The Ceiling Is the Whole Story Here
No use or structure is permitted on property within Accident Potential Zone 1 or the Clear Zone unless it is designated Compatible in Table 2 of section 1804 of the City Zoning Ordinance.
The route back for an existing house is the proviso: a use or structure not designated Compatible is permitted as a replacement of the same use or structure where the replacement is of equal or lesser density or intensity than the original. That is permission to restore, not permission to improve. The full position is on our page covering the clocks and the ceiling.
How Do I Find out What My Ceiling Actually Is?
Check the Title as Well as the Zoning
A second restriction sits in a different place entirely and owners regularly miss it. The Navy acquired easements and fee simple ownership over certain lands in the noise and accident potential zones around the base.
The specific terms vary and they generally prohibit all residential and people-intensive commercial development. An easement of that kind appears in the property records rather than in the zoning ordinance, so a zoning enquiry will not surface it and a title search will.
What If My Parcel Is Burdened by One?
We publish no zone determinations, intensity conclusions or easement findings for individual properties near the base. The zoning administrator holds the first two and a title search establishes the third.
Noise Attenuation Is a Cost, Not a Bar
Distinct from the accident potential zones and applying more widely. Noise attenuation measures in accordance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code are required for new residential construction, including additions, located within the noise zones.
It is a construction cost rather than a prohibition, and a contractor who does not work this part of the city regularly may not have carried it in a quote. Worth asking about explicitly.
The State Clocks Still Run
All of the above sits on top of section 15.2-2307 rather than instead of it. Two years to repair, rebuild or replace before the protected right lapses, and two years of discontinuance capable of ending nonconforming status.
Near the base an owner is therefore working against a deadline and a ceiling at the same time, which is the combination that makes these the most time-sensitive files in the city.
Oceana in Context
Where noise exposure varies but the accident zones mostly do not reach, see our page about the Oceanfront and resort area. Where none of this applies, see our page for Kempsville and Centerville.
The Provisions Behind a Flight Path File
The overlay sits at Article 18 of the City Zoning Ordinance, with the compatibility table at section 1804. The city adopted the APZ-1 and Clear Zone Master Plan in 2008, following the 2005 BRAC listing, and uses 14 February 2006 as the date from which incompatible uses are treated as nonconforming.
On the state side, section 15.2-2307 gives 2 years to repair, rebuild or replace, protects restoration where damage exceeds 50 per cent, and points at section 15.2-2310 for variances.
Flight Path Questions
Can I Rebuild Bigger?
A replacement must be of equal or lesser density or intensity than the original. Bigger is the direction the ordinance exists to prevent.
Is My Parcel Actually in APZ-1?
The city publishes AICUZ mapping and the zoning administrator confirms it by address. It is worth confirming rather than inferring from how close the jets sound.
Will You Buy Near the Base?
Yes. The ceiling affects the figure and it does not stop us buying, and we will tell you what we assumed could be built.