THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 22, 1997 TAG: 9701220386
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 62 lines
Siltation in the network of creeks that wind through the city has gotten so bad that waterfront homes are turning into waterview homes.
At least at low tide, some of the creeks that were once navigable have become mudflats, homeowners say.
And now they're asking the city to pick up at least some of the expense of dredging the channels.
After years of telling homeowners that public bodies take no responsibility for private waterways, the city is looking for ways to help.
Beginning tonight, the city's Beach Management Office will hold a series of workshops on ``neighborhood navigation channels'' that will look at a range of solutions.
Sam Brown Jr., who built his Hebden Creek home in 1989, wears a ``tide watch'' whenever he takes his 12-foot runabout into the Lynnhaven River's Western Branch. ``Otherwise I'll be going for a long walk through the mud,'' he says.
Brown says the creek ``used to be a foot or better at low tide, but now it's dry.''
Much of the city is veined with so-called navigation channels that developers dredged out decades ago. That was before environmental laws curtailed such practices.
The homeowners say they pay more in taxes because of higher assessments for waterfront property and contend that now it's the city's turn to play a part.
``We've been paying a premium in taxes and the city doesn't put a penny back into the waterways to improve them,'' says William Buono, chairman of the Great Neck Association of Civic Leagues.
The city has sympathized with property owners but steadfastly maintained that siltation was not a public responsibility. In 1990, the city dredged the Eastern Branch of the Lynnhaven and waterfront property owners got together to dig out their own channels, paying several thousand dollars apiece.
Dredging the Lynnhaven's Western Branch has been delayed for several years as the city walks a maze of federal regulations for everything from sea grass to summer flounder habitats.
City Coastal Engineer Phillip Roehrs says at least half a dozen neighborhoods each year try to make a case for assistance.
The more the city says no, Roehrs says, the more homeowners say, `Well, lower my taxes.' ''
Roehrs acknowledges that there likely will be opponents who say there's no justification for spending city tax dollars to benefit private property owners.
The City Council has paid for a $250,000 study by a Cambridge, Md., group to look at the alternatives, and the meetings tonight, Thursday and one week from Thursday will gauge citizen interest. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
STEVE EARLEY/The Virginian-Pilot
The creek behind Sam Brown's house in the Royal Grant section of
Virginia Beach becomes a mud flat at low tide. Over the years, such
waterways have filled with silt; homeowners want help clearing them.
Graphic
NAVIGATION CHANNEL WORKSHOPS
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]