Contested land transfer OK'd in Portsmouth
PORTSMOUTH
Faced with a packed house that mostly opposed the move, the City Council on Tuesday approved a land transfer to move a controversial housing development forward.
The council voted 5-2 to advance Hull's Creek at Port Norfolk, a project that would build about two dozen homes on around 7 acres of open field between the Lake Shores and Port Norfolk communities.
Some neighbors have been working for months against the project, and they crowded the council chambers Tuesday to try to sway the vote. They argued that the project doesn't make sense in this housing market, it isn't safe because of soil contaminants, and it would destroy a rare patch of green space in the city.
"The answer to me is not development, development, development. It's revitalization of what we have," said Frank Thomson, a nearby resident.
Council members have made economic development a priority, however, and they received assurances from the developers that tests showed the ground was clean and the project would contribute about $50,000 annually to the city's bottom line.
The land transfer moves the property to the city's Economic Development Authority, which will begin negotiating a sale of the land to Hull's Creek Properties, a venture of Bob Arnette of Coastal Virginia Developers and Gary Werner of Franciscus Homes.
Councilmen Paige Cherry and Curtis E. Edmonds Sr. voted against the transfer.
Despite the many opponents, some people supported the project and spoke in favor of it. "I want the houses, and they can only bring my property value up," said Sharon Turner, whose home borders the property.