Virginia Beach draft ITA plan pairs sports-tournament complex with phased light-industrial development; commissioners press for farmland, zoning and cost detail

City staff and their consultant presented a conceptual 10- and 25-year master plan for the ITA study area that blends a large sports-tourism program with phased light-industrial development and regional stormwater infrastructure, and commissioners used the session to press for clearer numbers, zoning definitions and protections for farmland.

"This is a 10 and 25 year master plan to promote economic and cultural vibrancy," consultant Clay told the meeting as he walked commissioners through four quadrants of the study area and the plan's proposed mix of sports fields, parking, hotels and flexible industrial parcels. The presentation described pedestrian connections, an adapted amphitheater parking strategy, BMX and mountain-bike amenities, two added ballfields, and a hotel site with a minimum of 150 keys adjacent to tournament venues.

On the sports side, staff outlined an 11-field tournament complex and an expanded multi-use championship field. Clay said the 11-field buildout was presented at about $44.5 million and "equates to 83,000 annual hotel nights, 1,300 sustained jobs," while a roughly $12–12.5 million championship stadium would add about 26,000 hotel nights annually and additional tax revenue. Staff also described a phased regional stormwater approach that concentrates stormwater ponds and open space in lower-suitability soils to preserve buildable land in the north and east of the study area.

The plan also proposes up to 368 acres of combined industrial/flex development across phases; staff singled out phase-one (1A/1B) as roughly 85 acres with potential to deliver about 820,000–1.1 million square feet of building area in early phases and projected job and tax benefits for each phase. Consultants cited market work from partner SB Freriedman estimating citywide absorption needs and a local ITA demand of about 54 acres in 10 years and as much as 175 acres in 25 years.

Commissioners repeatedly pressed staff for more detailed, city-standard cost and transportation estimates. One commissioner said the presentation "zooms in too fast" and urged staff to consider a broader study area and be explicit about which parcels are city-owned versus privately held; another warned that adopting a land-use concept before updating zoning could allow unintended uses under the current code. Commissioners asked staff to reconcile the new concept with the recently adopted comprehensive plan and to quantify how much active farmland would be taken offline.

On farmland and environmental costs, presenters estimated that approximately 250–300 acres currently in farming would be affected, and they gave an illustrative stormwater unit cost of about $350,000 per acre; commissioners highlighted that stormwater demands increase moving south and west across the ITA because of poorer soils and lower elevations. Commissioners also questioned whether the sports-tourism jobs would be mostly seasonal or low-paying and whether the industrial/flex uses would deliver higher-paying, year-round employment.

Staff described the materials shown as conceptual and said they will publish the presentation and supporting spreadsheets online. Director Warren told commissioners that council would decide whether staff should pursue an amendment to the ITA plan; if council directs that work, any change would go through the planning commission and city council and be referenced in the comprehensive plan. Presenters said they would prepare a concise summary sheet of costs, acres and projected outcomes for commissioners to review.

Next steps: staff will post the slides and the supporting spreadsheet, collect public comment, refine the numbers, and await direction from city council about whether to pursue an ITA-plan update that could lead to zoning and comprehensive-plan amendments.