HB1328 • 2026

Virginia Beach, City of; amending charter, certain land use approvals.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact Chapter 147, as amended, of the Acts of Assembly of 1962, which provided a charter for the City of Virginia Beach, by adding a section numbered 2.03, relating to certain land use approvals.</p>

Land

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Tata
Last action: 2026-02-18
Official status: Failed
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about how existing developments will be affected by new restrictions on public utilities extensions.

Virginia Beach Land Use Changes

This bill amends the charter for Virginia Beach to require special approval processes for rezoning and extending public water and sewer services south of a specific boundary line called the 'blue line'.

What This Bill Does

Adds new rules about land use approvals in parts of Virginia Beach.
Requires three-fourths vote by city council members to approve rezoning requests south of the blue line.
Limits extensions of public water and sewer services south of the blue line unless certain conditions are met, including a public hearing.

Who It Names or Affects

The City Council of Virginia Beach
Property owners in areas south of the 'blue line'
Residents and businesses relying on public utilities

Terms To Know

Blue Line: A specific boundary within Virginia Beach that defines where certain land use rules apply.
Rezoning: Changing the zoning classification of a piece of property to allow different types of development or uses.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify an effective date for these changes.
It is unclear how existing developments will be affected by new restrictions on public utilities extensions.

Bill History

2026-02-18 House
Left in Committee Counties, Cities and Towns
2026-01-29 Subcommittee #3
Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (5-Y 1-N)
2026-01-28 Subcommittee #3
Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3
2026-01-16 House
Presented and ordered printed 26105465D
2026-01-16 Counties, Cities and Towns
Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

Official Summary Text

Charter; City of Virginia Beach; certain land use approvals.
Amends the charter for the City of Virginia Beach by providing that no application to rezone property to a higher density or a more intense zoning district south of the blue line, as defined in the bill, shall be approved except by a recorded affirmative vote of three-fourths of all of the members elected to the city council. The bill further provides that no extension of public water and sanitary sewer shall extend south of the blue line absent a public hearing and specific findings by the city council.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

A BILL to amend and reenact Chapter 147, as amended, of the Acts of Assembly of 1962, which provided a charter for the City of Virginia Beach, by adding a section numbered 2.03, relating to certain land use approvals.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That Chapter 147, as amended, of the Acts of Assembly of 1962 is amended and reenacted by adding a section numbered 2.03 as follows:

§ 2.03. Procedure
for land use approvals south of the blue line.

A. As used in this section, the "blue line"
shall be a line running along North Landing Road to Indian River Road, then extend
ing

ea
stward to New Bridge Road, then proceeding north until it intersect
s with Sandbridge Road, then proceeding eastward tracing the eastern and southern boundaries of the Sandbridge Special Service District
until
such boundary reaches the Atlantic Oc
ean.

B. No application to rezone property to a higher density or a more intense zoning district south of the blue line shall be approved except by a recorded affirmative
vote of three-fourths of all of the members elected to the
c
ity
c
ouncil.

C. No extension of public
water
and sanitary sewer ("public system") shall extend
south of the blue line absent a public hearing conducted pursuant to §
15.2-1427
of the Code of Virginia and a finding by the
c
ity
c
ouncil that:

(a)
There is adequate capacity in the public system at the point of
connection
to accommodate the additional flow;

(b)
In the written opinion of the Virginia Department of Health
, the existing on-site utilities are failing, or likely to fail, and there are no alternatives that would be approved and permitted by the Virginia Department of Health;

(c)
The principal
use of
the property served by the existing on-site utilities is not changed; and

(
d)
The extension is to serve (
i
) an existing development
, (
ii
) the
reconstruction
or expansion of an existing commercial development consistent with its zoning resulting in a
total
floor area no greater than double that
of the development prior to the expansion
,
or (
iii
) the
reconstruction
or expansion of an existing residence by no more than 10 percent of
existing
floor area or residential development where no additional
dwelling
units
are constructed.