Green Run, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Green Run is a residential and commercial community covering nearly six square miles in the center of Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. Built between 1968 and 1986, Green Run was the first Planned Unit Development
Planned Unit Development
A planned unit development , is both a type of building development as well as a regulatory process. A PUD is a designed grouping of varied and compatible land uses, such as housing, recreation, commercial centers, and industrial parks, all within one contained development or...

 (PUD) built in the South Hampton Roads
South Hampton Roads
South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia in the United States, and is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA with a population about 1.7 million....

 region and contains 36 neighborhoods, including 4200 single-family homes, townhouses, three condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...

 projects, and three apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...

 communities with roughly 900 apartments. According to 2005 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 figures, over 15,000 residents live within Green Run.

Homes Association

Homeowners automatically become members of the Green Run Homes Association when they purchase. The Association's mission is to promote the recreation, health, safety and welfare of the residents through ownership, improvements, operation and maintenance of common areas and facilities. The Association sponsors over a dozen youth recreational sports programs in swimming, tackle and flag football, and basketball as well as a senior citizens group and numerous scouting type activities. In addition, the Green Run Athletic Complex has been home, for over 35 years, to Green Run Little League.

Beginning with a 2005 change to its governing documents, Green Run Homes Association also assumed responsibility for enforcing building maintenance codes within the community to ensure that properties are properly maintained by their owners.

Community leadership

Green Run Homes Association is run by a nine-member governing Board which serves as its legislative body. Board members are elected to staggered three-year terms, and three of the nine Board members are elected each year. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors; shall see that orders and resolutions of the Board are carried out; shall sign all leases, mortgages, deeds and other written instruments and shall cosign all promissory notes.

Day-to-day operations of the Association are carried out by the Executive Director who is appointed by the governing Board and acts as Chief Operating Officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...

. The Executive Director supervises the Association's 47 employees and serves as a principal contact for residents.

Currently the President of the governing Board has taken the position of Chief Executive Officer as well as Board President. This conflict of interest has raised concerns among the membership. Repeated requests by the membership for the President to step down from one of these positions have gone unanswered.

Facilities and amenities

The Association maintains a community center, four recreation centers with swimming pools and tennis courts, 14 parks and playgrounds, an athletic complex, and roughly 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of common area or "green belt" including 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of canals with 11 miles (17.7 km) of shoreline.

Programs and events

Green Run has a wide array of programs and events for residents of all ages. These include quarterly seniors dinners, youth sports programs, annual Easter Egg Hunt, pool parties. In 2006, the association partnered with now State Delegate Sal Iaquinto and former Attorney General, now Governor, Bob McDonnell
Bob McDonnell
Robert Francis "Bob" McDonnell is an American politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia from 2006...

 to create "Safe Kids Day", an annual event that promotes child safety for residents. A Teen Council was started in 2006 to enable youths to participates in community volunteer activities, and Green Run has the largest Neighborhood Watch
Neighborhood Watch
A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch , also called a crime watch or neighborhood crime watch, is an organized group of citizens devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood...

 program in Virginia Beach.

The annual Fall Cook-Out, begun in 2005, has quickly become a popular tradition and has an annual attendance of nearly 800 residents. The annual event give residents an opportunity to eat, listen to great local music, and connect with neighbors from across the community. Residents are also able to network with Association leaders and staff along with city, state, and federal officials. Attendees often include the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

, members of City Council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

, Fire Chief
Fire chief
Fire Chief is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department, either elected or appointed...

, Chief of Police
Chief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...

, representatives from city departments, state officials, and former Congresswoman Thelma Drake
Thelma Drake
Thelma D. Drake was a Member of Congress of the Republican party from the state of Virginia. She was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2004 to represent . She was defeated by Democrat Glenn Nye in 2008.Thelma Drake grew up in Ohio and attended Elyria High School...

.

To encourage civic involvement, Green Run's Association hold periodic town hall meetings with city and state officials on topics of interest to residents, and has begun sponsoring a voter registration initiative.

Volunteers

Green Run's governing board no longer regularly meets with residents. In January 2011 a 48% increase in assessments led to resident unrest, and after the membership voiced their objections all scheduled monthly homeowners forums were cancelled.

In 2007, volunteers planted over 50 trees throughout the community on Arbor Day
Arbor Day
Arbor Day is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. It originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States during 1872 by J. Sterling Morton. The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872, and an estimated 1 million trees were planted that day.Many...

. Green Run has adopted several streets and parks within the community through the city's "adopt-a-street" and "adopt-a-spot" programs. Volunteers clean these areas at least one every month, rather than once-every-six-months as required by the program. Green Run also serves as "Partners in Education" with three local elementary schools and regularly sends volunteers to assist these schools.

Media coverage

Green Run has received a very positive attention to its many programs, both from residents and the press. During 2006, WTKR-TV 3 ran a series of stories on Green Run, and during 2007, the Virginian-Pilot’s "At Home Section" ran a very positive profile on the neighborhood, although there is an average of at least 6 homicides or suicides annually, as well as dozens of attempts, along with hundreds of robberies, beatings, drug-trades, and other illegal activities.

Schools

The community is served by three elementary schools: Green Run Elementary School, Rosemont Elementary School, and Parkway Elementary School; two middle schools: Landstown Middle School and Larkspur Middle School; and two high schools: Green Run High School
Green Run High School
Green Run High School, home of the Green Run Stallions, is a public secondary school located at 1700 Dahlia Drive of the "Green Run" area of suburban Virginia Beach, Virginia...

 and Landstown High School
Landstown High School
Landstown High School and Technology Academy is a public secondary school located in Virginia Beach, Virginia which first opened in 2001.The school features a Technology Academy, one of several magnet programs in Virginia Beach...

, and Tidewater Community College
Tidewater Community College
Tidewater Community College is a two-year higher education institution in South Hampton Roads with campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach — and serving approximately 46,000 students. The school is known locally by its abbreviation, TCC.-History:The school was founded...

.

Elected officials

Green Run's representative to City Council is Glenn Davis who is elected from the Rose Hall District. Green Run's School Board representative is Brent McKenzie. Green Run is represented in the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...

 by Delegate Salvatore R. Iaquinto and Senator Harry Blevins
Harry Blevins
Harry B. Blevins is an American politician of the Republican Party. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates 1998–2001. Since then he has been a member of the Senate of Virginia. He represents the 14th district, which includes parts of the cities of Chesapeake and Virginia...

. Green Run is represented in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 by Congressman Scott Rigell
Scott Rigell
Edward Scott Rigell is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and business career:...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK