Civic Issues
Topics getting the most attention in Norfolk public meetings, ranked by how frequently they are discussed.
29 issues in development
Communication tower at 301 S. Newtown Road
The Towers LLC wants to build a self-support monopole cell tower on Newtown Road, with a conditional use permit and Development Certificate. The proposal appears in both the consent agenda and the Architectural Review Board review.
Multi-family housing requests across the city
Several projects — the City's own at 930 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Claxton and Glenn at 2600 Granby Street, and Gilbane Development at 711 and 755 Church Street — ask permission for buildings with more than 24 apartments, mostly in mixed-use formats.
Checkered Flag Honda expansion on E. Virginia Beach Boulevard
A major auto dealer wants to rezone and permit land at six addresses on Virginia Beach Boulevard to expand its sales and repair operation. It's one of the biggest items on the docket and could shape activity along that corridor.
Lambert's Point Pedestrian Bridge
The Elizabeth River Trail Foundation presented the proposed pedestrian bridge, after holding four community meetings. Neighbors' early feedback centers on trees and landscaping, parking and land use, and long-term design and maintenance.
Chronic code violations and affordable housing
Residents praised the city's new legislative priority to expand authority over chronically negligent absentee landlords, but worried about tenants currently facing displacement at Young Terrace and Calvert Square. One speaker suggested a task force to monitor naturally occurring affordable housing.
Naval Station Norfolk marina site preparation
$2 million in Navy funding was added to the budget for a marina site preparation assessment and cost estimate at Naval Station Norfolk.
Surplus school properties redevelopment
As new schools come online, the city is deciding what to do with old ones — Norview Elementary returns to the city this fall, Madison School is in negotiation with a developer, and the old Maury building likely heads to historic redevelopment.
Church Street Area Plan
A plan to bring back Church Street as a walkable commercial heart of the community — roundabouts at Olney Road and Princess Anne Road, adaptable ground-floor design, and support for the Attucks Theater. Community members overwhelmingly asked for groceries, restaurants, youth activities, and safer, quieter streets.
Faith-based and nonprofit affordable housing
New state law effective January 1 lets churches and 501(c)(3) nonprofits build housing with reduced local zoning barriers. The commission initiated the text amendment to align Norfolk's ordinance, with a public hearing set for October 22.
Faith-based housing by-right amendment
Starting January 2027, churches and nonprofits can build affordable housing by right on land they've owned five years — no rezoning or special permits. Staff flagged wrinkles: could sold affordable units be flipped to rentals, how does taxation work, and might nonprofits carve off single lots as a loophole?
127 Bank Street historic building renovation
Window replacements and a railing at the downtown 127 Bank Street building got unanimous approval as the owner prepares a general tenant build-out. Board members asked about historic tax credits and the building's original architect.
Disposition of seven city-owned vacant lots
The city sold seven vacant parcels through its Shared Vision online auction, mostly in Park Place, to builders and homebuyers who must construct single-family homes under restrictive covenants. It turns blighted empty lots into taxpaying homes.
MacArthur Center Mall Redevelopment Contract
The city's long-term plan is to demolish the mall and rebuild the downtown street grid with a grocery store, hotels, housing, and a central square. A purchase and development agreement goes to Council in November or December, and preliminary analyses will be published before that vote.
Military Circle redevelopment
Demolition starts in October with a $2.88 million contract, running 15 months. The city is pursuing a state Business Ready Site grant to move the site from Tier Two to Tier Four certification, aiming to attract commercial development.
Kindred housing development progress
The Kindred transformation is moving ahead, with 191-unit Kindship at Kindred opening its first building in October 2026 and 62-unit Resilience at Kindred starting construction in winter 2026. Over 100 former Tidewater Gardens residents have moved back, though committee members want better data on how many are returning across all phases.
Calvert Square/Young Terrace master plan
The city and NRHA shared the draft plan for transforming the last two 1950s-era public housing communities, with Gilbane as master developer and a 95-unit build-first project targeted for 2030. Residents' representatives flagged that youth-serving organizations like Teens with a Purpose don't appear on the concept map, and leaders agreed to engage affected institutions.
Proposed four-story mixed-use development at 427 W 35th Street
A new four-story mixed-use building is being floated in the 35th Street Pedestrian Commercial Overlay, replacing a non-contributing building in the Park Place Historic District. The board is shaping the design before a formal Development Certificate submission.
Displacement Prevention and Tenant Protections
Commissioners repeatedly stressed that any housing fund must include real displacement-prevention mechanisms and tenant protections, especially in rehabilitation projects where rents could rise. Roughly 75% of Norfolk's housing is naturally occurring affordable but aging and at risk.
Pembroke Towers deferred maintenance
A resident of the 12-floor, 168-unit Pembroke Towers building documented 38 months of deferred maintenance, a recent flood in her unit, and warned the building could be condemned if leaks reach its only working elevator.
1615 Colonial Avenue shared driveway dispute
The Ghent project recommended for approval earlier this summer is now a lightning rod. The applicant wants two conditions dropped — fixing the crumbling shared driveway and not blocking neighbors' access — and staff says both should stay. Emails are flooding in from the applicant, owners, and residents.
Norfolk International Airport terminal modernization
Big departures-terminal expansion: new ticketing hall, pedestrian bridge to the consolidated rental car facility, consolidated security checkpoint, and a new contemporary design vocabulary replacing the 1971 brutalist look. The Architectural Review Board recommended approval but worried the design looks like Dulles and lacks a Norfolk identity.
Middle housing study
The missing middle — duplexes, triplexes, small apartment buildings — used to be how Norfolk grew. Developers say demand is strong, but financing rules, double-stair building code, and stormwater requirements make small projects nearly impossible. The study recommends zoning fixes, pre-approved plans, and state advocacy.
East Street Garage proposal
A team picked through a competitive bid process presented early plans for a new city-owned parking garage, seeking board feedback on materials and tree preservation before a formal review.
Ocean View apartment expansion
A rezoning lets a popular brewery build a parking lot near Pretty Lake, with one commissioner abstaining over a business tie.
MacArthur Memorial Archive Addition
The Memorial is expanding its 1964 archive building to properly house 140,000 at-risk artifacts and add classroom space — it's now the nation's second most-visited presidential library. Groundbreaking is planned for September.
Chrysler Hall and Scope lease and renovation
The city leased Chrysler Hall and Scope to NCCC Rehab LLC for ten years, with related sublease, development, and NRHA cooperation agreements, to rehabilitate the downtown venues using state historic tax credits. Rent is $45,000 a year.
Small-lot infill housing on 37th Street
A 25-foot-wide lot that got tangled in an ownership shuffle can now be built on, adding one single-family home in a neighborhood full of narrow lots.
East Side rec center/library and capital investment equity
Barrett Hicks said the last CIP project at Berkeley was the rec center in 1978 and announced intent to file a federal civil rights case against the city over decades of disinvestment.
Granby Street townhouse development (former DePaul site)
Stanley Martin Homes wants to build 68 townhouse-style condos on the vacant former DePaul medical office parcel. Councilman Smigiel is worried about density, school capacity with Granby Elementary closing, and traffic near the new bike lanes.