Norfolk City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to let the city borrow hundreds of millions of dollars for flood control and street repairs by passing three separate spending measures.
The first measure authorizes the city to issue stormwater system revenue bonds to help finance drainage projects across the city. A second measure allows the city to issue wastewater revenue bonds for wastewater system improvements. The third measure allows council to issue up to $200 million in tax-backed bonds to fund capital improvement program projects.
Norfolk’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan sets aside more than $70 million for flood and drainage projects citywide between 2027 and 2031. That includes over $31 million for the city’s major coastal protection partnership — the downtown flood wall and related projects — with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Millions more will go directly to neighborhood fixes, including $20 million to overhaul old drains in East Ocean View, $8.7 million to rebuild Ocean View sea walls, $6 million to replace roadside ditches with storm pipes in Glenrock and $6 million for new drain systems in Overbrook and Coleman Place…