Source: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincodeexpand/title4/agency20/chapter440/
Timestamp: 2020-04-09 01:42:12
Document Index: 137385209

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 62', '§ 10', '§ 29', '§ 3', '§ 62', '§ 6']

Chapter 440. Coastal Primary Sand Dune/Beaches Guidelines: Barrier Island Policy
4VAC20-440-10. Barrier island policy.
1. Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, the definitions contained within § 62.1-13.22 of the Code of Virginia apply. In addition, the following words and terms when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Survival of these barrier islands often depends on the ability of sand to wash across the island naturally in concert with the local wind and wave climate. The sand is then protected from loss offshore and provides a means of perpetuating the island, albeit in a more landward location. Activities which adversely affect this interaction can have an extremely detrimental impact on the island as well as the structure, form and function of its dune system. The artificial accumulation of sand along the oceanside of an island can make it more susceptible to loss offshore during a storm. Once such a loss occurs, the sand then becomes unavailable for washover and for the continued landward migration of the island. Houses, sand fences and similar structures can also alter wind patterns; this alteration impedes the wind transport of sand across the island. Accumulations adjacent to these impediments can be lost offshore as the shoreline continues to recede, leading to an increased rate of recession and a narrowing of the island. In addition, many of the Commonwealth's rarest species depend on the continuation of natural processes that currently exist on barrier islands. Consequently they are threatened by any interference with those processes. The implementation of the policies and guidelines set forth in this chapter will support a fuller achievement of the purposes of the Virginia Natural Area Preserves Act (§ 10.1-209 et seq. of the Code of Virginia), the Virginia Endangered Species Act (§ 29.1-563 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) and the Virginia Endangered Plant and Insect Species Act (§ 3.1-1020 et seq. of the Code of Virginia).
Two of the main natural features of barrier islands are natural dunes and washover areas, both of which are included in the statutory definition of a coastal primary sand dune as a "mound of unconsolidated sandy soil which is contiguous to mean high water, whose landward and lateral limits are marked by a change in grade from 10% or greater to less than 10% and upon any part of which is growing" certain designated plants as listed in § 62.1- 13.22 of the Code of Virginia. Given the particular combination of risks to both natural values and life and property posed by development on barrier islands, the commission finds it necessary and appropriate to establish a policy and supplemental guidelines to assist landowners and decision makers alike in shaping barrier island uses in a manner that preserves and protects the values of coastal primary sand dunes as set forth by the General Assembly.
D. Public hearings. The public hearing required by § 6 of the model ordinance may be held in Newport News, Virginia. Such hearing will not be scheduled until the commission staff has determined that it is in receipt of a complete application.
Derived from VR450-01-0058, Virginia Register Volume 6, Issue 26, eff. October 24, 1990.