When homeowners get flooded due to new development, it looks like this...yes that is a full-grown man in his front yard in Shadowlawn.
Not only is this an example of a failure on the part of Virginia Beach's stormwater system, but it is the direct result of the elevations required now with new construction. To put "salt" in the wound, the tidal wetlands directly across the street from this home are now being sold to a developer--VB Homes under the newly acquired LLC CEWS Properties LLC (est. Oct 2022).
Just across Fishermans Wharf at Rudee Inlet, the tide has flowed in and out of a natural wetland area totalling 8,746 sqft. For as long as neighbors can remember, this body of water has successfully absorbed flooding events. When Hurricane Isabel rolled in and pushed Rudee Inlet into the Shadowlawn neighborhood, this tidal wetland filled to the brim and homes were kept dry while much of our city flooded. Now, this tidal wetland is being purchased to build homes. The developer applied for a Wetland Pipe/Fill permit on June 8, 2023. By Auguest 4, the DEQ reclassified the area as non-tidal and issued the permit to allow infill. In the blink of an eye, the builder's $74K mitigation requirements was discounted to $30K. By the way, the "mitigation" is done in an area entirely separate from this neighborhood. What is it mitigating?!
That's right--magically this water became non-tidal on paper. No impact study. No opportunity for a public appeal. No protection for the neighbors for flooding when it gets filled in. As you can see from this photo, this neighbor's property was harmed by new development. It's happening all over Virginia Beach. What happens when the tidal wetland is replaced with homes and driveways? A pipe is going to manage this stormwater flow?? A pipe is going to replace the 150 gallons of water absorbed daily by an average tree, when they are clear cut from this property? When pipes fail to protect properties time and again, how can we have any faith in the system?
There is no room in Virginia Beach anymore for "faith." We have been failed time and again. It is up to our City Government to put restrictions on infill development. As long as City Council continues to shirk their responsibility (and their resolutions), homeowners like this one will continue to suffer the consequences of their development mistakes. Let's stop infill in Shadowlawn before its ShadowGONE. Visit https://sites.google.com/view/saveredbridge/vb-neighborhood-reports/somethings-wrong-in-shadowlawn?authuser=0 to learn more details and also to see how you can help influence our City Council to protect property owners from infill development.