Council votes to buy five Crab Creek lots to expand Pleasure House Point open space despite public questions about price

After public testimony for and against, the City Council approved an ordinance to acquire five adjoining lots (about 0.57 acres total) adjacent to Crab Creek and the Pleasure House Point Natural Area to preserve continuity of the coastal natural area.

Christy Everett, Hampton Roads director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, urged council to protect the parcels, saying the lots play an "outsized role" in preserving the broader site’s character, protecting habitat and supporting flood mitigation. Karen Forier (director of a local watershed group) stressed the parcels’ role protecting shoreline, wetlands and oyster reef function for the Lynhaven River and said the Open Space Advisory Committee had vetted the proposal.

Diana Howard and another speaker asked why the five lots were priced at $2.6 million when the assessor’s total was listed at $152,000; they pressed for fiscal prudence and transparency. A WebEx speaker raised concerns about apparent campaign contributions from the seller to several council members and suggested recusal. Council Member Schulman, who moved approval, said the acquisition leverages about $300,000 in external grants (Virginia Outdoors Foundation/Virginia Land Conservation Foundation) and that open‑space funds total roughly $16 million; he said the property had been at risk of development and would protect prior public investments at Pleasure House Point and the adjacent environmental studies program.

Council voted 10–0 to approve the acquisition ordinance after the proponent’s remarks and grant‑funding explanation.

What happens next: The city will execute grant agreements and close on the parcels; council asked staff to confirm grant terms and report back on the funding mix and any additional details requested by the public.