                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

WETLANDS AND RIPARIAN BUFFERS; LIVING SHORELINES (§ 58.1-3666)

Wetlands, as defined herein, that are subject to a perpetual easement permitting
inundation by water, and riparian buffers, as defined herein, that are subject
to a perpetual easement permitting inundation by water, are hereby declared to
be a separate class of property and shall constitute a classification for local
taxation separate from other classifications of real property. The governing
body of any county, city or town may, by ordinance, exempt or partially exempt
such property from local taxation. In addition, any living shoreline project
approved by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission or the applicable local
wetlands board and not prohibited by local ordinance that satisfies the
definition of a living shoreline consistent with § 28.2-104.1 shall qualify for
full exemption from such taxation by local governments.
		&#8220;Riparian buffer&#8221; means an area of trees, shrubs or other
vegetation, subject to a perpetual easement permitting inundation by water, that
is (i) at least thirty-five feet in width, (ii) adjacent to a body of water, and
(iii) managed to maintain the integrity of stream channels and shorelines and
reduce the effects of upland sources of pollution by trapping, filtering, and
converting sediments, nutrients, and other chemicals.
		&#8220;Wetlands&#8221; means an area that is inundated or saturated by surface
or ground water at a frequency or duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal conditions does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for
life in saturated soil conditions, and that is subject to a perpetual easement
permitting inundation by water.

HISTORY: 1998, c. 516; 2016, c. 610.