VIRGINIA BEACH — A state delegate who wants to protect Virginia Beach’s agricultural industry is the initiator of a proposed city charter amendment under consideration by City Council this month.
Del. Barry Knight, a retired hog farmer in southern Virginia Beach, is requesting a higher threshold in the approval process for development into the city’s most rural area.
Knight said he’s concerned about the city’s growing interest in rezoning agricultural land for industrial uses. He questions whether he and other farmers will have enough support of the City Council under the current district-based election system. One council member, Barbara Henley, represents the area.
Current law requires six affirmative votes from the 11-person council to approve intense land use applications south of the so-called “Blue Line,” which is roughly defined as Indian River Road. The proposed charter amendment would require approval from a supermajority, or nine council members.
Del. Barry Knight is running unopposed. (Courtesy of Barry Knight)
“The Blue Line is the line of demarcation,” Knight said in an interview on Thursday.
While many residents have likely heard of the “Green Line,” a transition between the urbanized portion of the city and the rural area to the south, the Blue Line is a lesser known distinction.
The city’s public utilities department introduced the Blue Line in 2004. It’s south of the Green Line and what is known as the transition area. The Blue Line marks the end of city water and sewer services.
Knight, a Republican, is running for reelection for House District 98 in November and faces Democrat Cheryl Smith. He pitched the charter change amendment to Mayor Bobby Dyer and Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson earlier this year, and they added it to the city’s draft legislative agenda for the 2026 General Assembly session.
“This is to protect our rural agricultural area,” Wilson said at a City Council recent meeting. “We thought this would be a great way to show the public how important that agricultural area is.”
Smith said she plans to gather information about the proposed charter amendment but supports requiring additional affirmative votes to approve intense use below the Blue Line due to environmental concerns.
A public hearing was held on the Blue Line amendment on Oct. 7. There were no speakers on the item, but Wilson read a statement in support of it from the Virginia Beach Farm Bureau, an organization that supports farmers and agricultural interests in the region. Knight serves as the vice president.
The City Council is scheduled to vote on the legislative agenda and the charter change on Oct. 21. It takes nine council members to agree for a charter change request.
Related Articles
Newport News library throws away hundreds of books
Hampton building off ‘milestone year’ for water resiliency with several projects
Norfolk wants new parking deck near Harbor Park
Virginia Beach will launch e-bike task force to recommend regulations, enforcement
BMX or skateboarding? Virginia Beach wants another sports venue at the Oceanfront
The proposed amendment would officially define the Blue Line and layout the requirement for a supermajority council vote on land use within its boundaries.
It states: “No land use application to the City Council south of the blue line creating a more intense use than the then-current approval for such property on the effective date of this legislation shall be approved except by a recorded affirmative vote of three-fourths of all of the members elected to the City Council.”
According to the proposed amendment, the Blue Line runs along North Landing Road to Indian River Road. It then extends eastward to New Bridge Road and proceeds north until it intersects with Sandbridge Road. It then proceeds eastward tracing the eastern and southern boundaries of the Sandbridge Special Service District to the Atlantic Ocean.
Knight believes it’s critical to protect agricultural land below the Blue Line now more than ever. He’s aware of the city’s growing interest in exploring industrial development south of the Green Line.
“I know that’s open for discussion,” said Knight. “The City Council will have to make that decision.”
He wants to get ahead of any potential further sprawl.
“I want to protect my neck of the woods, where I live and all my friends and neighbors live,” he said.
Knight also is concerned about the agricultural industry’s leverage under the city’s current district-based election system as opposed to its previous system in which council members were elected by voters across the city.
“We don’t have the accountability that we had down here when they went to the 10-1 system,” Knight said. “We used to have a Farm Bureau and a Creeds Ruritan Club forum down here every two years, and we got to weigh in on 11 candidates. We would bring them down here, and we would hold their feet to the fire, and say, ‘Do you believe in agriculture? Do you believe it’s worth preserving?’ Now we can only hold two accountable, the mayor and our district representative.”
Knight said if he’s reelected, he will offer to carry the charter amendment legislation and will reach out to other Virginia Beach legislators to co-patron it.
“I want concurrence with everybody,” he said. “I’m going to try to see if we can all do it as a kumbaya moment.”
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
