BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE – The City Council on Tuesday, June 19, voted to delay two related decisions that could determine how the flood-prone Ashville Park neighborhood near Pungo continues to develop. One item would fix flooding issues in the… Continue Reading
Ed. — This is a developing story, and it will be updated online and in the upcoming print edition of The Independent News. BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE — The Virginia Beach Fire Department in April sent firefighters to a house that… Continue Reading
Ed. — This story appeared in print on March 16, 2018. THE INDEPENDENT NEWS COURTHOUSE — The Virginia Beach City Council will take more time to determine how it could regulate short-term rentals, an issue felt in the rise of massive… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE – Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms announced on Wednesday, April 18, that he will leave office at the end of the month. At City Hall, Sessoms said the decision to resign came after reflection with his… Continue Reading
The author, the former Comprehensive Planning Coordinator in Virginia Beach, argues that preserving the Virginia Beach Agricultural Reserve Program within the proposed operating budget and capital improvement plan is consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan. BY JERYL ROSE PHILLIPS VIRGINIA… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE – City Councilmember Bobby Dyer on Tuesday, Aug. 22, announced he has drafted a resolution calling for a moratorium on public-private partnerships following the council’s approval earlier this month of a development project near Town Center… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE – Agriculture in Virginia Beach had an estimated $124.6 million economic impact in 2016, an increase of $3.8 million or 3.1 percent from the previous year, according to the local cooperative extension office. The estimate from… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE – Virginia Beach City Manager Dave Hansen on Tuesday, March 28, unveiled a spending plan that would raise real estate taxes to help establish full-day kindergarten throughout the city while redirecting money from a previous property… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE – This week citizens noticed language posted to the Virginia Beach city website that seemed to soften the impact of the recent advisory referendum in which voters opposed extending the Tide from Newtown Station to Town… Continue Reading
THE INDEPENDENT NEWS COURTHOUSE – Virginia Beach will impose a ceiling upon land use tax values for agricultural land of either $1,800 per acre or a commodity-determined value, if it is lower than that sum. The value that determines taxes… Continue Reading