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PLEASURE HOUSE POINT WETLANDS MITIGATION BANK PROJECT 11262024Pleasure House Point Wetlands Restoration Project City Council Briefing LJ Hansen, P.E. | November 26, 2024 Agenda 2 Project Site History Project Scope Similar Project Schedule City Commitment Funding Next Steps Restoration Site 3 Undeveloped area (~12.3 acres) West of Lesner Bridge Chesapeake Bay Lynnhaven River Pleasure House Creek Site History 4 In 1954 Princess Anne County, Virginia Beach Erosion Commission and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers designated the area as a “spoil site” for use in dredging the Lynnhaven Inlet. Prior to the 1970’s the area existed in a natural condition as a partially wooded inlet over-wash area with a broad expanse of wetlands. Between 1971 and 1972 it is reported that over one million cubic yards (+1M CY) of dredge material was placed over the wetlands (behind a perimeter dike constructed along the shorelines of Crab Creek and Pleasure House Creek). Pleasure House Point was acquired and preserved in July 2012 as a collaborative effort between the Trust for Public Land, the City of Virginia Beach, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The property was under the threat of development for many years. Existing Site – 1958 to 1994 5 Existing Site – 2002 to 2011 6 Existing Site - 2024 7 Plan History 2013-2017: Development of the Pleasure House Point Management Plan • Plan developed in coordination with the community• Included several public meetings 2017 - 2018: •Mitigation Banking Instrument developed (City & Agencies)•Design Plans developed through 90% Feb 2018: Received USACE Permit - Project not executed at that time 8 Master Plan (2013-2014) 9 Conservation Easement 10 Restoration Project Scope 11 Master Plan: Establishment of Wetlands and “Banking” Operation 12 Public Works will establish tidal wetlands and vegetation as part of a “Bank” Credits will be used for City Projects •Flood Protection Projects •Dredging Projects •Water Quality Improvement Projects •Roadway Projects •Other Public Infrastructure Goals and Objectives 13 •The objective of the Pleasure House Mitigation Bank is to Restore/Create: •6.22 acres of tidal vegetated wetlands •1.78 acres of non-vegetated tidal wetlands •The additional goal of the Bank is to provide economically efficient off -site compensation for impacts to tidal wetlands that cannot be practicably avoided for the City of Virginia Beach projects. (Source: MBI, Page 2) Purpose and Need 14 •Currently, there are no tidal wetland credits available in the City, public or private. •The Windsor Woods “Mega-Bundle” Design-Build project needs 2.7 acres of Tidal Wetland credits. •Tidal Wetland Credits Required: •Windsor Woods Pumpstation = 0.4 Acres •North London Bridge Creek and South London Bridge Creek = 2.3 Acres (Source: MBI, Page 2) Similar Project 15 Similar Project 16 Paradise Creek Nature Park – 1141 Victory Blvd. Portsmouth, VA Paradise Creek Nature Park 17 Paradise Creek Nature Park continued… 18 Schedule 19 Current Schedule Complete Design Plans: November 2024 – February 2025 Construction: February 2025 – October 2025 •Site Clearing: February – March 2025 •Earthwork and Landscaping: March – August 2025 •Planting: June – October 2025 Completion: October 2025 First Year Monitoring: October 2025 – October 2026 Tenth Year Monitoring: October 2035 – October 2036 Long Term Maintenance Responsibilities Begin: Oct 2036 20 Release of Credits The tidal wetland credits will be released based on the following: Total Tidal Wetland credits created - 8.00 acres 15% (1.2 acres) available after issuing NTP for construction 25% (2.0 acres) available after project is complete 50% (4.0 acres) available after year one monitoring 90% (7.2 acres) available after year two monitoring 100% (8.0 acres) available after 10 years of monitoring 21 City Commitment 22 City Responsibilities and Duration 23 The Pleasure House Point Natural Area will be managed as a Natural Area Preserve by the City of Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation. The site must be managed consistent with conservation goals used to rank and fund the project as listed below: •Maintain habitat values •Maintain Coastal Maritime Forests •Maintain water quality •Maintain educational and recreational values not detrimental to other aspects City’s Commitment 24 Maintenance and Monitoring (10-Years) Catastrophic Event Restoration (10-Years) Long-term Maintenance (Perpetual, as-needed) Land Use Restrictions (Perpetual) Reporting to the State and Federal Agencies •Credits Used, Periodic Inspections, Annual Maintenance City’s Financial Commitment 25 Total Project Costs: $12.1M Includes $135K Long Term Monitoring & Management •Habitat Maintenance and Restoration •Legal Fees (if needed) •Facilities Maintenance •Yearly Monitoring & Reporting to State and Federal Agencies Funding 26 Total Budgetary Cost Estimate ATD BTC Pleasure House Point Mitigation (CIP 100304) $12,086,638 $426,492 $11,660,143 The project will be funded by the Coastal CIP and the Flood Protection Program CIP. Transfers proposed from: Beach Replenishment II (CIP 100038) – Requested to be made whole in FY26 Budget $2,593,508 Rudee Inlet Weir Replacement (CIP 100617) – Requested to be made whole in FY26 Budget $4,066,635 Princess Anne Plaza North London Bridge Creek Pump Station (CIP 100517)$5,000,000 Transfer to: Pleasure House Point Mitigation (CIP 100304)$11,660,143 Next Steps Presentation to BAC – December 19th Ordinance to transfer funds – January 7th Mobilization & Construction Begin – February 2025 27 Questions? 28 Kayak Launch 29 Potential Wetland Restoration & Enhancement Areas 30 Kayak Launch Included 31 Handicap accessible kayak launch Ties into Pleasure House Creek Kayak Launch Included 32 Handicap accessible kayak launch Ties into Pleasure House Creek