Virginia Beach

The City of Virginia Beach maintains an Accessory Family Dwelling Unit framework codified at CZO Section 232 and is one of the MORE RESTRICTIVE ADU regimes in Tidewater Virginia. The current ordinance permits accessory family dwelling units only in the R-40 single-family residential district (the lowest-density single-family district, requiring minimum 40,000 sqft lots and concentrated in Princess Anne, North End, Bay Colony, and some agricultural-fringe parcels) and certain AG-1 / AG-2 agricultural districts where the use is tied to a working farm. The R-5, R-7.5, R-10, R-15, R-20, R-30, and PDH-3 / PDH-5 / PDH-6 / PDH-7 / PDH-10 single-family / planned-development districts - which cover the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Virginia Beach single-family parcels (the bulk of the suburban subdivisions built after the 1963 Princess Anne consolidation) - do NOT permit accessory family dwelling units by right. An ADU on a non-R-40 / non-AG parcel requires either a Special Exception (Planning Commission and City Council approval; typically 6+ months and high denial risk) or a rezoning (rarely successful for a single parcel). Where permitted, ADUs in R-40 are subject to: (a) size capped at the lesser of 800 sqft (under CZO Section 232 as currently written) or 50% of primary-dwelling floor area, (b) owner-occupancy of either the primary dwelling or the ADU, (c) family-member-occupancy restriction (the unit must be occupied by a person related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the owner - a more restrictive provision than most modern ADU ordinances), (d) one off-street parking space dedicated to the ADU, (e) single-unit-per-lot, (f) compliance with district setback, height, and lot-coverage standards, and (g) administrative review by the Zoning Administrator. The family-member occupancy condition is the single most restrictive provision in the current ordinance and is more restrictive than neighboring Hampton Roads independent cities (Norfolk, Newport News, Chesapeake). Virginia Beach has periodically considered relaxing the family-member condition (most recently in 2024-2025 staff-level deliberations) but no enactment had occurred as of the date of this research. Virginia's 2026 SB531 statewide by-right ADU mandate (effective July 1, 2027) WILL preempt the family-member occupancy condition for new ADUs going forward, materially expanding Virginia Beach ADU permissibility starting in 2027.

The City of Virginia Beach administers a particularly dense overlay regime that bears materially on ADU projects. The combination of Atlantic-coast geography, Naval Air Station Oceana AICUZ jurisdiction, Chesapeake Bay frontage, Lynnhaven River system, Back Bay drainage, Sandbridge coastal-recreation zoning, and pervasive flood exposure makes Virginia Beach one of the MOST OVERLAY-DENSE jurisdictions in Virginia. The relevant overlays are: (1) the NAS Oceana AICUZ (Air Installations Compatible Use Zones) Overlay, covering approximately 30% of the city's land area, with Accident Potential Zones (APZ-1, APZ-2) and noise-contour overlays (>65 dB DNL, >70 dB DNL, >75 dB DNL) that restrict or prohibit residential use in higher-impact zones; (2) the Floodplain Management Overlay tied to FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, with the most extensive SFHA coverage in Hampton Roads given oceanfront, Chesapeake Bay frontage, Lynnhaven River system, Back Bay frontage, and pervasive low-lying coastal-plain topography; (3) Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area jurisdiction across the entire city (Virginia Beach is a Tidewater locality), with RPA buffers along the Chesapeake Bay, Lynnhaven River system, and tidal tributaries; (4) the Southern Watersheds Management Overlay covering the Back Bay drainage and southern agricultural watersheds, with separate stormwater and water-quality standards beyond the CBPA RPA / RMA framework; (5) the Sandbridge Special Service District overlay covering the barrier-island residential community of Sandbridge with its own stormwater, dune-protection, and STR-density rules; (6) Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) tidal-wetlands, subaqueous-bottom, and coastal-primary-sand-dune jurisdiction along the oceanfront, Lynnhaven Inlet, and Sandbridge; (7) the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge buffer zone with federal land-use coordination; (8) the Old Beach / North End historic overlay (modest local-historic regulation); (9) the Cape Henry / First Landing State Park adjacency overlay (state-park coordination); (10) the Princess Anne County Courthouse Historic District (limited local-historic overlay covering the former Princess Anne County seat). Virginia Beach has NO California-style coastal commission (Virginia has no coastal-commission analog), NO CalFire-equivalent WUI regulatory overlay, and NO seismic-retrofit overlay.

• Naval Air Station Oceana AICUZ (Air Installations Compatible Use Zones) Overlay
• Floodplain Management Overlay
• Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area: RPA and RMA
• Southern Watersheds Management Overlay - Back Bay drainage
• Section 404 Clean Water Act - Back Bay, North Landing, Northwest River drainages
• VMRC tidal-wetlands, subaqueous-bottom, and coastal primary sand dunes
• Old Beach, North End, and Princess Anne County Courthouse Historic Districts

The City of Virginia Beach's Department of Planning, Permits and Inspections Division handles zoning permits, Special Exceptions, building permits, plan review, and inspections for every parcel within city limits. Because Virginia Beach is an INDEPENDENT CITY (county-equivalent), there is no separate county to coordinate with - the city is its own permitting authority. A typical ADU permit bundle in Virginia Beach includes: (1) a pre-application zoning inquiry to confirm R-40 or AG eligibility under CZO Section 232, (2) a zoning permit confirming use compliance and district setback/height/lot-coverage compliance, (3) a Building Permit with stamped residential plans, (4) Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical trade permits, (5) Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) sewer-connection review for parcels within the HRSD service area, or a Virginia Department of Health Western Tidewater Health District (subset of Virginia Beach) construction permit for well and septic on parcels not served by public water/sewer (limited to the rural Pungo / Creeds / Sandbridge / Back Bay fringes in southern Virginia Beach), (6) a Floodplain Development Permit if any portion of the parcel is within the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area - which is a SUBSTANTIAL fraction of parcels in Virginia Beach because the city has extensive oceanfront, Chesapeake Bay frontage, Lynnhaven River system, Back Bay frontage, and pervasive low-lying coastal-plain topography, (7) a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act review - Virginia Beach IS a Tidewater locality subject to the CBPA, with Resource Protection Area (RPA) and Resource Management Area (RMA) rules applying across the Chesapeake Bay frontage, Lynnhaven River system, and tidal tributaries, (8) a Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) permit for any work below mean high water on tidal frontage or encroaching on tidal wetlands, (9) an AICUZ (Air Installations Compatible Use Zones) compliance review - the NAS Oceana AICUZ overlay covers approximately 30% of the city's land area and imposes residential-use restrictions in higher-noise zones and Accident Potential Zones, (10) a Section 404 Clean Water Act review through the US Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District where federal-jurisdictional wetlands are involved (the Back Bay drainage in southeastern Virginia Beach contains significant Section 404 wetlands), and (11) Historic District / preservation review if the parcel is within a designated local historic overlay (limited - some Old Beach and Cape Henry / Fort Story-adjacent properties).