COURTHOUSE — Over the past six years, developers now seeking a rezoning to build an apartment complex near the municipal center have donated about $110,000 to the campaign coffers of some of the politicians who will decide the project’s fate.
The money came from The Franklin Johnston Group, its senior leaders and an affiliated business, according to campaign financial disclosure reports filed with the state elections department.
Most came directly from The Franklin Johnston Group, the company behind a plan to build a 176-unit apartment complex on 6.26 acres along Princess Anne Road. The City Council is scheduled on Tuesday, Oct. 17, to consider a rezoning request that would allow the project to go forward.
The project has faced opposition due to its density and because part of the property is within an area in which dense development is not allowed. However, a majority of the Planning Commission this past week recommended the City Council should approve a revised version of the plan. The city staff also recommended approving the project, and it appears to have support among some members of the council.
Mayor Bobby Dyer, who expedited the project’s approval process after it recently was redesigned, has received $28,000 in political contributions, records show. The Franklin Johnston Group is the mayor’s leading campaign contributor since 2018, the timeframe reviewed by The Independent News, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit that maintains an online database of political giving and spending.
During an interview, Dyer said the perception that political donations influence support for the project is false. He said he has backed similar projects in the past, including during his time representing the former Centerville District on the City Council, because of the need for housing in Virginia Beach.
“The reason I am a champion of these is City Council, at our last retreat, made affordable housing our fourth-greatest priority,” Dyer said.
The proposed apartments near the municipal center include workforce housing, and Dyer said the City Council needs to act to make housing more attainable for citizens.
The political organizations of Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson and Councilmember Michael Berlucchi received more than $20,000 apiece since 2018, their campaign financial disclosure reports show, and the campaigns of Councilmembers Joash Schulman and Sabrina Wooten received about $16,000 each.
Councilmembers Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond and Chris Taylor received relatively modest contributions – $2,000 and $500, respectively – for their political coffers.
Berlucchi, who represents District 3, said political fundraising is part of the process of seeking office, and he said he enjoys support from a range of businesses and individuals.
“Campaign contributions have no bearing on determinations I make about policy,” Berlucchi said. “The only considerations I use to make a decision about public policy is what’s best for our great city.”
There is nothing unusual about businesses or executives, among other groups and individuals, donating to campaigns. In Virginia, donors can give as much as desired to candidates, though other states limit contributions. Here, political giving needs to be disclosed so citizens can track potential influences upon the people who seek or hold public office.
“The company, along with pretty much every company in the country, believes in backing candidates that believe in building a stronger city or a stronger community,” said Chance Wilson, who leads the affordable housing initiative at The Franklin Johnston Group, during an interview. “I just don’t see how that really makes sense not to support those candidates who are going to make a city stronger.”
Some critics of the proposed Silo at Southern Pines project near the municipal center have said the potential political influence of such contributions as among their concerns.
The Franklin Johnston Group, based in Virginia Beach, seeks a rezoning that would allow it to build multifamily units on a parcel of former farmland near its earlier Southern Pine apartment development.
The new property is partially within an area in which development is restricted to avoid encroachment on Naval Air Station Oceana, but, after the Planning Commission in August supported an earlier version of the development, the project was redrawn to remove housing units from that part of the property. It was then resubmitted to the city approvals process, and the developer has addressed other concerns about its plans along the way.
As The Independent News reported this past week, the commanding officer of jet base wrote in a letter to Dyer that the Navy has reviewed the proposal and has no issues with its revised form.
However, the rezoning is still opposed by some residents, the Agricultural Advisory Commission and a committee that reviews development within the Interfacility Traffic Area of the city between Oceana and Fentress airfield in Chesapeake.
The rezoning request has been criticized by City Councilmember Barbara Henley, who represents District 2, in which the project is located. Henley’s campaign did not report any contributions from the developer. She declined to discuss donations made to the campaigns of her colleagues.
Rosemary Wilson, who represents District 5, said the contributions to her campaign were made over time and do not determine how someone will vote. She said she has opposed projects of political supporters in the past. Decisions come down to the merits of an issue under consideration, Wilson said.
“It’s the project and what’s best for our community,” the vice mayor said. “It’s a case-by-case basis.”
Wooten, who represents District 7, said she understands how members of the public see political contributions and may feel they impact decision making. Contributions do not cloud her decisions, she said.
She said she supports affordable housing and that she also supports Henley’s call, in the wake of The Franklin Johnston Group’s application, to study policy about properties partially with the ITA.
“I’m listening to the facts and listening to the concerns of the citizens,” Wooten said. “I don’t make decisions based on contributions from anyone.”
Schulman of District 9 said criticisms of council members over political donations can be tough to hear but are not unexpected.
“The job requires looking at things objectively on the merits,” he said. “I’m going to give it the same level of objectivity. … We are all doing this job because we love the city we live in and want to see a prosperous community for everyone.”
“I don’t have any comment on the 500 bucks,” said Taylor, who represents District 8, adding that he had not yet made a decision about the project.
He said he had concerns about the process similar to those expressed by Henley.
“We’ll let it go to the vote,” he said.
Ross-Hammond could not be reached for comment.
The Independent News reviewed contributions made since 2018 using the Virginia Public Access Project’s database and verified them using records filed with the state elections department by the respective campaigns. Donations by individuals came from people listed as members of the development company, and the related company is listed among affiliated businesses in the developer’s rezoning application to the city.
The newspaper excluded some contributions made to former members of the City Council, such as Rocky Holcomb, now serving as Virginia Beach’s sheriff, from the sum discussed in this story because they will not vote on the project.
Citizens can review contributions to Virginia politicians online through the Virginia Public Access Project via vpap.org or review specific campaign financial reports online at this link.
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