CHAPTER 33

An Act to incorporate the city of Virginia Beach; and to repeal Chap
76 of the Acts of Assembly of 1906, approved March 6, 1906, which
incorporated the town of Virginia Beach, and all amendments thereto.

[H 59]

Approved February 14, 1952
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 1. The territory hereinafter described, having a population in
excess of five thousand according to the nineteen hundred fifty federal
vensus, and the inhabitants thereof, shall be a body, politic and corporate,
to be known and designated as the city of Virginia Beach and as such
shall have and may exercise all powers which are now or hereafter may
be conferred upon or delegated to cities of the second class under the Con-
stitution and laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, as fully and com-
pletely as though said powers were specifically enumerated herein and no
enumeration of particular powers by this charter shall be held to be
exclusive, provided, however, that the territory described in clause “‘B”’ of
this section which was annexed to the town of Virginia Beach by an order
of the Circuit Court of Princess Anne County, Virginia, entered on the
twenty-eighth day of May, nineteen hundred twenty-three, shall be subject
to the terms, conditions and provisions of said order; and provided further
that the territory described in clause “C”’ of this section which was annexed
to the town of Virginia Beach by an order of the Circuit Court of Princess
Anne County, Virginia, entered on the fourteenth day of May, nineteen
hundred twenty-eight, shall be subject to the terms, conditions and provi-
sions of said order.
Original Territory.

The territory described in an act of the General Assembly of Virginia,
approved March sixth, nineteen hundred six:

Beginning at a point in the county of Princess Anne, on the Atlantic
Ocean, where the Chautauqua by the Sea and W. H. Hall’s line adjoin;
thence running northerly along the Atlantic Ocean to Twenty-sixth (26th)
Street to Linkhorn Bay; thence running southerly along Linkhorn Bay and
following the westerly boundary of the Virginia Beach Development Com-
pany’s property until it strikes Parks Avenue, as shown on the plat of
Virginia Beach, recorded with the deed to Robert M. Hughes, duly recorded
in the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of Princess Anne County, Vir-
ginia, on July twenty-first (21st), eighteen hundred eighty-seven (1887) ;
thence running south down the center of Parks Avenue through the prop-
erty now or formerly the Atlantic Investment Company until it strikes
the lines of the Virginia Beach Development Company’s property; thence
following the boundary of the Virginia Beach Development Company’s
property to a cove in Lake Rudee; thence running eastwardly along the
southern boundary of the Virginia Beach Development Company’s prop-
erty to a point in Hall’s line; thence eastwardly in a straight line to the
point of beginning.

Annexation of nineteen hundred twenty-three. The territory described
in a certain order entered by the Circuit Court of Princess Anne County,
Virginia, on the twenty-eighth day of May, nineteen hundred twenty-three,
in the annexation proceedings of town of Virginia Beach against Board of
Supervisors of Princess Anne County, Virginia:

Beginning at the northwestern corner of the corporate limits of the
town of Virginia Beach, which is located in an arm of Linkhorn Bay and
running thence northwestwardly down the center of said arm of said Link-
horn Bay and continuing thence down the center line of said Linkhorn Bay
proper as it meanders, until said line intersects with a line extended or
prolonged in a straight line from the shore of the northern side of a road
which constitutes, in part, the northern boundary of the property of the
Virginia Beach Development Company, known as Linkhorn Park, as shown
on a plat or map of Linkhorn Park property of Virginia Beach Develop-
ment Company, recorded in the Clerk’s Office of Princess Anne County,
Virginia, in Map Book 5, page 151; thence eastwardly along the northern
side of said road to a point marked “Walnut” on said map or plat; thence
in an eastwardly direction to a point marked “Hickory”, on said map or
plat; thence northeastwardly along the center line of a ravine to Crystal
Lake, on said map or plat; thence across Crystal Lake in a line drawn
northeastwardly from the center line of said ravine to a point where the
northern side of an extension of a road known as “Holly Road”, would
intersect with the eastern shore of said Crystal Lake, as shown on said
map; thence in a southeasterly direction along the eastern side of said
extension of said road to a point where the southern line of the property
of the Holly Beach Corporation intersects with said road as shown on said
map, which said line is a prolongation or extension of the northern line
of 40th Street; thence in an easterly direction along said last mentioned
line and the northern side of 40th Street to the Atlantic Ocean; thence
southwardly along the Atlantic Ocean to the northern boundary of the
present town of Virginia Beach where it intersects with said Atlantic
Ocean; thence westwardly along the northern boundary line of the present
town of Virginia Beach to the point of beginning.

Annexation of nineteen hundred twenty-eight. The territory described
in a certain order entered in the Circuit Court of Princess Anne County,
Virginia, on the fourteenth day of May, nineteen hundred twenty-eight,
in the annexation proceedings of town of Virginia Beach against Board
of Supervisors of Princess Anne County, Virginia:

Beginning at a point which is the intersection of the northern boun-
dary of the present town of Virginia Beach with the Atlantic Ocean, said
point being at the intersection of a prolongation of the northern line of
40th Street with the Atlantic Ocean, and running thence westwardly along
said northern boundary of the present town of Virginia Beach (being
along the northern boundary of said 40th Street and a prolongation there-
of) to a point in the eastern boundary of the present town of Virginia
Beach, which point is at the intersection of a prolongation of the northern
line of said 40th Street with the eastern line of Holly Road; running
thence along the eastern boundary of the present town of Virginia Beach,
being the eastern line of said Holly Road, in a general northerly direction,
and along the eastern shore of Crystal Lake to a point marked ‘‘A” on the
map hereto attached, and made a part of this decree; thence in an easterly
direction along the southern line of the property designated on said map
as “Formerly Mrs. Butts,” across Atlantic Boulevard to the Atlantic
Ocean; thence in a southerly direction, along said Atlantic Ocean to the
point of beginning. The said property hereinabove described being desig-
nated by and included in lines made in red ink on the plat annexed to, and
hereby made a part of this decree.

§ 2. The mayor and councilmen of the town, as now constituted, shall
continue in office as mayor and councilmen of the city with the same
powers and duties until their present terms of office expire. After the
expiration of the present terms of office of the mayor and councilmen
there shall be five councilmen for the city, all of whom shall be electors of
the city and shall be elected by the qualified electors of the city. On the
second Tuesday of June, nineteen hundred fifty-two, there shall be elected
at large two councilmen for the city for a term of four years, beginning
September one, nineteen hundred fifty-two; on the second Tuesday in June,
nineteen hundred fifty-four, three councilmen shall be elected at large in
the city for a term of four years, beginning September one, nineteen hun-
dred fifty-four; on September one, nineteen hundred fifty-four, or at its
first meeting after that date the Council shall elect one of its members as
chairman who shall be ex-officio mayor.

On or before September one, nineteen hundred fifty-two, the judge
of the Circuit Court of Princess Anne County shall appoint a resident of
the city as tiebreaker for the council of the city, who shall hold office
until August thirty-one, nineteen hundred fifty-four. The tiebreaker shall
vote only in case of a tie vote of all members of the council and the pro-
visions of § 15-245 as to tiebreakers for boards of supervisors shall apply
mutatis mutandis to such tiebreaker.

§ 3. The council of the city of Virginia Beach, may, in its discretion,
elect a city manager who may serve also as city engineer. Upon the elec-
tion of a city manager by the council he shall be vested with the adminis-
trative and executive powers of the city and shall hold office during the
pleasure of the council. He shall receive such compensation as shall be
fixed by the council. The city manager shall see that within the city the
laws, ordinances, resolutions and by-laws of the council are faithfully
executed. He shall attend all meetings of the Council and recommend
for adoption such measures as he shall deem expedient. He shall make
reports to the council from time to time upon the affairs of the city, keep
the council fully advised of the city’s financial condition and its future
financial needs. He shall prepare and submit to the council a tentative
budget for each fiscal year. He shall perform such other duties as may be
prescribed by the council and shall be bonded as the council may deem
necessary.

§ 4. There shall be a treasurer, a commissioner of the revenue and a
city sergeant, who shall be elected for a term of four years and each shall
serve until his successor shall have qualified. The treasurer, the commis-
sioner of the revenue and the city sergeant shall be elected at the general
election the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, nineteen hundred
fifty-four, and take office January one, nineteen hundred fifty-five. The
treasurer of the town of Virginia Beach shall continue to be treasurer
of the city of Virginia Beach for the balance of his unexpired term and
until his successor is duly elected and qualified January one, nineteen hun-
dred fifty-five. The treasurer shall also serve as clerk to the city council.
For such additional services as clerk, the council shall determine the
amount of compensation to be paid by the city.

§ 5. There shall be a police justice for the city who shall be an
elector of the city and shall be elected by the council of the city at its
first regular meeting in September, nineteen hundred fifty-two and every
two years thereafter; and be shall enter upon the duties of his office
immediately upon qualification in the manner prescribed by law for
the qualification of justices of the peace and shall continue in office
until his successor is elected and qualified. The police justice shall have
the same jurisdiction for the trial of the violation of city ordinances as is,
granted to police justices of cities by the laws of the State of Virginia.
He shall receive as compensation for his services such compensation as
the council may prescribe.

The council shall also elect an assistant police justice who shall qualify
in the same manner as the police justice is required to qualify, and whose
term of office shall be coterminous with that of the police justice. Such
assistant police justice shall have the same powers and shall perform all
duties of the police justice in his absence and in all cases which may be
improper for him to try on account of interest, or for any other reason.

§ 6. The city of Virginia Beach shall constitute a separate school
division. It shall have a school board consisting of three members, one
of whom shall be appointed annually by the council of the city to serve
for a term of three years; the eligibility and compensation of the members
of the school board shall be the same as prescribed by law. The persons
who are members of the board for the town at the time the charter takes.
effect shall continue in office for the city until the expiration of their terms.

The school board shall be a body corporate under the name of the
school board of the city of Virginia Beach by which name it may sue and
be sued, contract and be contracted with, purchase, take, hold, lease and
convey school property, both real and personal.

§ 7. The city shall not be divided into wards; however, the council
shall establish a suffcient number of voting precincts in the city for the
convenience of the electors.
§ 8. Taxation on all real estate and tangible personal property in the
city of Virginia Beach for the entire year of nineteen hundred fifty-two
and subsequent years shall be subject to and under control of the council
of the city, and the board of supervisors of the county of Princess Anne
shall have no power to levy or collect any taxes on real estate and tangible
personal property in the city of Virginia Beach after December thirty-
one, nineteen hundred fifty-one, other than the unpaid taxes for the years
prior to nineteen hundred fifty-two.

§ 9. The city shall have power to impose taxes on real estate and
personal property within the city for nineteen hundred fifty-two and sub-
sequent years. The assessments of such property, formerly within the
town, shall be certified to the city by the commissioner of the revenue of
the county of Princess Anne which assessments shall continue until
changed as provided by law. The State Corporation Commission shall
certify to the city the assessments of such property as is assessed by the
State Corporation Commission within the territory embraced within the
city. The city may impose a license tax for doing business within the city
for such portion of nineteen hundred fifty-two as may remain after the
incorporation of the city and thereafter shall have power to impose such
license taxes as are provided by law.

The council of the city of Virginia Beach may, in its discretion, fix
‘such annual levy on property subject to taxation in the city of Virginia
Beach for city purposes at a rate of not exceeding five dollars per hundred
of assessed valuation of such property, providing that the council
shall not fix such levy on property partially segregated to the State for
the purposes of State taxation at a rate higher than is or may be permitted
by the general laws relating thereto; provided further that for the purpose
of retiring any general obligation bonds of the city issued after its incor-
poration the council shall have power to levy a tax on locally taxable real
and personal property without limitation as to rate or amount if the bond
issue shall have been approved at an election held for that purpose.

The council of the city of Virginia Beach shall have power, in its dis-
cretion, to spend not exceeding three per centum of its annual revenue from
all sources in advertisement and giving publicity to its resources and
advantages.

§ 10. The city, its council and officers, shall have all the rights, privi-
leges and powers conferred by the Constitution and the general laws of
this Commonwealth upon cities of the second class, its council and its
officers.

§ 11. In addition to the powers herein and by general law conferred
the city shall have power in the following cases:

(a) Utilities services. To enter into contracts for supplying the city
and its inhabitants with water, gas, electric current and other public
utilities.

(b) Bonds and obligations. To issue bonds and other obligations
for municipal purposes.

(c) Taxes, assessments and licenses. To raise annually by taxes
and assessments in the city such sums of money as the council hereinafter
provided for shall deem necessary for the purposes of the city, in such
manner, on such subjects and transactions, and from such sources as the
council shall deem expedient, in accordance with the Constitution and laws
of this State and of the United States and the provisions of this charter,
and without limitation as to subject or rate except such as may be provided
thereby; provided, however, that it shall impose no tax on the bonds of
the city. In addition to the other powers conferred by law, the city shall
have the power to impose, levy and collect, in such manner as its council
shall deem expedient, a consumer or subscriber tax upon the amount paid
for the use of water, electricity, gas, local exchange telephone service,
except coin-operated telephones and any other public utility within the
city, or upon the amount paid for any one or more of such public utility
services, and the council may provide that such tax shall be added to and
collected with bills rendered consumers for such services.

(d) Utilities rates and charges. To establish, impose and enforce
water rates and charges for public utilities or other services, productions
or conveniences operated, rendered or furnished by the city.

(e) Zoning and building regulations. To establish zoning districts
and adopt and endorse building regulations and restrictions.

.(f) Streets. To alter, change and close streets, lanes and alleys.

(zg) Health and sanitation. To provide for the preservation of the
general health of the inhabitants of the city, and to make all necessary,
proper or convenient sanitary regulations.

(h) Police. To exercise full police powers and establish and main-
tain a department or division of police.

(i) General welfare. To do all things whatsoever necessary, proper,
expedient or convenient for promoting or maintaining the general wel-
fare, comfort, education, morals, government, health, trade, commerce and
industries of the city or its inhabitants.

(j) Legislation and enforcement. To make and enforce all ordi-
nances, resolutions, rules and regulations necessary, expedient or conven-
ient for the purpose of carrying into effect the powers conferred herein
or by any general law and to provide and impose suitable penalties for
the violation of such ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations, or any
of them, by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment not
exceeding six months, or both. The city may maintain a suit to restrain,
by injunction, the violation of any ordinance or resolution notwithstanding
such ordinance or resolution may provide punishment for its violation.

12. The enumeration of particular powers and authorities in this
charter shall not be deemed or held to be exclusive but such are in addition
to all other powers conferred upon cities of the second class, and.the city
may exercise all other powers which are now or may hereafter be possessed
or enjoyed by cities of the second class under the Constitution and general]
laws of the State.

§ 18. The city of Virginia Beach shall maintain a debt fund to be
held in cash or in investments safeguarded in accordance with all appli-
cable laws of Virginia and used to service its bonded and floating debt.
The city shall appropriate from its general funds and pay into the debt
fund the sum of sixty-five thousand dollars in each fiscal year until the
end of the fiscal year nineteen hundred sixty-four—sixty-five. The debt
fund shall be available and be used for the payment of interest on
and orderly amortization of the bonded and floating debt of the city as
it existed at the end of August, nineteen hundred forty, and shall not
be used for any other purpose.

During this period the city shall also appropriate yearly from its.
general funds the money required for interest on any bonded or floating
debt incurred after August thirty-first, nineteen hundred forty, and for
the amortization thereof at a rate to be fixed by the council of the city.

These moneys shall be paid into the debt fund and accounted for
separately in that fund and shall be used solely for the required interest
on the amortization of each separate debt incurred and no such debt shal]
be incurred except in connection with an ordinance specifying the yearly
interest and amortization rates.

After the end of the fiscal year nineteen hundred sixty-four—sixty-five
the city shall continue to maintain a debt fund until its bonded debt as
the same now exists shall have been paid in full with appropriations
thereto sufficient to avoid any default in such debt but thereafter the con-
tinuation of a debt fund shall rest within the discretion of the city.

§ 14. All ordinances of the town of Virginia Beach are continued in
force insofar as not in conflict with the provisions of this charter. All
officers of the town in office shall remain in office and serve under this
charter except as otherwise provided. All rights of and claims against the
town are continued and shall not be extinguished.

All provisions of the general laws of the State of Virginia pertaining
to cities of the second class shall be considered as part of this charter as
if fully and completely set out herein except as otherwise specifically pro-
vided herein; provided, however, that any annexation proceedings by the
town of Virginia Beach now pending will not be affected by reason of its
transition from a town to a city of the second class.

§ 15. Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to invalidate
or to in any manner affect the present existing indebtedness and liabilities
of the city of Virginia Beach, whether evidenced by bonded obligations or
otherwise or to relieve it of any part of its present obligation or liabilities
on account of district bond issues, liabilities or debts of whatsoever nature
or kind. All contracts and obligations of the town of Virginia Beach
heretofore made by the present council and not inconsistent with this
charter and general laws and the Constitution of the State of Virginia
‘Shall be and are hereby declared to be valid and legal obligations of the
‘city of Virginia Beach.

2. If any clause, sentence, paragraph or part of this act shall for any
reason be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid
such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of such
act but shall be confined in its operations to the clause, sentence, paragraph
or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which said judgment
shall have been rendered.

3. Chap 76 of the Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred six, approved
March six, nineteen hundred six, and all amendments thereto are repealed.
4. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.