Virginia § 28.2-1400 Definitions

Virginia Statutes

§ 28.2-1400 — Definitions

Virginia § 28.2-1400

JurisdictionVirginia

Title 28.2FISHERIES AND HABITAT OF THE TIDAL WATERS

Subtitle IIIHABITAT

Ch. 14COASTAL PRIMARY SAND DUNES AND BEACHES

Art. 1General Provisions

This text of Virginia § 28.2-1400 (Definitions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Va. Code Ann. § 28.2-1400 (2026).

Text

A.As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning: "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. "Coastal primary sand dune" or "dune" means a mound of unconsolidated sandy soil which is contiguous to mean high water, whose landward and lateral limits are marked

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

A. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"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.

"Coastal primary sand dune" or "dune" means 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 ten percent or greater to less than ten percent, and upon which is growing any of the following species: American beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata); beach heather (Hudsonia tomentosa); dune bean (Strophostyles spp.); dusty miller (Artemisia stelleriana); saltmeadow hay (Spartina patens); seabeach sandwort (Honckenya peploides); sea oats (Uniola paniculata); sea rocket (Cakile edentula); seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens); Japanese sedge or Asiatic sand sedge (Carex kobomugi); Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana); broom sedge (Andropogon virginicus); and short dune grass (Panicum amarum). For purposes of this chapter, "coastal primary sand dune" or "dune" shall not include any mound of sand, sandy soil, or dredge spoil deposited by any person for the purpose of temporary storage, beach replenishment or beach nourishment, nor shall the slopes of any such mound be used to determine the landward or lateral limits of a coastal primary sand dune.

"Coastal primary sand dune zoning ordinance" means the ordinance set forth in § 28.2-1403.

"County, city or town" means the governing body of the county, city or town.

"Governmental activity" means any of the services provided by Commonwealth or a county, city or town to its citizens for the purpose of maintaining public facilities, including but not limited to, such services as constructing, repairing and maintaining roads; providing street lights and sewage facilities; supplying and treating water; and constructing public buildings.

"Wetlands board" or "board" means the board created pursuant to § 28.2-1303.

B. Although separately defined in subsection A of this section, the terms "coastal primary sand dune," "dune," and "beach," when used in this chapter, shall be interchangeable.

Legislative History

1980, c. 660, §§ 62.1-13.21, 62.1-13.22; 1984, c. 556; 1985, c. 589; 1987, c. 499; 1989, c. 342; 1992, c. 836; 1994, c. 112; 1998, c. 160; 2008, c. 20.