Quest to reopen Lake Whitehurst buoys anglers

NORFOLK

Angered by the closing of the only freshwater boat ramp in the city, a majority of the City Council instructed City Manager Regina V.K. Williams early this month to find a way to restore access for boaters to Lake Whitehurst.

The city has seven lakes in its reservoir system, including five spread among Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Suffolk. All five have boat ramps.

The two located in Norfolk do not.

"That's unacceptable," Councilman W. Randy Wright said.

Late last year, the Norfolk Airport Authority terminated a lease with the city for a sliver of land the airport owns on Shore Drive near the border with Virginia Beach.

The city had constructed a parking lot, boat ramp and two fishing piers on the land, which it had leased since 1990. It became a popular location for anglers seeking access to the lake's ample supply of largemouth bass, crappie and bluegill.

According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the lake has one of the best walleye populations in the state. But game department biologists have ceased studies on the lake because it no longer is accessible to anglers.

Airport officials closed public access on Nov. 1, saying they had to as a prerequisite to apply for federal funding for a parallel runway at the airport.

Assistant City Manager Anne Odell presented two alternatives for the council for new boat ramps, both on land owned near Norfolk Botanical Garden.

One is in a picnic area and the other a duck feeding zone, both near the entrance to the garden. City management did not recommend either alternative, Odell said.

The duck feeding area would provide boaters with access to only a small portion of the lake. The picnic area is inside the garden and is used extensively by kayakers and crew boats operated mostly by area private schools.

Angling groups were ecstatic to find out the city was looking into ways to reopen access.

"Sweet," said Bob Bullen, who runs Bass-Jon's - a freshwater fishing club that used the lake extensively. "I am absolutely surprised... and happy.

"We definitely have been missing that lake in our tournament trail."

But anglers shouldn't expect anything to change in the immediate future.

Williams said there are no funds for a boat ramp, projected to cost about $250,000.

Williams also said Botanical Garden officials told her that a boat ramp likely would interfere with some of their activities. And crew clubs were concerned that a boat ramp would limit their access to the lake.

Councilwoman Theresa Whibley said "I'd like to work it all out, but in the process, I don't want to do so at the expense" of others.

But other council members said the city needs to restore access to boaters.

"We need to figure out a way to get that done," Councilman Barclay C. Winn said.

"I think they can coexist," added Councilman Don Williams.

Mayor Paul Fraim asked Williams to schedule a meeting with officials from the city, airport authority, Botanical Garden and rowing clubs.

"We need to get all of the parties in a room together and work this out," he said.

Wright and Winn said they can't understand how a few fishing boats and parked cars could interfere with a new runway, especially since heavily traveled Shore Drive is only yards away.

"We need to talk with airport officials and see if there's a way to reopen the boat ramp," Wright said.

Fraim said failing that, the airport authority should fund the $250,000 cost of a new boat ramp.

"If the airport forced us to close the ramp, then the airport should pay for it," he said. "At the very least, we need to pose the question to them."

Winn said he does not understand the reluctance of city management, the Botanical Garden and the airport authority to allow recreational boating.

"A body of water in an urban location like this is a unique recreational opportunity," he said. "A lot of cities aren't fortunate enough to have that kind of space. We do, and we need to take advantage of it."