DATE: Monday, June 23, 1997                 TAG: 9706230058

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   83 lines

STUDENTS PETITION TO PRESERVE A BEACH LOTBUT THE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY HAS ANOTHER IDEA; TUESDAY, THE COUNCIL WEIGHS IN.

Doug Thompson, 20 of his First Colonial High School students and about 6,000 Virginia Beach residents have a dream for the acre of land that sits where Laskin Road meets the Atlantic Ocean.

So does the Virginia Beach Economic Development Authority.

Unfortunately, their dreams clash.

``It's the last open space down there,'' Thompson said. ``I want to see it open and grassy, a place that people can enjoy.''

Robin Ray, the development authority chairwoman, views the piece of property differently.

``I'm a nice lady, and I don't want to seem like an ogre, but (the authority's) charge is to see that it creates an economic benefit through tax revenues and jobs.''

The issue becomes the province of the City Council on Tuesday when it reviews three proposals that combine business and public use of the land.

In the meantime, Thompson and his legion of students took to the Boardwalk again this past weekend, gathering signatures as they have for nearly three months.

The council decided to use the 31st Street lot for parking this summer on the condition that proposals be sought for a different use next year. Thompson has continued to gather signatures on petitions to ensure that it goes to good use.

For Thompson, the dedication to preserving open space at the Oceanfront is as natural as breathing. His parents, who now own a hotel in Nags Head, owned a series of mom-and-pop operations along the resort strip: a soda shop in the 1940s and '50s, ice cream and sandwich shops later. He graduated from First Colonial in 1975, went off to James Madison University and came home to teach history at his alma mater and marry Barbara Banton, a hometown girl.

``I'm a Beach boy,'' he proclaims proudly. ``I worked with Mr. (Maury) Jackson to save 24th Street Park 10 years ago and when I saw he was trying to do the same thing again, I figured this one had my name written all over it.''

Back in the 1980s when Jackson and a host of others were trying to turn the land adjoining the Life-Saving Museum of Virginia into a park, the issue was different. At that point the Oceanfront land was for sale for slightly more than $1 million. The question was, should the city buy it or let it go to a developer?

``I put that question to my kids and they raised about $1,200 to turn over to the city to buy the land,'' Thompson said. Eventually citizens contributed more than $500,000 and the city bought the property and later added a permanent stage.

In contrast, the development authority already owns the 31st Street property. With the backing of the city, the authority sank $3.5 million into it in 1988. Since then, interest has added another $500,000 to the investment.

So this generation of First Colonial students found themselves collecting signatures and support instead of money.

``We've started in March,'' said rising senior Erin Meredith. ``We've been going out every weekend because of the enormous amount of people out there.''

Meredith's reason for going is simple. ``We need the green space out there,'' she said.

Jackson, who was so active in acquiring the 24th Street property, agrees even though he hasn't had the time to be as active in this campaign.

``There should be some place here where people who come as tourists can see the ocean when they arrive,'' he said. ``When they come in 17th Street they see a Dairy Queen, on the expressway they see a Holiday Inn. They have hotels in Indiana and Ohio. They come here to see the ocean.''

Thompson, too, wants tourists to have ocean views. And he wants locals to have a pleasant grassy place to enjoy the sea. Those are the primary reasons he has worked so hard for the park. But there's another one, too.

``I've learned that so many people don't believe in the system. They express skepticism even while they're signing the petitions,'' he said. ``They don't think council will listen, that they've already made up their minds. I want the students to learn that if you let your elected officials know how you feel, you can make a difference.''

And if City Council doesn't come down on the side of the park?

``We'll know that we worked within the system and our effort was about trying to make a difference,'' Thompson said. ``We've shown the community that we have a lot of good kids who are getting involved.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH/The Virginian-Pilot

Doug Thompson sits in front of a parking lot at Laskin Road and the

ocean; he and some students think it should be turned into a public

park. About 6,000 people have signed petitions Thompson and his

students have circulated.

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