Commission backs VBCDC/NAMI plan for 60 attainable units and regional NAMI office; neighbors urged more outreach

Quincy White, the new president and CEO of the Virginia Beach Community Development Corporation (VBCDC), and Ashley Jarvis presented a conditional rezoning request for a 3.18‑acre city parcel near Princess Anne Road to build 60 attainable housing units and a regional NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) office. The project would reserve nine units for people living with a mental health diagnosis and provide office, classroom and outreach space for NAMI Coastal Virginia.

Applicants said they reduced an initial five‑story proposal to a three‑story, multi‑building plan in response to community feedback and moved units away from the adjoining Buckner Woods property line. Jarvis described repeated outreach including a May 2024 design charrette and community sessions; the team committed to a shared‑use path on Princess Anne Road, a 6‑foot privacy fence and a 10‑foot landscape buffer in response to neighborhood concerns.

Speakers in the audience offered mixed views. Supporters framed the project as meeting an urgent local need for affordable and supportive housing and mental‑health services. Opponents raised questions about screening, hours, whether the housing would be institutional or supportive, tree removal, and the adequacy of recent outreach; applicant and NAMI representatives described the 9‑unit targeted set aside as standard, non‑institutional, tenant‑based housing with voluntary, onsite supports and regular programming.

Outcome: The commission recommended approval (10–0) while urging continued community engagement and refining proffers on landscaping, setbacks, dumpster location and building placement before City Council.