Norfolk council approves rezoning and property acquisition for Blue Greenway project

The Norfolk City Council on June 10 adopted an ordinance rezoning two tracts west of Tidewater Drive and south of Brambleton Avenue from multifamily neighborhood-scale and institutional district to open space and preservation district and approved a separate ordinance authorizing acquisition of property from the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority for the Blue Greenway project.

Councilmember Kenny Clanton, who identified himself as a co-chair of the SPAC committee, said the rezoning has long included a “first right of refusal on relocation” and is intended to mitigate flooding in the area. “This had always been a part of the plan to have this land here to mitigate the flooding in that particular area,” Clanton said.

The city clerk read that the planning commission recommended approval by a 6-0 vote. Councilmembers voted to dispense with the charter requirement for reading the ordinances twice and to adopt them with the stated effective dates. Councilmembers Clanton, Doyle, Johnson, McGee, Page, Smigiel, Thomas and Mayor Alexander recorded “aye” on the rezoning and the acquisition ordinance.

Why it matters: the rezoning converts parcels previously zoned for residential and institutional use into protected open-space/preservation zoning, a change the council and planning commission framed as part of a flood-mitigation strategy tied to the Blue Greenway project. The acquisition ordinance authorizes the city to acquire property within the Saint Paul’s project area from the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority for that project.

Council discussion on the rezoning in the public hearing was brief; Clanton also noted the city’s broader housing work, including the mayor’s housing commission and ongoing redevelopment phases. The planning commission’s 6-0 recommendation was included in the public record. The ordinance language and effective dates were not read in full at the meeting because council dispensed with the second reading requirement and adopted the measures that night.

What the vote does not show: the council’s action rezoned the parcels and authorized acquisition; it did not, at this meeting, adopt any new replacement-housing allocation, specific relocation timeline or funding commitments tied to the properties beyond the acquisition authorization and zoning change.