Tuesday, November 17, 2026:
Who benefits and who is connected
Highlighting the private interests that influence our public officials.
$ Campaign moneyJob or business tieConflict flag
J.2: Storage yard on Development Authority land
Corporate Landing Pkwy Development, LLC / Virginia Beach Development Authority
District 5 · Planning Commission voted 10-0 in favor
The applicants want to lift a ban on bulk storage that was placed on this parcel in 2022, so a roofing and contracting company can keep equipment and materials on about 16 acres it is buying from the Development Authority (VBDA). The land is part of a 32.36-acre parcel next to Dunwoody Park and homes.
Who benefits:
- TST Roofing & Glazing (also listed as TST Tactical Defense Solutions), the business that will use the yard. Its attorney says it employs 160 people.
- Ryan Turner and Todd Scanlon, the LLC’s listed principals. Ryan Turner signed the disclosure on June 30, 2026.
- The VBDA, as seller of the land.
- The VBDA awarded TST a $508,000 EDIP grant on December 9, 2025 ($283,000 for capital investment and $225,000 for job creation, per the VBDA minutes).
- The VBDA’s December 9, 2025 sale terms: about 16 acres, of which about 5 are usable, at $200,000 per usable acre. Under a “Pond B Option,” TST can instead build a stormwater pond on part of the land at its own cost and receive the land at no additional cost.
Council connections:
- $250 Jonathan Covington, of the project’s design and engineering firm (Covington Hendrix), gave to Stacy Cummings (2024). VPAP lists his employer as Covington Hendrix Anderson Architects.
- VBDA liaisons Rosemary Wilson and Michael Berlucchi are council’s liaisons to the VBDA, the seller.
Conflict flag: The Development Authority’s chair
Lisa M. Murphy has served on the VBDA since September 2017, more than nine years,1 and is its chair. The VBDA’s own annual report shows her term expired August 31, 2025, yet she still chairs the board. She is a partner and land-use attorney at Willcox & Savage who represents applicants before the Planning Commission and Council. In March 2025 she abstained from a VBDA grant vote, citing her interest in that firm. On September 9, 2026, she represented Bonney Rd Apartments LLC before the Planning Commission, and Council approved that rezoning on October 20, 2026. The applicant’s attorney says the VBDA approved this Corporate Landing deal unanimously. Who voted, and whether anyone abstained, is not yet confirmed from VBDA minutes.
Sources: November 17 agenda packet (staff report and Disclosure Statement), Planning Commission transcript, October 14, VPAP: Jonathan Covington, VBDA roster, VBDA annual report 2017–18 (archived copy; Murphy’s September 2017 start), VBDA annual report 2024–25 (term expiring August 31, 2025), VBDA minutes, January 2026, VBDA minutes, May 2026, VBDA minutes, March 2025, VBDA resolutions, December 2025 (TST land sale and grant).
Closing the Amazon backup road:
I.3 · Close Twin Mills Road between London Bridge Rd and Lava Beach Ln
Requested by Dyer, Wilson, Berlucchi, Cummings, Ross-Hammond and Schulman
The City’s staff summary says Twin Mills Road “was created to support an Amazon fulfillment center” as a backup entrance. Neighbors report trucks idling at night, parking on sidewalks, and more trash. Signs and enforcement haven’t fixed it, so the resolution would close this section to cars and trucks and keep it open to bikes and pedestrians.
What the Amazon project cost residents:
- 116 acres of trees, grass or water were cleared on the two Amazon parcels between the 2018 and 2023 City land-cover maps. That includes 93.8 acres at 1833 Twin Mills Rd (“Project Seagull”), the largest loss on any single parcel in the city.
- 4.8 acres of that were federally mapped wetlands, on the City-owned “Project Beach” parcel.
- The first filer was BT Holdings III LLC, working with Panattoni Development Co. Amazon is listed as the owner on the 2026 site plan.
- In August 2023 the City approved $22.5 million in public bonds to build the new road, with about $2.1 million a year in debt service.
Flooding and other records:
- The City’s 2021 stormwater plan, written before construction, already showed Dam Neck Rd and Harpers Rd flooding in a 10-year storm because the pipes were too small. It also showed flooding in Prince George Estates, including homes, and on Mayberry Drive. The Dam Neck–Harpers fix alone is estimated at $36.4 million.
- Data center claim (unconfirmed): one private data center directory lists an “Amazon AWS” data center at 2097 Harpers Rd but marks it “Canceled.” We found no City record or news report confirming a data center at the site.
How council voted on the Amazon site:
- June 7, 2022, rezoning for BT Holdings III LLC (Panattoni), approved 11-0. Barbara Henley made the motion and Rosemary Wilson seconded it. Every member voted yes, including current members Dyer, Wilson, Berlucchi and Henley. Five residents spoke against it, including a representative of Prince George Estates, and another raised concerns about how many trees would be removed (minutes, pages 125–126).
- August 15, 2023, $22.5 million in public bonds for the Dam Neck Road to London Bridge connector, approved 10-1. Wilson made the motion and Joash Schulman seconded it. Yes votes included Dyer, Wilson, Berlucchi, Henley, Remick, Ross-Hammond and Schulman, and Chris Taylor voted no. Two residents spoke against it (minutes, page 69).
- Five of the six members now asking to close Twin Mills Road voted for the road bonds: Dyer, Wilson, Berlucchi, Ross-Hammond and Schulman. Cummings was not yet on council.
Sources: November 17 agenda packet (I.3 is on pages 40–41), citywide land-loss map, $22.5M road bonds (August 2023), Upper West Neck Creek stormwater plan, 2021 (sections 3.8, 3.29 and 3.35), data center directory listing.
Closed session: Council appointments
The City’s closed session agenda lists one item, “Council Appointments: Council, Boards, Commissions, Committees, Authorities, Agencies and Appointees.” It does not name which boards or people will be discussed. The City cites the personnel exemption in Virginia Code § 2.2-3711(A)(1).
What the law says
Va. Code § 2.2-3711(A)(1) (version in effect September 1, 2026, until July 1, 2027): “A. Public bodies may hold closed meetings only for the following purposes: 1. Discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body …”
Va. Code § 2.2-3712(A): “No closed meeting shall be held unless the public body proposing to convene such meeting has taken an affirmative recorded vote in an open meeting approving a motion that (i) identifies the subject matter, (ii) states the purpose of the meeting as authorized in subsection A of § 2.2-3711 or other provision of law and (iii) cites the applicable exemption from open meeting requirements provided in subsection A of § 2.2-3711 or other provision of law. The matters contained in such motion shall be set forth in detail in the minutes of the open meeting. A general reference to the provisions of this chapter, the authorized exemptions from open meeting requirements, or the subject matter of the closed meeting shall not be sufficient to satisfy the requirements for holding a closed meeting.”
Va. Code § 2.2-3712(D): after the closed meeting, council must reconvene in public and certify by recorded vote that it discussed “only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements” and “only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened.”
Sources: November 17 closed session agenda, Va. Code § 2.2-3711, Va. Code § 2.2-3712.
Corporate Landing: Green space lost since 2018
194 acres
of trees, grass or water in the park’s 26 parcels (about 490 acres) were paved or cleared between the 2018 and 2023 City land-cover maps
4.9 acres
of that were federally mapped wetlands, all on one City-owned parcel
18 acres
on 6 parcels were first filed for by City Economic Development and the VBDA
Tuesday’s 16-acre storage yard is not yet in these numbers, because the most recent map is from 2023. See the full map of land lost citywide since 2018.
Council members with documented ties
| Councilmember | Seat | Documented ties |
|---|---|---|
| Rosemary Wilson | Vice Mayor, D5 | Howard Hanna agentVBDA liaison |
| Michael Berlucchi | D3 | VBDA liaison |
| Stacy Cummings | D8 | Covington $250 |
| Worth Remick | D6 | Colliers employee |
Wilson and Remick read their employment disclosures into the record at each meeting (October 20 minutes).
Speak up
Register to speak with the City Clerk, or email the whole council at citycouncil@vbgov.com. Find your councilmember on our Districts page.
Notes
- Virginia Beach City Code § 2-3, “Limitation on terms of members of boards and commissions; appointment of such members.” Subsection (a) reads: “Any person appointed to a board or commission of the city shall be limited to: (1) Eight (8) consecutive one-year terms. (2) Four (4) consecutive two-year terms. (3) Three (3) consecutive three-year terms. (4) Two (2) consecutive four-year terms. (5) Two (2) consecutive five-year terms.” Subsection (b) reads: “Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) above, city council may, by an affirmative vote of a majority of all of the councilmembers, reappoint a person to one or more additional terms beyond those permitted by subsection (a) when, by virtue of the unique qualifications of the position or other extenuating circumstances, doing so would serve the best interests of the city.” VBDA commissioners serve four-year terms, so the limit is two consecutive terms, or eight years. Murphy’s service began in September 2017, and the VBDA’s 2024-2025 annual report lists her term as ending August 31, 2025. We are reviewing the council record of her reappointment to see whether it cited subsection (b). Source: Virginia Beach City Code, Chapter 2, Article I. ↩
We will update this page after the vote. All links go to public records.
Prepared November 14, 2026. Corrections are welcome – if a record shows something we missed or got wrong, let us know. KeepVBAboveWater@gmail.com.
