News Summary
Virginia Beach is updating its land use guide, “imagineVB,” to address growth and land conservation through 2040. The plan emphasizes infill development, environmental sustainability, open space protection, and water quality improvements. A new charter amendment proposes requiring a supermajority vote to approve rural land development, balancing growth and agricultural protections. Public engagement has been active, with key votes scheduled for October. These initiatives aim to manage urban growth and preserve rural farmland, ensuring accountability and sustainable development for the city’s future.
Virginia Beach is updating its land use guide, known as “imagineVB,” to create a comprehensive plan for growth through 2040. This update is mandated every five years by state law following the adoption of the current plan in 2016. The new plan is necessary as the city is running out of land for new development and will focus on maximizing existing vacant, aging, and underutilized properties.
City Manager Patrick Duhaney stated that the updated plan will prioritize infill and redevelopment instead of continuous outward growth. Several key focus areas will be addressed in the updated plan, including environmental sustainability, the protection of open spaces, addressing flooding impacts, and improving water quality. A proposal within the draft plan aims to provide a mix of housing types while ensuring safe access to essential services such as schools, shops, and parks.
Carrying over from the 2016 plan is the commitment to protect rural land located south of the Green Line, which serves as the urban development boundary. The draft plan also categorizes Virginia Beach into four distinct context areas: coastal, inland, Green Line, and rural. Council members have raised concerns regarding the need to reevaluate distinctions within these context areas, suggesting that oversimplification could overlook important details.
Public engagement for the plan included surveys, focus groups, hearings held by the Planning Commission, and community meetings throughout 2023. Citizens are encouraged to submit comments on the draft plan via email until October 30.
In addition to the land use plan update, Delegate Barry Knight is proposing a charter amendment designed to raise the approval threshold for development in Virginia Beach’s rural areas. This amendment aims to require a supermajority vote—that is, nine council members—to approve intense land use applications south of the Blue Line, the boundary that marks the end of city water and sewer services and indicates a transition area between urban and rural land.
Knight, having a background as a retired hog farmer, expressed concern about the potential impacts of rezoning agricultural land for industrial purposes. He is advocating for enhanced support from the City Council, particularly under the current system of district-based elections, which he argues reduces accountability for agricultural interests. The proposed charter amendment has been included in the city’s legislative agenda draft for the upcoming 2026 General Assembly session.
A public hearing regarding the proposed amendment took place on October 7, although there were no speakers in attendance. However, a statement of support for the initiative was provided by the Virginia Beach Farm Bureau. The City Council is set to vote on both the legislative agenda and the charter amendment on October 21.
Through these initiatives, both the updated land use plan and the proposed charter amendment aim to protect rural agricultural land while increasing accountability for development in those areas, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding farming interests within Virginia Beach.
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Additional Resources
- Pilot Online: Virginia Beach Needs a City Council of the People
- Pilot Online: Space for Growth is Dwindling in Virginia Beach
- Pilot Online: Virginia Beach Lawmaker Seeks Change to Protect Rural Land
- Google Search: Virginia Beach land use updates
- Wavy: Judge Voids VB City Council’s Vote on 10-1 Voting System
- Wikipedia: Virginia Beach
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