Norfolk, VA Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Citation
- Norfolk Code of Ordinances § 32-47(f)
- Reviewing body
- Architectural Review Board
- Decision timeline
- Within 90 days of complete application
- Related section
- § 32-41, historical landmarks and statuary
- Exempt
- Pieces already approved by Norfolk Arts Commission
- Recommends to
- City Planning Commission
Summary
Installing a statue, monument, or memorial that the City of Norfolk has acquired, on city-owned property, requires design review by the architectural review board under City Code Sec. 32-47(f), unless the piece was already approved by the Norfolk Arts Commission. The city planning commission also weighs in on historical landmarks and statuary under Sec. 32-41.
The physical and architectural design of each building and other structural improvement, including all site plans, shall be subject to the design review process set forth in this article in the following circumstances, except where expressly exempted from review by another provision set forth in this City Code:...(f)Monuments. Installation of a statue, monument, memorial, and other work of art acquired by the city on property owned by the city or a city agency and not located interior to a building, not including any object approved by the Norfolk Arts Commission in accordance with its authority and procedures.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 166).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 32, Article III sets up Norfolk's architectural review board to advise the city planning commission on the design of buildings and structures the city builds or funds. Sec. 32-47 lists the specific matters that fall within the board's purview, and subsection (f) squarely covers monuments: installation of a statue, monument, memorial, and other work of art acquired by the city on property owned by the city or a city agency, and not located interior to a building, carving out only pieces the Norfolk Arts Commission has separately approved under its own procedures.
Under Sec. 32-46, the planning director may require an architect to prepare drawings for a complex proposal, and the board must recommend approval, approval with conditions, or denial to the planning commission within 90 days of a complete application, or within whatever shorter or longer period is set when the city council or planning commission makes the referral. Sec. 32-49 directs the board to judge the proposal's compatibility with its surroundings, including scale, form, materials, color and landscaping, and its consistency with the city's civic facilities and adopted plans.
Separately, Sec. 32-41 gives the planning commission its own advisory role: recommending to the city manager on the control, preservation and care of historical landmarks, and on the design, location, relocation, removal, and alteration of statuary and other works of art that are or may become city property, except for pieces that fall under the Norfolk Arts Commission's authority.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 32-47 does not set its own criminal penalty; it operates as an approval requirement rather than a prohibition. Installing a city-acquired monument on city property without the required architectural review board recommendation and city planning commission action means the installation was never validly authorized, and the city can require it to be modified, relocated, or removed to bring it into compliance with the design review process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Norfolk review new monuments before they go up?
How long does Norfolk's design review take for a monument?
Who decides where a historic statue goes in Norfolk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Norfolk
Compare Norfolk to another location·View the Virginia historic preservation overview
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