58.1-3666 - Wetlands and riparian buffers.
§ 58.1-3666. Wetlands and riparian buffers.
Wetlands, as defined herein, that are subject to a perpetual easementpermitting inundation by water, and riparian buffers, as defined herein, thatare subject to a perpetual easement permitting inundation by water, arehereby declared to be a separate class of property and shall constitute aclassification for local taxation separate from other classifications of realproperty. The governing body of any county, city or town may, by ordinance,exempt or partially exempt such property from local taxation.
"Riparian buffer" 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 andreduce the effects of upland sources of pollution by trapping, filtering, andconverting sediments, nutrients, and other chemicals.
"Wetlands" means an area that is inundated or saturated by surface orground water at a frequency or duration sufficient to support, and that undernormal conditions does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adaptedfor life in saturated soil conditions, and that is subject to a perpetualeasement permitting inundation by water.
(1998, c. 516.)