THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 17, 1996 TAG: 9607170338
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 41 lines
Chesapeake has a reputation among developers for paving paradise to put up parking lots.
It was earned through a stringent city code that required that more parking space be set aside for office buildings than in any other city in the region.
That all changed Tuesday when the City Council drastically dropped the number of parking spaces required outside new office buildings, agreeing that the old ordinance had become obsolete and, in some ways, wasteful. The vote was unanimous.
In the end, the change will save developers money by requiring less land when building offices.
Pete Burkhiemer, chief engineer and co-owner of a Virginia Beach engineering firm, told the council that the city's old ordinance treated businesses in a ``paternalistic way.''
``You're not saving developers money,'' Burkhiemer said outside of council chambers. ``You are not requiring developers to spend money on things that serve no purpose.''
The council changed the city code to require one parking space for every 300 square feet of floor area. The code had previously called for one space for every 200 square feet.
The planning commission had recommended a less dramatic cut, to one parking space for every 270 square feet.
The code was changed after a local building company, Armada Hoffler Construction, said the city's ordinance was excessive and would unnecessarily convert green area into vacant parking spaces.
At the time, the company was building a new headquarters on Crossway Boulevard and wanted a variance from the city's parking requirements, according to a report from city staff. The city denied the variance.
There is even an environmental benefit from cutting back on the excess parking. Unused parking spaces are said to be environmentally unfriendly, creating more area for storm water pollution to flow into nearby waterways.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCIL by CNB