VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- Homeowners, city and state officials gathered in Virginia Beach Thursday night to find ways to combat flooding in the area.
21st District Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler hosted the roundtable discussion in order to identify legislation needed for the 2019 session.
“Our issue in Virginia beach is more accountability, infrastructure, deferred maintenance and where those deficiencies lie is where we need to find solutions,” said Confirs-Fowler. “The citizens know best, they know what they have been dealing with for years.”
Virginia Beach resident Ed Gibbs attended the meeting and has lived in Windsor Woods for 22 years. He said he’s had his fair share of house scares.
“There were times the flooding was up to my knee, above my knees,” said Gibbs.
Gibbs said he attended the meeting to make sure older neighborhoods were being heard and addressed by city officials.
“We should encourage people to stay, not to leave, and to give them every reason to stay in their neighborhoods,” said Gibbs.
Angel Vandegrift attended the meeting to represent homeowners in her Charlestowne neighborhood.
“That's their home,” said Vandegrift. “They've been there all their lives, and either they don't want to leave because they've just been here for so long, or they have nowhere else to go and they can’t afford it.”
In a recently released report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Virginia will face 2 feet of sea level rise by 2045. The report finds 537 Virginia Beach homes will be flooded out by 2045, putting more than $209 million dollars in home value in jeopardy.
“It’s very, very discouraging to hear all that because there’s been so much time in the city's history to fix those problems,” said Gibbs.
Convirs-Fowler said she plans on hosting roundtable discussions every month leading up to the 2019 General Assembly session.
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