Through the microtransit program, passengers make a ride reservation on Hampton Roads Transit OnDemand app and are picked up in minivans. Passengers will be given a time and location to meet the vehicles within a short time frame and distance from their location, typically a block or less. Trips will be shared with other riders going in similar directions or to similar destinations.

The service relaunches Oct.14 and will operate for 12 months, said Hampton Roads Transit spokesperson Thomas Becher. Afterward, there will be a three-month period during which HRT will review performance and ridership data. Service previously was offered in certain parts of both cities from July 2022 to the following February.

The service is expected to run from 5 a.m to 9 p.m Monday through Friday and 7 a.m to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

In Newport News, the service will be provided in a roughly 20-square-mile zone. Locations served will include the DW Entertainment and Shopping Center, Jefferson Commons, Patrick Henry Mall, Riverview Farm Park, Christopher Newport University, Riverside Hospital, Target and the Denbigh Community Center.

The Virginia Beach City Council approved funding in August to bring the microtransit program back to the Bayside area. The council is still evaluating a second zone to offer the transportation service.

The previous iteration of the program in Newport News and Virginia Beach transported more than 31,000 passengers, HRT officials told Newport News City Council on Tuesday. More than 20,000 hailed rides in Newport News. HRT hopes to increase ridership by 20% over the original pilot project.

Becher said that while the rides cost $2 for most passengers, teens from 13-17 who use HRT’s student freedom pass can ride for free.

The cost of the program for the participating cities is still being worked out, though both have approved funding for the project. The cities are expected to chip in a total of $700,000 (or $350,000 each) as a 20% match to the $3.5 million state grant funding the program.

The Virginia Beach City Council approved $350,000 to bring the program back to the Bayside area. If the council decides to expand the program, the city has set aside another $116,000. If Virginia Beach ends up spending $466,000 for both the original and second zone, Newport News will only need to contribute $233,000.

Newport News councilwoman Pat Woodbury said Tuesday she was “thrilled” by the success of the previous program. But she wondered if lack of service for the past year will lead to a ridership loss when the new program launches. Ray Amoruso, HRT’s chief planning and development officer, said he didn’t believe there was any danger of losing riders, and assured the council “they’ll come back.”

Amoruso told the council that microtransit will be a significant part of the region’s future.

“As we continue to struggle with finding commercial driver’s license-certified bus operators, this is another way we can provide service to people relying on public transportation,” he said.

Staff writer Stacy Parker contributed to this report.

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to allow what’s called accessory dwelling units within all zoning districts in which single-family dwellings are permitted. It’s designed to provide more affordable housing options and increase the city’s housing stock.

Accessory dwelling units are small, with their own living, bathroom and kitchen spaces. They can include carriage houses or garages turned into apartments for rental or used as an in-law suite.

Mayor Phillip Jones said that Newport News is “essentially built out” and that the council sought options that “encourage pro-housing growth in the city.”

“These are pro-growth policies, and we here at Newport News are looking at innovative ways to ensure that housing is a priority for everyone,” he said.

The council’s vote included regulations to ensure that the overall character of neighborhoods wouldn’t drastically change, including size and height limitations and ensuring that the units have a similar architectural style as the primary structure. Furthermore, the property owner will be required to occupy either the principal dwelling or the accessory dwelling as their primary residence.

Newport News residents won’t be allowed to use accessory dwelling units for short-term rentals, such as Airbnb. And if an accessory dwelling is leased, the lease term is not permitted to be less than 30 consecutive days.

Councilwoman Tina Vick said “there’s a housing crisis and housing issues throughout America” and that she was glad to be part of a city that has “some solutions.”

The General Assembly earlier this year considered legislation, Senate Bill 304, requiring localities to allow accessory dwelling units in single-family residential zoning districts without needing a special use permit, but the House’s Counties, Cities and Towns Committee ultimately decided to continue the legislation to 2025.

The North Virginia Beach Civic League and Virginia Beach’s zoning officials opposed the legislation, believing it took authority away from the local government to determine where accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, could be permitted by right.

However, Grayson Orsini,  a lead with YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard) Hampton Roads, said his group supports efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing in Hampton Roads — including allowing accessory dwelling units.

“We are big fans of it because it enables a neighborhood to kind of keep its character, while also allowing more people to move in,” he said. “So one of the big arguments here from NIMBYs, people that are saying, ‘not in my backyard’ is, ‘oh well, this new housing is going to ruin neighborhood character.’ Enabling ADUs helps prevent that. Because what you’re having is another structure that is adjacent to the house, or accessory to the house. But that house still stands.”

Orsini said that by increasing the housing supply, the cost of housing should go down. He added that accessory dwelling units also allow the people of a neighborhood “to remain in the neighborhood.”

“We’ve been approached time and time again by people who say, ‘Oh I have an elderly parent, grandparent. I even have a kid that might need a little bit more supervision but still kind of wants that independence from the parents — and ADUs are the housing solution for us,” he said.

The ordinances passed Tuesday night will go into effect on Oct. 1.

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

According to police, an alert from ShotSpotter — which traces sound waves to determine where gunshots are coming from — prompted officers to go to the 1200 block of 16th Street, just after 6:15 a.m. Emergency workers found the teen “with at least one gunshot wound.”

He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Another Menchville student told the Daily Press she was among about five or six other students waiting near the stop, at the intersection of 16th Street and Garden Drive, at the Stuart Gardens apartments.

The girl, also 15, said it was still mostly dark outside when she “saw this guy walk past me” on 16th Street. He was wearing a gray hoodie and a blue medical-style mask of the kind popular during the pandemic.

“And I didn’t think anything of it,” she said. “I knew it was kind of like, weird.”

Then, she said, she saw the male walk completely around a small residential apartment building at the corner of 16th and Garden Drive.

He then walked into the middle of the street on Garden Drive, she said. That’s when he suddenly pulled out a handgun and began shooting toward the 15-year-old male student who had just arrived at the bus stop.

“I saw him pull the gun out,” the girl said of the shooter. “I saw the flash, and I ran.”

Shots continued to ring out as she ran, with at least one bullet striking a car that was parked on 16th Street. Neighbors reported hearing five shots — three rounds in quick succession, then two more after a few seconds.

The shooter ran off, and he’s still at large. Police have not released a motive for the killing, and have not immediately released the slain teen’s identity. Suspect information was also not released.

“Thank God my kid didn’t get hit, because he was shooting in her direction,” said the girl’s father, who said he and his daughter were speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the potential for retaliation.

The girl said she didn’t know the slain boy well, but saw him on the bus beginning with the first day of school a couple weeks ago.

She said she was having flashbacks to last Thursday, when the boy was with a female friend at the bus stop. “And she was like, ‘Can I get a hug?’, and he was like, ‘No, I don’t want to.'”

“And I don’t know if they seen each other since then,” said the girl, who then broke down in tears at the memory. “It’s sad.”

The school bus arrived at the stop “almost immediately” after the shooting, the girl’s father said.

“It kind of got trapped there with the police coming,” he said. The bus, with about five students on board, remained at the scene for about an hour and a half.

Drew confirmed a school bus was in “close proximity” to the shooting, but couldn’t say exactly how far away. Investigators plan to interview those that were on the bus.

A neighbor who lives on 16th Street, Michael Banks, said he was lying in bed when “all of a sudden I heard gunshots” at 6:18 a.m. He said he heard five rounds.

“It sounded like a cannon,” Banks said. “I laid there and I told my wife, ‘Something’s going on across the street.'”

When the rescue squad and fire trucks pulled up a few minutes later, he said, “They jumped out of the truck, and they were running.”

“So I knew that whatever happened, it was serious,” Banks said. “They got out of the truck running. Evidently they knew that it was pretty bad.”

“Tragic events like this can be difficult to process,” Menchville High School Principal Jason Hollar said in a message to the district on Tuesday. “We recognize that some students and staff will need additional support and encouragement. Members of the school division’s support and response team are available at school today to meet and talk with students and staff.”

Drew said additional student resource officers and other resources were added at Menchville in response to the shooting. He added that there will be an officer stationed at the bus stop in the morning for the remainder of the week.

Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones released a statement commending the police investigation and quick response.

“Today our community was struck by a senseless tragedy,” his statement reads. “A young boy’s life has been cut short, and my heart aches for his family and loved ones during this unimaginable time. Words cannot fully convey the grief we feel.”

“My heart is just broken,” said Newport News City Council member John Eley, who represents the South District. “A 15-year-old lost his life.”

“Hasn’t even begun life yet,” he said.

Eley said his mother lives two streets from where the shooting occurred, and that she was “shaken up” by what had happened.

“I woke up to nine missed phone calls from my mother,” he said. “When I finally called back, she was hysterical about the situation. … She said, ‘John, I’m not calling as your mother. I’m calling as a citizen of Newport News. What can we do to help combat crime in the community?'”

Eley urged the community to “continue to come together during these times” — and if they know anything, to come forward to help the police.

“It’s a sad situation, but like I told reporters earlier, our city, our community, our police department and the citizens of Newport News work very closely together, and we will catch who did this crime,” he said.

“We have zero tolerance for crime in our city,” Eley added.

Council member Tina Vick, who also represents the South District, called the tragedy “disheartening.” She said she drove by the scene in the afternoon.

“It’s really just tragic that our young people — not all of them, but some of them — are in a mindset to think that this type of violence is OK when it’s not,” she said.

“And to see that some young person’s life has ended when they’re just trying to go to school — I’m deeply saddened by that. It really is a sad day in our city. A sad day in our city and the entire Hampton Roads region when we keep losing our children to this gun violence.”

Vick is urging the community to “support our children” and said anyone with information about what happened should come forward.

“I know for many people, it’s very difficult, but we cannot keep allowing our community to suffer through this type of violence,” she said.

Detectives and police forensics technicians were at the scene until about 11 a.m. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call 911 or the nonemergency number at 757-247–2500.

Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com

Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com

Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

Pearson is the founder and president of Project 1619, a nonprofit that has played a crucial role in correcting the narrative about the arrival of enslaved Africans in English-speaking North America. The organization notes the first enslaved Africans, who were kidnapped from Angola, first landed at Point Comfort, today’s Fort Monroe in Hampton, not in Jamestown.

“Calvin’s passing is a monumental loss,” said Melinda Steele, Project 1619’s vice president. She said “correcting the narrative” of the first Africans in America was a passion of his.

“We’re going to miss him dearly,” Steele said. “He was such a pioneer.”

Pearson was born in Newport News and grew up in Hampton.

Hampton School Board member Ann Stephens Cherry recalled Pearson’s longstanding commitment to preserving Black history. Friends since the 1960s, Cherry remembered when Phenix High School — a school for Black students during segregation — was renamed Pembroke High School in 1968 and the school staff started throwing trophies and other Phenix memorabilia into the trash. She said Pearson went “dumpster diving” to retrieve as many trophies and awards as possible to preserve the school’s history.

“I’ll miss the fact that he was genuine,” she said. “He had no ulterior motive, and what he said, you could take it to the bank. Didn’t matter whether you agreed with him or not. He was genuine. You don’t have a lot of that now.”

Project 1619 also researched and promoted African history before slavery and Hampton’s African-American history.

Fort Monroe Authority Chief Executive Officer Glenn Oder described Pearson as “dogmatic and persistent” about the importance of identifying Point Comfort as the site where the first Africans landed. Oder said he was one of the driving forces behind promoting an accurate narrative and a “new understanding of history.”

Pearson was also instrumental in development and planning of the African Landing Memorial — an ongoing $9 million project to honor the first documented Africans brought to English North America in 1619. Oder said Pearson was involved in committee work, site selection, the design process and the selection of the artist.

“He wasn’t afraid to share his position,” Oder said. “He wasn’t afraid to express his opinion if something wasn’t going in the direction that he felt would correctly tell the story. He was a force of nature when it came to telling the story.”

Pearson was also chairman of the National Juneteenth Grassroots Enslavement Legacy Commission and a frequent speaker at conferences nationwide — sharing his knowledge about the horrors and long-lasting impact of slavery.

Project 1619 board member Larry Gibson, who grew up with Pearson, commended his lifelong friend for his advocacy in telling truthful history.

Due to human trafficking and slavery, Gibson said it felt like the culture and history of Black people living in America were being erased. He believes Pearson’s work highlighting the history and culture of Africans before enslavement and the acknowledgment of “where we came from” created a space for African descendants to find reconciliation and healing.

After decades of friendship, Gibson said he will miss having one-on-one conversations with Pearson.

“I’ll miss the personal engagement with him, but the things that we’ve shared and the things that he’s done — that’ll be with me for the rest of my life,” he said.

William “Bill” Wiggins, who co-founded Project 1619, is the organization’s new president.

“To have (Pearson) gone is going to be a huge void, but Project 1619, Inc. will continue and move forward,” Steele said. “We’re going to continue with his legacy.”

A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday at First Baptist Church of Hampton. Entombment will follow at Hampton Memorial Gardens.

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

Canon Virginia President and CEO Shingo Shigeta said in a Friday release the company will make silk protein “a viable commercially scaled technology with broad application use in various segments.” The latest production line represents one of the company’s first forays outside of its main business of image-related products.

Newport News Director of Development Florence Kingston described the silk protein line as “exciting” and an example of Canon Virginia’s innovation, saying the silk solution could be used for food preservatives.

In a release from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office, state and local officials touted Canon’s efforts to diversify its product as an “expansion.” However, Canon Virginia is retraining 30 employees to staff the new line, rather than adding new jobs.

Kingston acknowledged the new initiative isn’t providing “absolute job creation” but said it could create higher wage opportunities for the company’s existing workforce.

“It’s a job retention and a retraining — upskilling so that folks have higher income and higher growth opportunities,” she said.

Canon cut 55 employees from its Newport News manufacturing plant in February because of economic challenges and slower growth. In the wake of the layoffs, a Canon Virginia spokesperson said the company had set goals of increasing growth and profitability, maintaining existing market share, and developing new business partnerships. Canon’s Newport News plant employs about 1,000 people — a significant drop from the 2,300 the plant employed in the mid-1990s.

Kingston said a side effect of Canon Virginia’s venture into silk protein is the potential prevention of more layoffs. She said the company is “looking down the road” and recognizing the importance of diversifying its core products to remain relevant.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Newport News government worked to secure the project for Virginia. Youngkin also approved a performance-based grant of $350,000 from the Virginia Investment Performance Grant as an incentive.

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

A crowd of more than 100 people — comprised of LGBTQ residents, activists, and elected representatives — gathered Thursday for a ribbon-cutting celebrating the nonprofit’s expansion. Christopher Reybrouck, the center’s senior director of strategy and operations, said the new location will be a “one-stop shop” for all of the nonprofit’s patients and “meet the needs of LGBTQ+ individuals while also protecting their rights and their dignity.”

At both the Norfolk and Hampton locations, the LGBT Life Center provides HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing, medication to prevent and treat HIV, medical help, counseling services, support groups, a food pantry, and housing assistance. CEO Stacie Walls said the nonprofit serves thousands of people each year.

Hours of operation for the new location are still being finalized. Staff are being phased into the new building this month and it should be fully up and running for patient visits by early October, according to spokesperson Corey Mohr.

While the opening of the Hampton Life Center is a welcome expansion, it comes as the organization is facing significant financial challenges — including recent cuts in state and federal funding that have led to some layoffs and reduction of prevention programming.

The new 10,000-square-foot building features a pharmacy and clinic, four exam rooms, a multipurpose community room, a staff lounge, a conference room, and a pantry. It will initially employ 10-12 staff members, at least five of whom are new hires. Walls said the building’s interior is soft and welcoming, while its exterior, which is adorned with rainbow colors, is meant to be “loud and proud” to promote visibility.

LGBT Life Center Board member LeeQuan “Quan” McLaurin, who described himself as a Black queer man, said when he moved to Hampton Roads, he was looking for affirming spaces and found that at the Life Center where he was welcomed with “nothing but smiling faces.” He said it’s a place where people can find community and “chosen family,” which he said is a strong mitigating factor against anxiety, depression and suicide ideation.

“This building stands for so much more,” McLaurin said, noting the disproportionately higher rates of HIV among Black men. “It stands for ensuring our further existence.”

Del. Marcia “Cia” Price, who describes herself as pansexual, shared that when she was young, violent rhetoric against LGBT people caused her to hide her sexual orientation.  She said it’s important to have welcoming spaces where LGBTQ people feel safe and said the Hampton center provides that space on the Peninsula.

The Norfolk Life Center opened at the height of the AIDS epidemic in 1989 under a different name to serve women and children with HIV across Hampton Roads. In the decades since, the center’s mission has dramatically expanded to more broadly serve the LGBTQ community.

But more recent financial troubles mean the center has had to scale back some of its work. Over the last 18 months, the LGBT Life Center has lost $1.3 million in state and federal funding, according to Mohr. The organization has “shifted staff where we could,” Mohr said but some staff and programming cuts have been made. The center also faces a $1.1 million lawsuit from a former pharmacy program partner. The center’s annual budget is nearly $14 million.

“Unfortunately, the reduction in funding will force us to scale back HIV and STI outreach across Hampton Roads, and we’ll also have to reduce the number of staff focused on outreach,” Mohr said in an email.

Walls echoed Mohr’s concerns, saying that a reduction in outreach services and staff members to provide testing will ultimately harm those in the community who need those services.

Mohr said the Life Center is actively seeking new funding through grants, fundraising, and donor outreach. He said the center relies on volunteers and donations and those who want to support it can give their “time, talent, and treasure.” Another way to support the center is to fill prescriptions at it’s pharmacy, Mohr said.

“A single prescription filled through our pharmacy can generate up to $10,000 a year for the center — an easy way to support our services without changing your routine,” he said.

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

The popular parade — which includes more than 150 entries of school bands, local businesses and nonprofits and elected officials — spans roughly 2 miles. The lineup begins at 9 a.m. at Booker T. Washington Middle School (3700 Chestnut Ave.) and the parade will kick off at 10 a.m. Participants will march to the church grounds of Zion Baptist Church at 2016 Jefferson Ave.

The festival and Andrew Shannon Gospel Music Celebration will be held at the Zion Baptist Church grounds at noon — immediately after the parade. The festival will feature a concert with singer and producer Luther Barnes and local performers, food vendors, and stands from local businesses and community service organizations.

Parade founder Andrew Shannon said the Southeast Community is often called under-resourced or marginalized. Still, the parade proves it is a community filled with opportunity and he said the event “provides hope, pride and inspiration.”

This year’s grand marshal is Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, and co-grand marshal is Newport News City Council member Marcellus Harris III. Shannon said both men have been involved in positive community service initiatives and parade leadership chooses people who “roll up their sleeves and help to serve.”

Shannon first organized the event in 1991 as part of an effort to spread positivity at a time when the news cycle was dominated by reports of middle and high school girls being sexually assaulted. In the ensuing decades, the event has become a day of cultural celebration.

“People often read or hear about some of the negative things that may be going on, but we provide a ray of light, a ray of hope and a ray of sunshine for the community,” Shannon said.

Shannon estimates that the event drew 3,000 participants and 15,000 spectators last year.

Street closures for the event are expected to begin at 9 a.m. and last no longer than 2 p.m., a city spokesperson said. Roads serving as the parade route will open as the parade progresses The following roads will have closures Saturday:

• Chestnut Avenue: 37th Street to 24th Street (Depending on number of parade units – closures could extend to 39th Street)
• 25th Street: Chestnut Avenue to Jefferson Avenue
• Jefferson Avenue: 26th Street to 18th Street
• 19th Street: Jefferson Avenue to Madison Avenue
• Ivy Avenue: 18th Street to 20th Street
• 20th Street: Jefferson Avenue to Madison Avenue

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

For years, the Poquoson-based nonprofit needed a physical location, with Executive Director Sam Kukich and the nonprofit’s roughly 25 active volunteers working remotely. But in late-August, the nonprofit opened an office in Newport News, giving it room to grow.

New volunteers also are on the way. Dignity for the Aged recently formed a partnership with students from Christopher Newport University, who will assist on a volunteer basis.

The organization works with government and elected officials to advocate for ways to support long-term care residents and has recommended legislation to improve staffing in senior care facilities. Kukich said her organization has had difficulty getting the General Assembly to take action to address issues with nursing homes and assisted living facilities. But she believes the new partnership with CNU students could help turn things around.

Kukich founded the nonprofit in 2018 after discovering her mother-in-law sustained numerous injuries and lost 65 pounds while under the care of a Newport News-based nursing home. When evaluating nursing homes across the country, nonprofit Families For Better Care gave Virginia a D report card.

“We found out the hard way that, no, we don’t have good nursing homes here,” Kukich said. “And they run into all sorts of issues of understaffing and unqualified people and no background checks for the staff that they do have in there.”

Kukich said CNU students’ support will depend on their area of study. For example, she said a law student could help to research ways government can better enforce or implement laws to protect those living in long-term care facilities. 

“When we go before legislators, we will have current research of things being done right now that we can substantiate — why staffing is necessary and not just optional,” she said.  “Why we need to stipulate specifics — instead of just saying ‘sufficient staff,’ we need to say ‘six-to-one’ for this reason. So some hard, cold facts.”

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the organization’s new office, Vanessa Buehlman, CNU’s Director of the Center for Community Engagement, said student volunteers will bring “fresh energy and insights” and technological abilities to the nonprofit.

Michelle Parker, president of CNU’s Dignity for the Aged Club, said the new office will be a hub for the club’s advocacy, outreach and vision and a space “where ideas are born, plans are made, and action is taken.”

“I’m not old. Not many people in my family have lived to an old age, but one day, I do hope to be old, and I hope for my family to be somewhere where I want them to be. And when I get there, I hope things are better than they are now,” Parker said.

In addition to advocacy, Dignity for the Aged’s website is what Kukich describes as a “one-stop shop for information and support.” The website includes a checklist of things people should ask for when seeking a nursing home, directions on how to file a complaint, and links to a nationwide watchlist about unsafe nursing homes.

Kukich said the work has been challenging, but she is optimistic about the support she’s received. In the nearterm, she said the nonprofit is in the process of developing a plan of action for addressing problems in nursing homes that is locally focused and can be replicated elsewhere in Hampton Roads and the commonwealth.

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

The bridge and parts of Museum Drive and Museum Parkway closed for significant construction in May as the city progressed on a renovation and improvement project for Lions Bridge Dam. As part of the project, the city’s contracted vendor worked on installing a new concrete roadway, building the dam’s cutoff wall and relocating a waterline.

Last week, the Mariner’s Museum and Park, which owns the dam, announced on social media that the bridge had reopened. However, the iconic stone lions that bookend the bridge remain covered for their protection until more work on the dam is complete.

The city is making improvements to the dam at Mariners’ Lake to ensure that it can receive certification of operation and maintenance from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, Dam Safety Division and to make sure it can withstand being overtopped during significant storm events.

The dam was built in the 1930s — before modern dam safety regulations — and was overtopped in 1999 and 2012 during storms.

“It’s overdue for the rehab,” said Newport News Project Manager Hai Tran.

Due to the level of traffic that crosses the bridge, failure of the dam and roadway could prove fatal, according to the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Tran estimates the project will be “substantially complete” by either November or December — slightly ahead of the scheduled Jan. 8 completion date. At that point, the stone lions will be uncovered. The project is slated for “final completion” by April.

Tran said the project entails using articulated concrete blocks to protect the shoreline from erosion, a process known as “armoring.”  The blocks provide an erosion-resistant overlay and will be covered by soil and topsoil so they will not be visible. The project also involves removing trees from along the shoreline because when trees die, their roots decay, leaving a cavity within the dam. If water leaks through these cavities, it can lead to a piping failure.

“If we don’t do anything to the dam right now, it will potentially cause the dam failure,” Tran said. “And you know, the bridge may collapse because of that.”

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com

The goals are outlined in a “Natural Infrastructure Resiliency Plan” city staff presented Thursday to the Hampton Planning Commission. The plan provides near-term and long-term solutions for mapping and improving natural infrastructure — such as trees and forests, high-quality soils, parks and trails, dunes, marshes, waterways and wetlands.

Resiliency specialist Olivia Askew said these elements provide cost-effective stormwater management mitigation, protect and preserve water quality, preserve wildlife habitat and improve public health and quality of life.

The city’s first step would be to create an urban forestry program, which involves hiring an urban forester to oversee all tree care, maintenance, and planting on city properties and provide outreach and education to the public. Planners estimate the program would cost $280,000 annually.

“From staff’s perspective, the first thing that needs to be done is to establish that program,” Askew said. “So whether that’s through the [capital improvement plan], whether that’s through grant funding, we’re going to pursue all those options.”

The city now has 32% tree canopy coverage. Increasing that by 1% over the next decade would involve planting 358 trees annually, for a total cost of more than $1 million over the next 10 years.

The city’s existing tree canopy captures 69,774 pounds of nitrogen and 5,653 pounds of phosphorus per year. Increasing the tree canopy would increase shade and decrease heat, capture and absorb more water when it rains, capture more stormwater runoff and help absorb pollutants, Askew said.

“When phosphorus and nitrogen get into the water, it can become unswimmable and not healthy,” Askew said.

Planners estimate the 1% tree canopy increase will capture an additional 2,892 pounds a year of nitrogen and 236 pounds a year of phosphorus.

Askew said Hampton would aim to plant trees in low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods, which have less tree coverage than the rest of the city and more frequently realize higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. Citing a 2019 analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists, Hampton planners project 40 days of the year with temperatures above 100 degrees during the mid-century period of 2036-65.

The city’s resiliency plan was developed in partnership with the nonprofit firm Green Infrastructure Center. The recommendations are based in part on feedback from residents.

Some other goals include creating areas of native habitat at parks and schools, planting buffers along streams and creeks to filter and slow stormwater, natural shoreline protection and restoration, and revising the city code, design standards and landscape guidelines to support natural infrastructure. It also recommends creating community gardens and food forests to address food insecurity.

The City Council is expected to vote on the plan in the fall. Initiatives that require funding — such as increasing the tree canopy and the creation of an urban forestry program — would be voted on during the budget process next year.

During an open house community meeting this year, Hampton resident Robert Stumm said the plan was “a very positive step forward.” But he wished it went further, saying the tree canopy should increase by much more than 1%.

Resident Regina Mays praised the efforts to improve natural infrastructure, saying more green space was her main wish.

“More trees are better,” Mays said. “This is something that should have been going on a long time ago, and I’m just glad I’ve lived long enough to see the changes coming.”

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com