Welcome to the Virginia Beach Comprehensive Plan webpage, where you will find useful information about this important long-range planning tool!

 

The Comprehensive Plan is the official land use planning policy framework for Virginia Beach. We prepare a local comprehensive plan in order to consider, in a holistic manner, all of the City’s physical conditions, the trends affecting us, and our long-term conservation and development goals. The Comprehensive Plan puts forward polices for use by the Planning Commission and City Council that guide the responsible use of our finite land resources. It is used to plan growth and the infrastructure needed to support it, protect neighborhoods and our rural area, improve our economy, manage our natural and cultural resources, prioritize capital investments in public facilities, and ultimately, advance the overall quality of life for our citizens. Having a local comprehensive plan enables us to invest limited public fiscal resources and human capital in a logical and efficient manner through capital improvement planning and budgeting that is consistent with the plan.

 

The Code of Virginia Sections 14.2-2223 et subseq. requires a local government to prepare and adopt a comprehensive plan for the physical development of the territory within its jurisdiction. Once adopted, the plan has legal standing, meaning that it is the governing body’s statement of local policies in effect for the locality. The Planning Commission is required to review the adopted local comprehensive plan at least once every five years to determine whether it is advisable to amend the plan, and to recommend an updated plan to the City Council for approval. The City’s first Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1979 and subsequent plans were adopted in 1985, 1991, 1997, 2003, and 2009.

 

It’s Our Future: A Choice City, 2016 was adopted by City Council on May 17, 2016. It is the City’s 7th Comprehensive Plan and looks ahead to the Year 2040. It i​s our current, collective vision of how we want to build on our strengths, respond to our challenges, and continue to be choice city for years to come.

 

There are 3 components to the Plan:

The Comprehensive Plan can be amended through a public hearing process as continuous planning occurs over time.

 

Policy Document (Entire Document)
    Cover

    Table of Contents

    Planning Commission & City Council
    Acknowledgements

    Executive Summary

    Chapter 1 - Planning Areas

Technical Document

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