Chesapeake Bay Preservation Plan

The updated Chesapeake Bay Preservation Plan, a required element of Arlington's comprehensive plan, was adopted in 2023.

Read the adopted 2023 Chesapeake Bay Preservation Plan Update(PDF, 35MB)

The Bay Act provides the components and criteria that local governments must adopt and implement in their programs. The CBPP was updated to reflect current conditions and include up-to-date policies and procedures designed to address the County’s regulatory Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act requirements. The plan update was meant to document that Arlington has the correct programs and processes in place. Required plan components include:  

• Defining and mapping Resource Protection Areas (RPAs) 
• Criteria to help prevent pollution during development 
• Controls for land use, development, and subdivision 
• Inclusion in comprehensive plan and ordinances.  

Extensive engagement on plan components had already occurred previously and was or will be included in other County plans and documents, including

• Stormwater Master Plan (2014),
• Resource Protection Area updates (2018), 
• Floodplain Ordinance and Flood Insurance Rate Maps,
• Forestry and Natural Resource Management Plan (2023),  
• Public Space Master Plan (2019) and others. 

Chesapeake Bay Preservation Plan Update Engagement Process

2001 Chesapeake Bay Preservation Plan 

The original Chesapeake Bay Preservation Plan was adopted April 2001:

• Identifies and characterizes the County’s water resources and examines the extent to which they have been affected by urban land activities.
• Maps actions that we can take to help preserve and restore local streams, the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Bay.
• Meets the Comprehensive Plan requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Designation and Management Regulations.
• Establishes criteria to minimize or reduce pollution during development and redevelopment, in adherence with the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance.