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SB68 • 2026

Historic landmarks; designating or nominating, notice requirements.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact § 10.1-2206.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to designating or nominating historic landmarks; notice requirements.</p>

Enacted

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

Sponsor
Diggs
Last action
2026-02-10
Official status
Failed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included a claim about consulting with federally recognized Tribal Nations, which was not supported by the official source material.

Historic Landmarks; Notice Requirements

This bill changes how the Department of Historic Resources gives notice when proposing to designate or nominate property as a historic landmark, removing certain requirements and changing the timeframe for publishing public hearing notices.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the requirement for the Department of Historic Resources to give written notice to owners or their agents of abutting or nearby properties when designating or nominating historic landmarks.
  • Changes the time frame for publishing notice of a public hearing on designation from once a week for two weeks to at least seven and not more than 30 days before the hearing in a newspaper with general circulation in the locality.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Department of Historic Resources
  • Property owners and their agents

Terms To Know

Historic Landmark
A building, structure, object, or site that is designated as having historical significance.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify an effective date.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect property owners' ability to participate in the designation process.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-10 Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    Stricken at request of Patron in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (12-Y 0-N)

  2. 2026-01-19 Senate

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB68)

  3. 2025-12-17 Senate

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103992D

  4. 2025-12-17 Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

Official Summary Text

Designating or nominating historic landmarks; notice requirements.
Removes the requirements for the Department of Historic Resources to provide written notice to an owner or his agent of property abutting or immediately across the street or road from property proposed to be designated or nominated as a historic landmark. The bill also changes the timeframe in which the Department must publish notice of the public hearing on such designation in a newspaper having general circulation in the locality from once a week for two successive weeks to at least seven and not more than 30 days prior to the date of the hearing.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
A BILL to amend and reenact §
10.1-2206.1
of the Code of Virginia, relating to designating or nominating historic landmarks; notice requirements.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §
10.1-2206.1
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§
10.1-2206.1
. Procedure for designating a historic district, building, structure, or site as a historic landmark; National Register of Historic Places, National Historic Landmarks; historic district defined.

A. In any
county, city, or town
locality
where the Board proposes to designate a historic district, building, structure, object, or site as a historic landmark, or where the Director proposes to nominate property to the National Park Service for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places or for designation as a National Historic Landmark, the Department shall give written notice of the proposal to the governing body
of such locality
and to the owner, owners, or the owner's agent
,
of property proposed to be so designated or nominated
, and to the owners, or their agents, of all abutting property and property immediately across the street or road from the property
. The Department shall also consult with any federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth pursuant to §
10.1-2205.1
if the designation or nomination is in a locality identified by the Ombudsman for Tribal Consultation pursuant to subdivision B 2 of §
2.2-401.01
.

B. Prior to the designation or nomination of a historic district, the Department shall hold a public hearing at the seat of government of the
county, city, or town
locality
in which the proposed historic district is located or within the proposed historic district. The public hearing shall be for the purpose of supplying additional information to the Board and to the Director. The time and place of such hearing shall be determined in consultation with a duly authorized representative of the local governing body and shall be scheduled at a time and place that will reasonably allow for the attendance of the affected property owners. The Department shall publish notice of the public hearing
once a week for two successive weeks
at least seven and not more than 30 days prior to the date of
such
hearing
in a newspaper published or having general circulation in the
county, city, or town
locality
. Such notice shall specify the time and place of the public hearing at which persons affected may appear and present their views
, not less than six days nor more than 21 days after the second publication of the notice in such newspaper
. In addition to publishing the notice, the Department shall give written notice of the public hearing at least five days before such hearing to the owner, owners, or the owner's agent
,
of each parcel of real property to be included in the proposed historic district
, and to the owners, or their agents, of all abutting property and property immediately across the street or road from the included property
. Notice required to be given to owners by this subsection may be given concurrently with the notice required to be given to the owners by subsection A. The Department shall make and maintain an appropriate record of all public hearings held pursuant to this section.

C. Any written notice required to be given by the Department to any person shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this section if sent by first class mail to the last known address of such person as shown on the current real estate tax assessment books, provided that a representative of the Department shall make an affidavit that such mailings have been made.

D. The local governing body and property owners shall have 30 days from the date of the notice required by subsection A, or, in the case of a historic district, 30 days from the date of the public hearing required by subsection B to provide comments and recommendations, if any, to the Board and to the Director.

E. For the purposes of this chapter, a historic district means a geographically definable area that contains a significant concentration of historic buildings, structures, or sites having a common historical, architectural, archaeological, or cultural heritage, and which may contain local tax parcels having separate owners. Contributing properties within a registered district are historic landmarks by definition.

F. All regulations promulgated by the Director pursuant to §
10.1-2202
and all regulations promulgated by the Board pursuant to §
10.1-2205
shall be consistent with the provisions of this section.