The Virginia Beach City Council heard details of a 2024 Parks Master Plan on Tuesday that lays out priorities for equity, trails, recreation trends and long-term investments across the city’s park system.

Parks and Recreation Director Michael Kirschen told council the update reflects consultant inspections, a statistically valid household survey and an equity analysis across environmental, access, design and economic lenses. He said staff reduced internal park classifications from 16 to five to make management more practical.

Kirschen said consultants estimate roughly 20–25 outdoor pickleball courts are needed now to meet demand and that trails remain a top public priority; he flagged the VB Veil project as one contributor to meeting trail demand once built.

The plan inventory identifies about 100 underdeveloped park sites (sites with a single amenity) and multiple undeveloped sites. Recent acquisitions such as the Washington Square parcel and a potential Bayside sixth-grade campus were cited as high-priority locations for future park development; staff described next steps for Bayside (demolition, platting and formal acceptance) should funding and reversion arrangements proceed.

The total cost of every recommendation in the plan was presented as a snapshot of needs at roughly $777,000,000; Kirschen and staff stressed this is not a funding request to be acted on immediately but rather a long-range inventory to help prioritize future investments. They noted most of the parks CIP now focuses on life-cycle replacement and deferred maintenance while larger new-park builds would require separate funding decisions.

Council members pressed staff on trail-phase timing and grant status. Chad Morris, capital planning administrator, reported Phase 1 of the BB Trail (Newtown Road past Town Center) is fully funded and in design but is awaiting a signed federal agreement that will start a five-year construction clock. Phase 4 is funded through a Smart Scale grant with funds arriving in 2028. Staff discussed a Safe Streets for All grant for a trail phase; the presentation first named $14,900,000 and later referenced approximately $20,800,000 (the transcript shows both figures), which staff said they expect to clarify when final federal paperwork is returned.

Kirschen said the master plan will be brought forward for formal adoption at a future council meeting; adoption would not obligate council to appropriate funds for the recommendations but would support accreditation and guide future CIP planning.