Virginia Beach neighbors speak out against building permit
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — There is a battle brewing in Virginia Beach.
It's a fight over an owner's property right to develop, and a neighborhood's protection for people who already live there, with an emotional meeting Wednesday night bringing both sides together.
10 On Your Side's Andy Fox, who lives in Bay Colony, drove by the property and saw the signs. There's bad blood over the small lot located at 1212 York Lane, which you can tell by the signs and the comments.
'This is corrupt, and no one is doing anything about it,' one person said to loud applause. 'We are frustrated.'
More than 100 people turned out for the Cavalier Park-Bay Colony League meeting at the Princess Anne Country Club. There, Deputy Virginia Beach Planning Director Carrie Bookholt talked about the lot in question.
'I would mention this the lot in question is meeting the setbacks that was prescribed by the zoning ordinance and applied by the zoning administrator,' Bookholt said.
In this May 24, 2022, letter, the Virginia Beach zoning supervisor found the York Lane Property to be 'legally created. It is non-conforming to the current Zoning Ordinance. As a legal nonconforming lot, it is eligible to have a Single-Family Dwelling on it. … therefore, have vested rights to develop this property.'
But many residents are concerned about a non-conforming lot, and they think the transparency in the granting of a building permit has been lacking.
A two-story, 3,400 square foot home could be built on this property, which is much smaller than any other property around it.
Residents are opposed.
'There is one sense of community, and the idea that you want to be our neighbors and at the same time you are destroying our sense of community,' a Bay Colony resident said.
It was a tough night for property owner Josh Kinas with his wife.
'This whole process is kind of shocking for us to be honest,' Josh Kinas said. 'We weren't expecting this, so we are doing the best we can … My wife and I want to be good neighbors.'
With narrow streets, a small lot and a large house, residents are concerned about safety.
'The kids like to do the loop all the time, at the curve — traffic, narrow road, it is really dangerous,' said neighbor Hillary Einwick.
The spotlight is not only on the neighborhood's concerns, but also on Virginia Beach Planning Director Kathy Warren.
'We are diving into this with a fine-tooth comb,' Warren said. 'The city attorney's office and our staff want to make sure nothing was missing. In the event something was missed, we will be working with the property owner to address it appropriately.'
10 On Your Side asked Warren with all the concerns among residents, is there any consideration to pause the entire project until the issues are dealt with. Warren said a stop work order is not out of the question.
'There would be potential for that,' Warren said. 'I am not going to say we would do this, but there is a potential for a stop work order. Our lawyers are looking at everything today.'
Kinas, asked about that potential stop work order, would only say he has given neighbors his required 30-day notice to begin construction, and that will begin May 28.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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