Controversial Cavalier Shores parking permit program extended by a year

Those without a permit limited to 4 hours of parking

VIRGINIA BEACH — Residents of the neighborhood next to the Cavalier hotel who want to keep commercial parking off of the street in front of their homes will have one more year of reprieve despite complaints from North End homeowners.

The City Council approved extending the Cavalier Shores parking permit program for another year and added an hour to the public parking limit.

John David, president of North Beach Civic League — which represents more than 40 blocks of the North End — said restrictive parking in Cavalier Shores has been “a program of convenience not necessity” and that it pushed the problem farther north.

“This has never been about creating exclusive parking,” said Bobby Woodard, a Cavalier Shores resident. “It’s been about reasonably protecting the integrity of a residential neighborhood from nearby commercial overflow and from encroachment.”

The Cavalier property has been a construction zone for several years with houses, hotels and condominiums under development. An Embassy Suites hotel is being built on the southeast side of the complex. Cavalier Shores residents say they’ve been dealing with parking overflows from construction workers and hotel employees during the expansion.

The Cavalier Shores parking permit program for residents in place since 2019 is extended until next spring.

Councilwoman Rosemary Wilson suggested extending the existing three-hour public parking time limit by an hour.

“I don’t think three hours is enough for a family that wants to go to the beach,” she said.

Those without a permit — including construction workers, hotel employees and beachgoers — will now be limited to four hours of parking.

Cavalier Shores is a historic neighborhood that rose up in 1927 when the Cavalier hotel opened. Residents do not have driveways in front of their homes, but most of them have a parking pad in the alleys behind each

street.

Councilman Guy Tower, who lives in Cavalier Shores, said the North End civic league originally promoted the Cavalier project when it was proposed several years ago.

“They have to understand there are some impacts from that,” Tower said.

L. TODD SPENCER/STAFF Residents of Cavalier Shores want to extend on-street parking limits to deter hotel and construction workers from taking up parking spaces.