Mayor Donnie Tuck, City Of Hampton | City Of Hampton website
Mayor Donnie Tuck, City Of Hampton | City Of Hampton website
The new playground scheduled to open at Buckroe Beach next spring will have more shaded areas and will be more accommodating to children with special needs, according to a briefing presented to the City Council on Wednesday.
The current playground equipment, which is about 20 years old, will be removed now that the summer season has ended. It will be replaced by new equipment, with construction expected to start in mid-March and to be completed in April. The city received more than 500 responses to an online survey, and dozens of residents attended informational sessions where they could give input on the new playground.
At Wednesday afternoon’s work session, David McCauley, director of Parks, Recreation and Leisure Services, told the City Council that respondents wanted to see more shade and more sensory equipment that would appeal to children with special needs. He said the new equipment would be “fun, engaging, accommodating and ADA-accessible,” referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The current fence pickets, which bear the names of residents and families, will remain in place until construction begins on the new playground. Residents who want to claim their personalized fence pickets will be able to do so at the grand opening of the new playground or for a year afterward.
Also at the work session, the council received a briefing on the city’s response to the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Act (VESMA), which went into effect last year. The city will be making several adjustments to comply with the state ordinance, and at the evening legislative session, the City Council voted to amend the city code to combine land-disturbing operations and stormwater management operations into one ordinance.
A rezoning application by developer D.R. Horton Inc. to build townhomes on Semple Farm Road was deferred until Nov. 13 to give the developer an opportunity to hold a community meeting seeking input from neighboring residents on the project.
The council also approved nine resolutions amending the city’s current budget to accept grants and other funding for various programs and projects.
Click here to watch the full video of both meetings.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25.
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