THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411170444
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Ocean View rebels told City Hall Wednesday that they are dropping their petition drive to make the bay-front area a separate city, one of their leaders said Wednesday.
Withdrawal of the petition campaign means the group of disgruntled residents is no longer trying to force the City Council to allow this part of Norfolk to form a separate city.
But movement leader James Dozier, publisher of the Ocean View Times, a weekly newspaper, said the secession effort is not dead. He said he intends eventually to have the General Assembly consider legislation that would allow or force a division of Norfolk.
Dozier said the legislative effort would not happen in the session that begins in January.
He said the petition drive failed because the effort was disorganized. Many sheets of signatures were never turned in, he said, adding that he was uncertain how many signatures were collected.
``We just decided to gracefully end it, rather than prolong it,'' Dozier said. ``It was something that was done with a little bit of thought, but not as much as it should have been.''
The movement needed about 2,000 signatures, 10 percent of the number of ballots cast in the last local election, to trigger a council review.
Randy Wright, who represents Ocean View in the City Council, opposed the secession effort.
The petition drive's failure, Wright said, ``sends a direct message that citizens like the direction Ocean View is going in, and feel they are getting proper attention they deserve.''
As outlined by the secessionists, the new city would have included traditional Ocean View and East Little Creek Road neighborhoods, as well as Janaf and Military Circle shopping centers.
Dozier said Wednesday that he believed it was a mistake to include the shopping centers. They aren't part of what is traditionally thought of as Ocean View, he said, and their inclusion made the movement more controversial.
But Dozier said many people are still ready to secede because of what they perceive as years of neglect by downtown officials.
Wright, however, says the city has spent millions on Ocean View recently.
The City Council and City Attorney Philip R. Trapani have maintained it's not legally possible for Ocean View to secede. But Dozier said state legislators have told him there are several ways a section of a city could break away and form a new locality.
The Ocean View movement issued its ``declaration of independence'' July 4. About 60 people showed up for a meeting last August on the secession effort. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Movement leader James Dozier said the petition drive failed because
the effort was disorganized. But he says the secession effort is not
dead, and he intends eventually to have the General Assembly
consider the issue.
KEYWORDS: PETITION OCEAN VIEW
by CNB