Virginia Beach adopted a Sea Level Rise and Recurrent Flooding Plan that drives capital projects, freeboard requirements for new construction, and overlay districts in vulnerable coastal areas like Sandbridge and Shore Drive.
The City's Sea Level Rise / Coastal Resiliency Plan projects 1.5 to 3 feet of relative sea level rise by 2065 and uses that envelope to set design standards. New and substantially improved buildings in Special Flood Hazard Areas must add freeboard above base flood elevation, and rezoning in resilience overlay zones triggers additional flood and stormwater review. The plan funds the Sandbridge sea wall, Eastern Shore Drive drainage, and Lake Bradford / Chubb Lake projects, paid partly through a 2021 voter-approved flood-protection bond referendum.
Building below required freeboard or filling protected wetlands without a permit can void the certificate of occupancy and trigger FEMA flood-insurance penalties.
Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Beach regulates floodplain development under Appendix K (Floodplain Ordinance) of the City Code. The city participates in the NFIP Community Rating ...
Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Beach is a major coastal city subject to the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, and the city's own coastal m...
See how Virginia Beach's climate emergency mobilization rules stack up against other locations.
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