Is D-1 Done?
For 'Green Space Ladies,' Buckroe Battle Is Far From Over
By Sara Piccini
Port Folio Weekly
February 6, 2007
"I think you've won."
These were Mayor Ross Kearney's valedictory words to the so-called "Green Space Ladies" at the Jan. 24 meeting of Hampton City Council. The mayor then cast his vote in favor of developing significant portions of waterfront property at Buckroe Beach. The motion carried 5-2.
For two years, the Green Space Ladies-Sandra Canepa, Trish Ferraro and Cecile Trevathan-have fought tirelessly against such a vote.
Do they think they've won?
Hardly.
"They want us to claim victory and go away," says Trish Ferraro. "But this vote is not what the people requested."
The trio's battle started in 2005 when Hampton released a Buckroe Master Plan calling for the sale and development of approximately 10 acres of public property, referred to as Lots B, adjacent to the existing Buckroe Beach Park. The women and their supporters gathered more than 12,000 signatures on a petition requesting that the acreage be designated a city park.
With the Jan. 24 vote, Hampton City Council formally amended the Bay Front Initiative of the Buckroe Master Plan by adopting "Option B" as a guideline for development. Compared with the design in the original Master Plan, Option B provides for increased open space and greatly decreased housing density. The final design is seen by many as a win for all sides.
The Green Space Ladies are quick to acknowledge that their efforts weren't entirely in vain.
"While this wasn't a victory, it did effect some change," says Cecile Trevathan. "It proves you can get something done. If it hadn't been for the people supporting us, the plan might have ended up with 450 condos."
The trio also has been very willing to compromise. They created their own option-Option D-1- for Council to consider along with the five presented by the Planning Department. Recognizing the need for economic revitalization in Buckroe, Option D-1 includes commercial development on the back Lot B under a lease arrangement by the city.
Where the group has not been willing to compromise is on the sale of public property. "A reporter named us the 'Green Space Ladies,' but we should really be called the 'Public Space Ladies,'" says Trevathan. They have been supported by the lone voice of Councilwoman Angela Leary.
Explaining her Jan. 24 vote against Option B, Leary says, "The Council refused to keep the public property publicly owned. That was the rub for me. Without the guarantee, I was forced to vote no."
Indeed, while the art of compromise keeps the wheels of government turning, one could argue that certain things are sacrosanct. If Frederick Law Olmsted had compromised on the design of Central Park back in the 1850s, there might very well be a Trump Tower and a Disney Store on the Great Lawn today.
The Battle For Buckroe has brought to light some potentially disturbing aspects about how Hampton city government operates. While Option B received support from the Buckroe Civic Association and other private citizens, the vast majority of those interested in the issue seemed to favor Option D-1. For example, the Planning Department conducted a public opinion survey in the late fall, and of 601 respondents, 554 were in favor of D-1; only 10 selected B. And then there were those 12,000-plus signatures on the Buckroe petition.
The City Council vote seemed to fly in the face of public sentiment. Sandra Canepa, the firebrand among the Green Space Ladies, certainly believes so. After the Council vote she expressed her frustration in a public e-mail, stating in part:
There is a great myth going on in Hampton, Virginia. It is even perpetuated by a Government Teacher that happens to be our Mayor. The myth is that the elected officials are supposed to reflect the will of the people. It's called a representative form of government. . It goes something like this: If you want the elected officials to pay attention to you, you gather in great numbers, and they will listen. Not in Hampton. You will get patted on the head for your efforts, and then be ignored.
Another cause for concern is evidence that the city government formulates arguments post facto to support an already-arrived-at course of action. If one of the arguments is proved wrong, it's dropped completely (think WMDs). In December, for example, the Planning Department gave a detailed presentation comparing the five options for the Bayfront Initiative. The planners stated that a "critical mass" of new owner-occupied housing is needed to revitalize Buckroe, citing a 30/70 ratio of renters to owners. Cecile Trevathan didn't think that sounded right.
"I thought to myself, 'Oh my God, we have our work cut out for us. We have to refute that. It's central to their argument.'" Trevathan took it upon herself to conduct her own survey. With the assistance of a realtor friend, she came up with a ratio close to 50-50. She then took her findings to Joan Charles of the Taxpayers Education Association. "It was like Christmas to Joan," Trevathan says with a laugh, noting Charles' affinity for number crunching. Charles verified with the Planning Department that she was following their methods, and came up with a 52/48 ratio.
Trevathan and Charles presented their data to City Council and followed up with a letter. "I was expecting someone to at least raise a question about it. In our perception, as soon as it was known that the figures were incorrect, it was no longer important."
In his Jan. 24 comments, Mayor Kearney dismissed the discrepancy: "It might be 72 or 52, but Buckroe is very high in rentals. I'm not smart enough to know which number is correct."
The city also appeared to ignore potential environmental issues. Leigh Morgan, a certified flood plain manager, advised the Planning Department and Council in a Nov. 28 e-mail that a large segment of the acreage is designated a FEMA velocity zone. Another citizen, Charles Graham, expressed concern that the City had not prepared an assessment of storm water runoff, a major polluter.
Sandra Canepa also points to the 2007 State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Plan statement on Buckroe: "The Buckroe Beach Park Plan should maximize the amount for public beach access. The opportunity to plan recreation along publicly owned beaches in the Commonwealth is indeed rare."
All of these concerns will have a crucial bearing on future development issues in Hampton, most notably the fate of Fort Monroe.
Although a Vote has been cast, the fight is far from over. Many citizens who haven't been following the issue will be surprised to learn that Option B substitutes on-street parking for a beach parking lot-this to service a public beach that receives 250,000 visitors a year. New and existing homeowners may quickly grow tired of a constant parade of people in front of their homes unloading windsurfing equipment, kayaks, boogie boards, coolers and beach toys. City Manager Jesse Wallace got "chewed up," in the words of Angela Leary, at a Jan. 17 meeting of nearby condo residents when they heard about the parking plans.
"We will all be involved," says Cecile Trevathan. "We'll be monitoring the decisions of Council. I plan to get people registered to vote." The group will explore possible options for citizen redress, and hopes to team with other advocacy groups such as Virginia Coastal Access Now.
All three women have families and other interests; while Canepa is recently retired, both Trevathan and Ferraro work full-time. "It's the equivalent of two full-time jobs," Ferraro says of her advocacy work. But the trio has put in too much time and is too committed to the cause to stop now. And they are committed to one another: "The best part of the whole ordeal has been getting to know each other," Trevathan says.
"I need these two to keep me in line," Canepa adds with a laugh.
"I'm more fired up now than ever," Ferraro says. "It's like I just got my master's degree, and now I'm going for my Ph.D.
"I've got my second wind, and I'm just starting."
