Locality Portal Home Page

Welcome to the CCRM Locality Portal Home Page!

When this page content was originally published in 2013, it was built in response to a General Assembly mandate to VIMS to prepare “Comprehensive Coastal Community Resource Management Plans (CCRMPs)” for each locality in Coastal Virginia, as prescribed in the Code of Virginia (“the Code”). You may find lingering references to the CCRMPs elsewhere on the CCRM and VIMS internet pages.

The CCRMPs are referenced in the Code as a technical assistance product for localities. These plans were developed from locality-specific shoreline inventories and other supporting studies and were prepared for each locality as PDF documents available through this Locality Portal. The original CCRMP reports are now historical documents and can be obtained by contacting us at the contact information listed below.

The CCRM continues to update shoreline inventories using remote sensing and satellite aerial imagery, plus ground level observations. These updates, all in digital format, can now be found as the Shoreline Inventory GIS data layers and the MapMyShore Verified Data Layer in the Virginia Coastal Resources Tool Map Viewer within the Virginia Coastal Resource Tool. Spatial datasets can be searched by locality name. In addition, other locality-specific surveys, mapping tools, fact sheets, GIS data products, and other related studies remain on the individual Locality Portals, which now serve as a “Comprehensive Coastal Community Resource Management Portal” for these localities.

This Locality Portal landing page serves the evolving needs of Virginia’s local governments. The page now includes concise descriptions of the resources available within the Portal. Both this landing page and the individual locality sections, accessible through the index on the left for all jurisdictions within Virginia’s Coastal Zone, provide information supporting coastal resource management and resilience planning.

These materials are designed to assist Local Government Planners, Engineers, Emergency Managers, and Planning District Commissions in meeting state-mandated Comprehensive Planning requirements, as well as other provisions (“shalls” and “mays”) established in the Code of Virginia.

Additionally, the index panel highlights the broader Coastal Zone Management framework and the statutory mandates related to coastal resource management and flood resiliency. This context helps clarify how local planning authority is enabled under the Code.

VIMS is written into the Code to perform a unique scientific advisory role. As such, VIMS plays an important advisory service to the public, recognized as the Commonwealth’s scientific advisor to provide the foundational science to inform decision-makers on the formulation of policy and regulations pertaining to coastal resources management and to provide educational resources directly to citizens. This is why VIMS is frequently cited in the Code as being available to offer “technical assistance” to state agencies, PDCs, and localities for the development of their policies and regulations in the local Comprehensive Plan and local development ordinances pertaining to coastal resources management and for statewide management plans.

We are here for you to provide you with the technical assistance you need to prepare your locality’s policies, plans, and regulations! Do not hesitate to contact us if you need help or have a question understanding or using this information via email at ccrminfo@vims.edu.