In Virginia Beach, developers Steve and Art Sandler want to build 1,063 homes on a large stretch of waterfront property. Although their Indigo Dunes project would destroy 1.5 acres of wetlands, the Sandlers would create 6.09 acres of wetlands on site and treat some of the stormwater runoff from the nearby Ocean Park neighborhood as compensation.
However, the Virginia Beach Wetlands Board denied the request. Unfortunately, the article in today’s Virginian-Pilot doesn’t explore the pros and cons of the decision, so there is no way for an outside reader to decide whether it was reasonable or not.
The concept of wetlands offsets strikes me as a legitimate compromise between peoples’ desire to live on waterfront and the necessity of preserving wetlands as wildlife habitat, storm water run-off filter, and buffer against severe storms. The Sandlers were willing to create four acres of wetlands for every acre they destroyed. I’d like to know why the wetlands board deemed the offer inadequate. The Virginian-Pilot should follow up.
