THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 2, 1994 TAG: 9411020476
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
The City Council Tuesday approved sand for Sandbridge, ending nearly a decade-long crusade by residents of that oceanfront neighborhood.
The council, by an 8-3 vote, agreed to establish a special taxing district in Sandbridge to pay for replenishing sand along the waterfront for the next 50 years.
Sixty-five percent of the project will be funded by the state and federal government. The special taxing district will generate the other 35 percent. No other city money will be spent on the project.
Sand is rapidly washing away from the 4 1/2-mile stretch of beach and will need to be replenished every two to three years to keep oceanfront houses from falling into the water, according to city officials.
The sand replacement will boost property values along the oceanfront, improve the tourist draw and widen the public beachfront, supporters said.
``It's a wonderful place. It's worth saving,'' said Thomas E. Fraim, resident and long-time proponent of the beach restoration project.
The three council members who opposed the measure objected to spending any tax money on the project, whether it comes from federal, state or local coffers.
Councilman John D. Moss, who has repeatedly described the project as ``pork barrel,'' was joined by Robert K. Dean and Nancy K. Parker in opposing the measure.
Parker said after the meeting that she does not believe the taxing district will generate enough money to cover its costs and worries that city money will eventually be needed.
``In the long term the general public will be paying off this, not only at the federal level, but at the local level,'' Parker said.
The local share of the project will cost about $3 million initially and $1.8 million every time the oceanfront is replenished, the city has said.
The local contribution to the project will be funded with a 6 percent property tax, a 4 percent lodging tax, the portion of the lodging tax that had gone into an oceanfront redevelopment fund, revenues from the Little Island Fishing Pier and Parking Lot, and some of the profits of the publicly owned Sandbridge parking lots.
Tax collection will begin Jan. 1, although the first locally funded replenishment won't be needed for at least 5 years, Councilwoman Barbara M. Henley told the council.
Sandbridge property owners have already agreed to allow the taxes to rise if necessary, Henley said.
More than 75 percent of Sandbridge residents approve the self-taxation plan, according to a city-sponsored petition. Most of the oceanfront property owners have also agreed to donate beachfront right of way to the city, a measure required by the Army Corps of Engineers, which is providing the federal funding.
Council's support is the final step in a lengthy approval process that has included two federal cost-benefit reviews, a favorable General Assembly vote and a state decision to give the Camp Pendleton refund to the project. by CNB