Virginia Code 28.2-1409: Emergency sand grading activities on sand dunes located on the Atlantic Shoreline of Virginia Beach.
A. As used in this section, “emergency” means a sudden and unforeseeable occurrence or condition of such disastrous severity or magnitude that governmental action beyond that authorized by existing law is required because governmental inaction for the period required to amend the law to meet the exigency would cause immediate and irrevocable harm to the citizens or a portion of the citizenry of the Commonwealth.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 28.2-1409
- Beach: means the shoreline zone comprised of unconsolidated sandy material upon which there is a mutual interaction of the forces of erosion, sediment transport and deposition that extends from the low water line landward to where there is a marked change in either material composition or physiographic form such as a dune, bluff, or marsh, or where no such change can be identified, to the line of woody vegetation (usually the effective limit of stormwaves), or the nearest impermeable man-made structure, such as a bulkhead, revetment, or paved road. See Virginia Code 28.2-1400
- City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 28.2-1403, sand grading activities are permitted on coastal primary sand dunes located on the Atlantic Shoreline of the City of Virginia Beach if (i) such activities are otherwise permitted by law, and (ii) the city manager has declared an emergency and issued a permit for such purpose. Such activities may be conducted without advance notice and hearing; however, upon request and after reasonable notice as to time and place, the city manager shall hold a hearing to affirm, modify, amend, or cancel such emergency permit.
1992, c. 836; 2022, c. 235.