THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 29, 1996 TAG: 9601290076
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 152 lines
This is the first in a series of occasional stories on issues affecting the future of Virginia Beach neighborhoods. The City Council is focusing on neighborhood issues as one of its top 10 subjects of the year.
What makes one neighborhood a good place to live and another a good place to leave? What makes property values rise in one spot and fall a few blocks away?
A good neighborhood is somewhat intangible. It may include well-trimmed lawns and well-maintained houses, but those are not enough. It must also be a ``community,'' a place where neighbors feed cats and take in papers, where block parties are planned, where residents feel safe.
Guy Rodgers, who lives in the Alexandria section of Kempsville, defines a good neighborhood as one where there are ``neighbors who watch out for each other, neighbors who think of the neighborhood as more than just their own home, but a community that they're part of.''
It's not just residents who have a stake in building good neighborhoods.
Virginia Beach needs them, too. Good neighborhoods demand less of a city and contribute more.
Virginia Beach is a young city. Half of its residences were built between 1978 and 1988 - but it is growing up fast.
By the turn of the century, a majority of the city's housing stock will be more than 20 years old.
Older houses and neighborhoods are harder to maintain. Once quality slips, houses sell for less, the people who move in cannot afford large-scale maintenance and the neighborhood can decline further.
City officials are worried they're going to wake up one day to find themselves surrounded by decay, with an eroding tax base, a skyrocketing demand for services and a waning appeal to businesses.
So the city's Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation has spent the past four months interviewing civic and business leaders. City officials have created an inventory of the qualities that make neighborhoods good, and they have explored the city's role in making and keeping strong neighborhoods.
The discussions led to a simple picture of a more complicated community ideal - sort of Virginia Beach's version of television's Mayberry:
In this perfect community, the houses are well-kept, regardless of the price tags. The streets are clean, the trees are tall and the children in the park are sweet. There is no graffiti. No blaring music. No threatening throngs of youths.
People congregate outdoors - planting flowers, strolling with their families, helping neighbors.
There is a Neighborhood Watch organization, even though there is little reason for it. Residents jog at night without reservation. No one has bars on the windows or warning signs in the front yard.
This ideal may be close to reality for many Beach residents.
In interviews with The Virginian-Pilot last week, a dozen residents of varied neighborhoods, from Newsome Farm to Pungo, from Avalon Hills to Windsor Woods, and from Birdneck Lake to Brigadoon, said they are happy with their communities.
Joseph A. Tucker, 80, a retired educational psychologist, credits the success of his 25-year-old Cape Henry Shores neighborhood to the good leaders who preceded him as head of the civic league, and to the quality of people who live around him.
``No matter if one property is half the value of the other one, we all have pride in our property,'' he said of his Lynnhaven-area neighbors. ``I think that's very important.''
At the Oceanfront's Pinewood Park neighborhood, Judy DeFord, a crossing guard and civic league president, said she likes how her neighbors watch out for each other.
And, G. Keith Eubank, treasurer of the Birdneck Lake Homeowners Association, said his neighborhood's central location is an asset. Located down the street from the Virginia Marine Science Museum, the Birdneck Lake area is two miles from Croatan Beach and three minutes from the Red Wing Golf Course.
``I really don't need to go on vacation because everything we like to do is here,'' said Eubank, who works in sales for the Sara Lee Corp.
Friedman said his discussions with civic and business leaders helped him understand what people want from their communities.
``We wanted to be sure we were attempting to solve the problems that were the real problems,'' he said.
But Friedman said the loudest message he heard at the meetings was that government's role in neighborhood preservation is limited.
He said he learned that ``the government cannot make something look like a good neighborhood.''
Yet if homeowners are required to keep their houses up to code, he said, the city has to participate by filling potholes or fixing cracked sidewalks. A good neighborhood consists of well-maintained public and private infrastructures.
MaryAnne Nixon, president of Resort Beach Civic League and Coalition, said that residents must take responsibility for their neighborhoods.
``If you see that litter needs to be picked up, pick it up,'' she said. ``If someone's grass needs to be cut, maybe see if they need a lawn mower. Find another way to solve the problem rather than going directly to the city and complaining.''
Sadye R. Shaw, president of the Newsome Farm Civic League, said there wasn't much pride in her neighborhood until the city used federal grant money to fix up the basics. Twenty years ago, there were outhouses in the mostly black community off Newtown Road because the city hadn't hooked the area up to water and sewer. Streets turned into canals during rainstorms and many houses were in shambles.
``When the city renovated, it developed such pride in our neighborhood,'' said Shaw. ``Things that we had just overlooked before, we seemed to become more aware of, of our yards, of our roads.''
Most of the time, Friedman said, the best government can do is help community groups that want to help themselves.
Next month, he will present his findings to the City Council along with some ideas for providing support.
Among his suggestions are:
Expanding the city's training for neighborhood leaders by launching a ``neighborhood college'' modeled after one on the Peninsula.
Enforcing code violations systematically, rather than on a complaint basis, to impact the entire neighborhood rather than just some houses.
Expanding the city's housing assistance program to provide money to people who otherwise would not be able to fix up homes.
Providing educational programs for landlords to teach them how to better maintain properties.
Continuing to inspect rental properties when tenants leave to ensure proper maintenance.
Most of the programs already are offered or planned, and most won't cost much, Friedman said.
But the payoff could be big.
``We believe we have a set of tools to attack the evidence of decline,'' he said. ``That doesn't mean that we are guaranteeing we can prevent it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
WHAT MAKES A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD...
AND WHAT DOESN'T...
JANET SHAUGHNESSY
The Virginian-Pilot
SOURCE: City of Virginia Beach
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB