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.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Beach City Code Sec. 23-69 caps sound entering another residential dwelling at 55 dBA between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and 65 dBA between 7:00 a.m....
Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Beach's zoning and property maintenance codes do not restrict residential lawn ornaments, statuary, or religious displays at single-family homes. Po...
Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Beach has no specific City ordinance regulating residential inflatable holiday displays. The principal restrictions come from HOA and condo covenant...
Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Beach has no citywide ordinance restricting residential holiday lights at single-family homes. Restrictions arise principally from HOA and condo cov...
Virginia Beach, VA
Outdoor kitchens in Virginia Beach require separate trade permits from Permits and Inspections: building permit for structural elements, mechanical permit fo...
Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Beach has no specific ordinance regulating residential offset smokers, pellet grills, or wood-fired pizza ovens at single-family homes. Multi-unit b...
See how Virginia Beach's climate emergency mobilization rules stack up against other locations.
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