Willoughby Corridor Study

Update February 2007

The Charette Study meeting that was scheduled for February 3^rd, has once again been cancelled by the city and by NRHA. Members of the board will be meeting with the facilitator sometime the week of February 5, to set up the program and to establish the date of the next meeting.

Update January 2007

The Willoughby Corridor Study has been for the last three years, and remains, the primary focus of your Conservation Committee. While I have not scheduled any committee meetings this league year, I have been in contact with standing members and will be updating them next week. Please do not infer that the absence of Conservation Meetings translates into a lack of effort. AS Councilman Williams, Commissioner Layton and your Housing Authority can attest, past Chair Brian Martinez, myself, other Committee and Board members have worked diligently to have this study finalized, printed and distributed. I have listened to the comments stemming from the study and have been instrumental in bringing NRHA, league membership, community stakeholders, city staff and elected officials together for the meetings now re-rescheduled to begin February 3rd. Inclusion has been the "buzz word" for this process. At these meetings, all members of the community will have another opportunity to voice their concerns and comments, consensus will be forged and progress will be made.

The Conservation Committee eagerly awaits the conclusion of this process, and remains available should any new business come up prior to the conclusion of this ongoing process.

Thank you for your patience and support

Suzy Allen, Chairperson
Willoughby Conservation Committee

Update December

After careful consideration and discussion by City and NRHA staff as well as Councilmen Williams and Winn, it has become evident that the complexity of the issues facing the residents of Willoughby and the City require a much more detailed, reasoned and comprehensive approach than the town meeting format that was originally envisioned for next Thursday. 20 minutes per topic does not allow sufficient time to cover all the facets associated with each issue.

Basically, the City would like to develop a detailed list of what facets of each issue need to be addressed. Based on that list, the City would prepare a series of presentations for the community dealing with these issues. These presentations would be made over a number of meetings to insure each topic is covered in sufficient detail to help the community understand the scope and complexity of each issue. After this effort is completed, the community could then move forward with a discussion, ranking and prioritizing of the various options and alternatives contained in the corridor study. The corridor study discussion needs to begin after the community understands the issues, the options associated with each of them and what is and is not feasible.

In light of this, the charrettes for Thursday the 11th and Thursday the 18th have been cancelled and new dates for these meetings will be announced soon.

Dear Civic League Member and Willoughby Stakeholder,

In the fall of 2005, the Willoughby Civic League requested Norfolk Redevelopment & Housing Authority (NRHA) to retain Urban Design Associates (UDA) to conduct a planning study of the area from First View Street westward to the tip of Willoughby.

Over the next nine months, UDA conducted a series of focus groups and public meetings with all interested stakeholders in order to determine key issues and examine potential options to address community wide concerns. While the Fourth View Intersection was and remains a key issue for us all, it was the opinion of the experts that due to the complexities surrounding this area, it be separated from the report and referred back to the city for additional study and research. NRHA has received a copy of the final UDA report identifying the remaining issues of greatest concern to the community and offers various options that could be used to address them. These options are suggestions only and should not be construed as a final plan.

Beginning September 27, 2006, the completed study will be available on the NRHA web site (www.nrha.us). Printed copies will be available for review at the Pretlow Library, Ocean View Station Museum, Sunset Grill and Granby North. If you wish to have an individual copy, CD or e-mail requests can be made to Lisa Sims at NRHA. She may be reached via e-mail at lsims@nrha.norfolk.va.us or by phone at 757-314-2099 and please indicate the format you prefer.

Additional public meetings are in the process of being scheduled between community members, interested stakeholders and a third party facilitator. The purpose of these meetings will be to analyze the conclusions and recommendations put forth in the report, determine their importance to the community as a whole and prioritize short and long term initiatives critical to guiding the revitalization of Willoughby over the next decade. Once the dates, times and locations for these sessions are determined, you will be notified. Notice will be printed in the newsletter, posted on our website and ads will be placed in the Compass and posted at various key Ocean View locations. As with all Civic matters, your participation is crucial for a successful outcome.

Thank you for your continued interest in working with the Willoughby Civic League, NRHA and the City of Norfolk in developing and implementing a long term strategy for the ongoing renaissance of Willoughby. We look forward to your ongoing participation and support.

Sincerely,

Jeff Jasmin, President
Willoughby Civic League

Suzy Allen, Chairperson
Willoughby Civic League Conservation Committee