​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The City of Virginia Beach adopted the CBPAO on January 1, 1991. This ordinance affects all property in Virginia Beach that drains into the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, approximately the northern one-third of the City.

In addition, the CBPAO is an effort to enhance the water quality by protecting environmentally-sensitive areas such as buffers adjacent to waterways, tidal shores, and  wetlands, as well as highly erodible soils. These sensitive areas, called Resource Protection Areas (RPAs), are closest to the shorelines that have an intrinsic water quality value or are sensitive to the impact of development. All other lands in the watershed are called Resource Management Areas (RMAs). The RMA is intended to protect the integrity of the RPA and extends from the RPA boundary outward to the watershed boundary limit. 

 Further information regarding the CBPAO can be found in Appendix F of the Virginia Beach City Code.

Application Filing Deadline

​The Deadline for filing an application to be heard by the CBPA Board is prior to the 1^st of each month to be heard at the following month’s hearing if the application is complete.

Application Filing Fees

The ​filing fees must be made payable to the City Treasurer.

• CBPA Variance Application Fee $450

*The costs of the public notice sign(s), legal advertisements in the Virginia-Pilot/Beacon, and the postage for mailing of requirement notices to property owners adjacent to the subject site is required in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Most recently notification fees were variable and based on the number of signs required, number of adjacent property owners and the amount of text in the legal notice and could not be assessed and paid until after the application fee was paid. Effective October 1, 2017, a flat fee for the CBPA public notice will be implemented and will be paid at the same time as the Board application fee.

CBPA Meeting Times & Virtual Meeting Information

At this time, the City of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area (CBPA) Board will be holding CBPA Board public hearings in the Council Chamber of City Hall, Building 1 of the Municipal Center, 2401 Courthouse Drive, Virginia Beach, VA, to hear applications for variances to the CBPA Ordinance. The informal session to brief the CBPA Board will be held at 9:00 a.m. in the Council Chamber of City Hall. There will be limited seating in Council Chambers for citizens who wish to attend the meeting in person.

For those citizens who desire to attend this meeting virtually via Webex, registration is required. Registration is available under the virtual meeting link provided in the 2020 Agendas & Minutes tab below. Staff will attempt to facilitate real-time citizen participation/comments in the public hearing for those citizens who registered, which includes speaker’s name, physical address, email address, and phone number. For more information on this process, please contact Staff at (757) 385-4621.

Citizens are encouraged to submit comments to the CBPA Board prior to the public hearing via email to pscully@vbgov.com or via United States Mail to PJ Scully, 2875 Sabre Street, Suite 500, Virginia Beach, VA 23452. If you desire to speak virtually during a public hearing you must notify Staff prior to 8:00 am, the day of the scheduled CBPA Virtual Public Hearing at (757) 385-4621.