed

development and will be presented to the council.

Name                                      Address                         Phone #