In Sunday’s Virginian Pilot, the issue of what to do with the area known as Bay Oaks Park once again surfaced. On the side of making the 20-acre stretch of property a park, Bay Oaks Park Committee president Bill Kerry penned this article, in which he reiterates the group’s positions.
A 2005 Trust for Public Land Study of Norfolk’s parks concluded that only 2 percent of our city property offered park space for our 234,000 citizens. That puts Norfolk at the bottom nationally compared with cities of similar population density.
The group plans to move forward with a petition drive, which, if successful, would result in a zoning of the property that will make it difficult to develop.
Mayor Paul Fraim argues in his op-ed that the city has to balance the competing goals of park space, public safety and the tax base.
Bordering the park with homes should increase its safety by providing it with watchful neighbors, and income from property sales can help produce funds for improvements.
The council will take up the issue of Bay Oaks Park at its retreat in September.
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