Christopher Taylor-Candidate District 8
CSV Candidate Questionnaire Responses
Office Sought: City Council
District: 8
Campaign Email: christaylorforvb@gmail.com
Phone Number: 757-752-9144
Campaign Website and/or Social Media:
www.christaylorforvb.com
Priorities & Philosophy
What are your top three priorities for Virginia Beach over the next four years?
Candidate Response
My top priorities are restoring public trust through transparent government, protecting neighborhoods and natural assets, and supporting responsible economic growth that strengthens families, small businesses, and the long-term fiscal health of Virginia Beach.
How do you define “responsible growth” in Virginia Beach?
Candidate Response
Responsible growth means development that respects existing neighborhoods, protects the environment, improves infrastructure, and creates long-term public value without shifting unfair burdens onto residents.
When growth, neighborhood and natural preservation conflict, how do you approach that decision?
Candidate Response
I start with the people most impacted, review the facts, weigh the long-term costs, and ask whether the decision protects public trust, neighborhood quality of life, and the natural resources that make Virginia Beach unique.
Neighborhoods & Land Use
What criteria will you personally use when voting on rezoning or development proposals when residents express concern over excessive density?
Candidate Response
When residents raise concerns about excessive density, I will evaluate whether the proposal fits the surrounding neighborhood, whether roads, schools, drainage, public safety, and utilities can support it, and whether the project protects quality of life and natural resources. I will also weigh the Comprehensive Plan, staff analysis, and public input, but my standard will be simple: growth should solve problems, not create new burdens for existing residents.
How do you propose to ease the housing shortage and affordability issues in Virginia Beach while protecting the use and enjoyment rights of current residential neighborhoods?
Candidate Response
I believe Virginia Beach can address housing affordability without forcing excessive density into established neighborhoods. My approach is to focus growth where infrastructure already exists, encourage redevelopment of underused commercial corridors, support workforce and senior housing near jobs and services, and use public-private partnerships that produce real affordability, not just higher density.
At the same time, current residents have a right to the use and enjoyment of their neighborhoods. That means protecting neighborhood character, managing traffic, drainage, parking, school capacity, and public safety impacts, and requiring developers to prove that a proposal fits before asking residents to absorb the burden.
Should the City’s Open Space Fund prioritize acquiring parks and natural areas in underserved neighborhoods before purchasing land from large private landowners?
Candidate Response
Other:
What criteria would you use to prioritize future Open Space acquisitions?
Candidate Response
I would prioritize Open Space acquisitions that protect flood-prone land, wetlands, tree canopy, wildlife habitat, agricultural resources, and areas that improve public access to parks, trails, and waterways. I would also weigh urgency, development pressure, long-term maintenance cost, and whether the acquisition protects neighborhood quality of life and preserves the natural character of Virginia Beach.
In what ways will you support making development information more accessible to residents and promote residents having earlier and more meaningful input in development decisions?
Candidate Response
I would support plain-language project summaries, clearer public notices, online access to site plans and staff reports, and earlier neighborhood meetings before proposals are too far along to change. Residents should not have to be land-use experts to understand what is being proposed, how it affects their neighborhood, and when their input can still shape the outcome.
Natural Resources & Environment
Will you support policies and measures that increase Virginia Beach’s tree canopy?
Candidate Response
Yes
Virginia Beach has over 900 lakes and ponds, many of which are incorporated into our stormwater management system but are experiencing sediment infill. What solutions will you support to improve our coastal resiliency through the use of these environmental assets?
Candidate Response
I would support a citywide inventory and maintenance plan for lakes and ponds that identifies sediment buildup, drainage function, ownership responsibility, and priority projects for dredging, restoration, and long-term upkeep. I would also support using these assets as part of a broader resiliency strategy, including wetland buffers, native vegetation, improved outfalls, stormwater retrofits, and partnerships with neighborhoods so these ponds protect both property and water quality.
How do you plan to protect Virginia Beach’s natural resources from data center expansion?
Candidate Response
I would require data center proposals to prove they will not harm wetlands, waterways, flood-prone areas, neighborhoods, or the city’s long-term energy and water capacity before approval.
How should the city balance development with the recommendations from the Dewberry Report and ensure the protection of wetlands, waterways, and flood-prone areas?
Candidate Response
The Dewberry Report should be treated as a guiding document for responsible decisions, meaning development should avoid high-risk flood areas, protect wetlands and waterways, and not shift future stormwater costs onto residents.
What is your position on the Green Line for the next 5, 10, 20 years?
Candidate Response
I support protecting the Green Line as a long-term boundary that preserves rural land, agricultural resources, open space, and the environmental character that makes Virginia Beach unique.
Historic Preservation
Virginia Beach is home to sites and events of national significance, including the First Landing, the Lynnhaven settlements, and the Battle of the Capes. What specific investments or initiatives would you support to better preserve, interpret, and promote our history over the next decade?
Candidate Response
I would support a citywide heritage plan that invests in historic markers, digital storytelling, school partnerships, preservation grants, and better public access to sites tied to First Landing, the Lynnhaven settlements, the Battle of the Capes, and local African American, Indigenous, military, and maritime history.
What specific actions would you support to preserve the character and identity of Virginia Beach’s historic neighborhoods, waterfront communities, and cultural landscapes?
Candidate Response
I would support stronger neighborhood preservation tools, design standards where appropriate, early resident input on redevelopment, protection of view corridors and waterfront character, and incentives to restore historic structures rather than replace them with incompatible development.
Do you support protecting historically, culturally, or archaeologically significant sites even when doing so may reduce development density or economic return for private landowners?
Candidate Response
Yes
Do you believe Virginia Beach invests adequately in preserving, interpreting, and promoting its history? Why or why not? If not, what specific improvements would you support over the next four years?
Candidate Response
I believe Virginia Beach has important historic assets, but we have not invested enough in telling that story in a coordinated, visible, and accessible way. Over the next four years, I would support a citywide heritage plan, better signage and digital interpretation, partnerships with schools and museums, preservation grants, and stronger promotion of local African American, Indigenous, military, maritime, agricultural, and waterfront history.
How would you ensure redevelopment does not erode the character and identity of long-established communities?
Candidate Response
I would require redevelopment to respect the scale, history, infrastructure, and lived experience of the surrounding community before approval. That means early resident input, stronger design standards, protection from excessive density, traffic and drainage review, and clear conditions that preserve neighborhood character rather than allowing redevelopment to erase it.
Infrastructure & Fiscal Responsibility
In what ways should new development be required to account for the full cost of infrastructure impacts (roads, drainage, schools, public safety)?
Candidate Response
New development should be required to provide clear impact analysis for roads, drainage, schools, utilities, and public safety before approval. When a project creates new infrastructure demands, developers should contribute fairly through proffers, conditions, impact mitigation, or public-private agreements so existing residents are not left paying the bill.
Will you support stronger requirements for stormwater management tied to new development?
Candidate Response
yes
What policies would you support to provide tax relief to residents of Virginia Beach, such as repealing the Meal Tax, Homestead Exemptions for Seniors, and reducing the tax rate?
Candidate Response
I would support a full review of city tax burdens, including meals tax impacts, real estate tax rates, and targeted relief for seniors and fixed-income residents, while protecting core services. Tax increases should be justified, transparent, and tied to measurable public needs.
How do you determine what public/private partnerships you would support with taxpayer dollars?
Candidate Response
I would only support public/private partnerships when there is a clear public benefit, transparent financial terms, shared risk, measurable outcomes, and protection against taxpayers subsidizing private profit without accountability.
How do you envision the future of ITA lands?
Candidate Response
ITA lands should be handled carefully, with priority given to environmental protection, flood mitigation, open space, agriculture, and uses that preserve the long-term character and resilience of Virginia Beach.
Should Virginia Beach prioritize infrastructure and resilience investments before approving higher-density development in certain areas?
Candidate Response
Yes
Decision Making
When given the opportunity to recommend citizens to advisory boards and Planning Commission, how would you determine who you nominate or whose term you recommend extending?
Candidate Response
Utilize the Talent Bank for candidates of recommendation.
How would you determine when to abstain from voting on a redevelopment project?
Candidate Response
Moral conviction.
If presented by a private developer, would you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement on a redevelopment project while serving as a City Council member?
Candidate Response
Other:
If a special interest organization donates to your campaign or offers other incentives to you, how do you ensure that you give equal time and consideration to the concerns of other parties when considering a vote on that donor’s project, or do you think such donations should be refused or returned?
Candidate Response
Moral conviction and ethical standards outlined in the ICMA Code of Ethics
Commitment
If endorsed, are you willing to publicly support the principles of Conserve Virginia Beach? These principles are the protection of neighborhoods, the preservation of natural resources, safeguarding of historic amenities, and avoidance of fiscal and physical waste.
Candidate Response
Yes
Is there anything else you would like voters to understand about your approach?
Candidate Response
No