VIRGINIA BEACH
Burton Station, a community built by freed slaves, will remain a village in a new plan that calls for Virginia Beach to build roads, and extend water and sewer services to residents.
It's a proposal that most property owners support and one that is simpler to implement, said Warren Harris, the city's economic development director.
"At the end of the day, we had to build on a consensus," Harris said. "I think it's very much doable."
Beach officials and planners from Urban Design Associates, a Pittsburgh company, had offered three options to transform the core 30 acres of Burton Station, a long-neglected neighborhood near Norfolk International Airport.
The choices were a slightly more built-up single-family residential neighborhood; a mix of apartments and offices; or primarily an office park.
The selected plan also calls for reshaping Lake Wright Golf Course and expanding roads leading to Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.
Property owners would have gotten more money if Burton Station were to be developed for condominiums or offices, said Karen Lasley, the city's zoning administrator.
That would have been difficult, however, because all the residents would have had to agree, and it would have required extensive work to clear up titles since multiple people own individual lots, Lasley said.
In the end, most of the approximately 30 people who still live in Burton Station, the people who own land there but live elsewhere, and the homeowners around the corner on Northampton Boulevard favored the purely residential option.
Shirlee Dunbar, who lives in the house her father built nearly half a century ago on Northampton Boulevard, is pleased.
"I want to stay here," Dunbar said. "I don't want to sell."
Naomi Morgan, who lives with her daughter on Burton Station Road, said she would have preferred to see a mix of homes and offices on the land.
Morgan wanted to get the most money for her 1.5 acres.
"I'm 66," Morgan said. "Let me have something nice."
The plan could end decades of distrust and paralysis over the neighborhood's future.
In 1962, the Princess Anne County Board of Supervisors rezoned much of the community for industrial uses without telling residents. It took 20 years before residential zoning for most of the land was restored.
Residents couldn't get city permits to make improvements to their homes, or their church, which eventually moved out of the neighborhood to Princess Anne Road.
The area is one of the largest tracts in the northern part of the city without water and sewer service.
In the mid-1990s, the Virginia Beach City Council, frustrated by the drawn-out purchase negotiations, sought a redevelopment and housing authority with the power to condemn land, partially so it could transform Burton Station into an industrial park. Voters rejected the idea.
Joyce Martin, a Burton Station property owner, preferred the mixed-use plan and was disappointed that everybody seemed to be voting their self-interest instead of what was best for the neighborhood.
"They put themselves first," Martin said.
City Council is scheduled to vote on the Burton Station plan in January. Beach officials will then be able to finance some of the required utility work and roadwork.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
SuffolkBusiness,
obviously,you either didn't read the entire article, or didn't understand it. You must not know the history of the area either. 1st the county & then the city, refused to grant permits to residents to do much work to their property. They also refused to extend water & sewage into this area. It's illegal to do many improvements without permits. The county & city ran roughshod over many older neighborhoods,(primarily Black ones), for years. It wasn't 'til the late 80's, that Va. Beach allowed Barberton to hook up to city water & power sources, only after a local politician was made aware of the conditions. I find it almost amazing, that it's taken decades, & a new economic director, to begin to bring this community into the 21st century. Warren D. Harris is quite capable. He'll bring a lot to Va. Beach. I've known him since he was a child. He's always been a go-getter at the top of his game.
If Beach had an RDA the owners would have been bulldozed over
Thank the good sense of the voters of Virginia Beach to keep voting "No!" to the government and developers that want a Redevelopment Authority to run roughshod over the property rights of homeowners. Had the City of Virginia Beach had a Redevelopment Authority they would have run right over the citizens that owned property in Burton Station. The facts regarding the city's blatant failure to improve streets, sewage, and other basic infrastructure in Burton Station reveal just how badly the powers of local governments can be abused when the folks in charge are largely in the pockets of wealthy business interests and hungry developers looking to make a fast buck by developing someone else's property - when the property owners do not wish to sell or move.
ROUGH AREA-- TRUE STORY
The residents have done nothing to the properties since the 70'S In the mid 70's I was shot at for just driving through there and back then the Va.Beach Fire department wouldn't respond without police escort and this is a true story.When the residents won't do anything about the crime and poor up- keep of the properties why should the city and other tax payers.
Who else will look out for the residents if not themselves
"Joyce Martin, a Burton Station property owner (not a resident notice), preferred the mixed-use plan - disappointed everybody voted their self-interest instead of what was best for the neighborhood. "They put themselves first," Martin said.""...
Of course the residents put themselves first. Where could they move easily with probably limited resources. Surely there us not much they could afford in the beach. Besides, they looked out for themselves because for how many years now, no one else seemed to care. My question is why the city council needs wait to Jan to vote on the plan. Vote now and support the neighborhood.
It's About Time
The city of Virginia Beach wronged the people of Burton Station by taking this long to even begin to provide water & sewer service. And they were downright evil to even consider abusing eminent domain in order to have their way. Finally, some sense of justice has been attained, and the people get to keep _their_ land and _their_ homes and FINALLY get long past due utility services. Shame on Virginia Beach leaders for letting it take so many years. They've had the money to do this all along. Virginia Beach always has plenty of money for the things it wants to do. The problem here was that they simply didn't want to do it. They wanted the land for themselves. Congrats to the people for standing their ground and finally getting what they should have had all along.