Vacation of Public Easement – Virginia Beach, VA

The Vacation of Public Easement Submittal is the City of Virginia Beach form that accompanies a request to vacate a public easement on its own, when the request is not part of a final subdivision plat, listing the required items and the design professional's certification.

The form states that a separate vacation requires a deed of vacation and/or a plat, depending on how the easement was created. If the easement was created by plat, it can usually be vacated by plat. If it was created by deed, it must be vacated by deed.

The City of Virginia Beach Department of Planning and Community Development publishes the form, and it carries the contact details of the Development Services Center (DSC). The form is a one-page checklist and certification. It lists the review fee, the vacation plat or deed of vacation with an attached exhibit, the project narrative and the approval letter from Public Works Real Estate. It also asks which City staff were informed of the vacation and what issues were discussed. It ends with a certification signed by the Design Professional of record.

The form says the submittal is checked for completeness before it is accepted for review, and incomplete submittals are not accepted.

Property owners and their Design Professionals of record who want to vacate a public easement separately, without a final subdivision plat, use this submittal. The form is completed and certified by the Design Professional of record, who confirms that all required items are included and are 100% designed for approval.

Exclusion: the form says it applies when the vacation is not associated with the submittal of a final subdivision plat. If your easement vacation is part of a final subdivision plat, this form is not the one the city describes for that case.

The form also separates cases by how the easement was created. An easement created by plat can usually be vacated by plat. An easement created by deed must be vacated by deed, so you need to know which instrument created it before you prepare the package.

The form does not describe any other representative or authorized signer.

Submit the form when you are ready to request the separate vacation of a public easement and have every required item prepared, because the Development Services Center checks each submittal for completeness before accepting it for review. The form sets no calendar deadline.

Two timing points are printed on it. The review fee must be paid before the plat is accepted for review. Signed originals and recording fees are requested later, when the vacation is ready for recordation. The form does not state how long review takes.

The form describes electronic submission through the city's online web portal, with payment of the review fee and later delivery of signed originals.

• Online web portal: submit the vacation plat or deed of vacation with its attached exhibit, and each supporting item (the project narrative and the approval letter from Public Works Real Estate), as electronic documents. The form does not print the portal address; use the Development Services Center at VirginiaBeach.gov/DSC.
• Review fee: a review fee applies and must be paid before the plat is accepted for review. Check the DSC Submittal Fee Chart for the amount.
• Signed originals and recording fees: the city requests these when the vacation is ready for recordation.
• Questions: call (757) 385-4621 or email [email protected].

FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.