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Council discusses draft 2026 legislative agenda; ebike rules and aquarium funding draw focus
Summary
Staff briefed the council on the draft 2026 legislative agenda, seeking guidance on ebike policy language, whether to replace two aquarium budget amendments with study language, and final wording on a "blue-line" charter amendment. Councilors asked staff to keep flexible language on ebikes and signaled interest in a local task force and separate扱
Brett McKenzie, the city's legislative affairs director, briefed the City Council on Oct. 14 on the draft 2026 legislative agenda and asked for final guidance ahead of council's scheduled adoption vote on Oct. 21. McKenzie said the blue-line charter amendment would be voted separately and requires nine council votes for adoption; the remainder of the legislative package can be adopted as a package and requires eight votes.
McKenzie highlighted three decision areas for council guidance:
- Ebikes: staff recommended retaining the flexible language recommended by a technical group to preserve options during lobbying and to allow the city to respond to legislation or regional developments. Several councilors said the city needs both education and enforceable restrictions with public-safety mechanisms; councilors also discussed forming a task force to study local options and report back quickly.
- Virginia Aquarium Foundation: the foundation asked staff to replace two budget amendment requests (one for $250,000 tied to strandings and another related to aquarium expansion) with legislative language that would request a study by the General Assembly money committees on how to proceed. Vice Mayor Wilson said she had discussed the issue with legislators and recommended keeping the stranding request separate; several councilors supported separating the asks.
- Blue-line charter amendment: staff said language needs cleanup to avoid unintended consequences for other programs (for example, Alternate Residential Density or ARP-related items). Staff proposed narrowing the amendment so it applies to rezonings rather than all planning items; councilors asked for more work to ensure current infrastructure limitations and long-standing policies are preserved.
McKenzie also reviewed the timing for a legislative reception (Nov. 19 at City Hall) and summarized specific funding requests in the draft agenda, including police technology for gun-violence reduction, funding for the fire department's urban search-and-rescue capability, and courthouse improvements.
Several councilors emphasized public-safety enforcement for ebikes and requested staff return with specific policy options or a task-force plan; staff said retaining the flexible language in the agenda preserves the city's ability to weigh in if the General Assembly or other localities propose legislation. No votes were taken on Oct. 14; the full legislative package and the separate blue-line charter amendment are scheduled for council consideration Oct. 21.
