THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 25, 1995 TAG: 9503250312
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILMINGTON LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission ended on Friday a one-year review of rules governing sandbag use, approving new restrictions for the erosion-control devices.
The commission voted 8-3 to adopt rules strengthening restrictions on the use of sandbag structures. The new legislation clarifies the length of time and conditions under which sandbags can be used to protect beachfront homes, motels and other buildings.
``We started out with a simple request to define `temporary,' '' said Preston Pate Jr., an assistant director of the Division of Coastal Management. ``That has developed into a broader discussion about sandbags.''
Beginning April 1, sandbag structures will not be allowed to remain in place for more than two years for most private homes along the state's coast. For larger buildings, sandbags will be able to be used to up to five years. But the bags only will be able to be used one time per property.
Some oceanfront property owners who have been prohibited from installing sandbags in the past now will be allowed to do so under a provision in the rule changes that would let oceanfront property owners use sandbags to protect septic tanks.
The rules were approved over the objections of Dare County Planner Ray Sturza. Sturza said the state should provide relocation grants if rules are going to require oceanfront property owners to expose their property to the destructive forces of the ocean's surf without allowing them to use sandbags to protect that property.
``It's a question of movability,'' Sturza said. ``In Dare County, we have some oceanfront property that is readily movable - and some that is not.
``That's where we're going to run into our biggest problem,'' he said. ``And it's a problem that we struggle with in Dare County.''
Sturza said relocation grants would help those oceanfront property owners whose businesses or homes were built before the state's ban on beach-hardening structures went into effect 10 years ago. That ban emphasizes that property owners should retreat in the face of beach erosion, rather than trying to shore up their properties.
Those property owners ``need more than just a regulation that just says, `Y'all have got to go,' '' Sturza said.
In recent years, as the ocean surf has crept closer to beachfront property, sandbags have become a familiar sight along the northeastern North Carolina coast.
Under the state's oceanfront erosion control policy, property owners must move buildings faced with damage from erosion rather than protect the structures with bulkheads, seawalls or jetties.
As a temporary measure, the commission has allowed beachfront property owners to place sandbags in front of buildings when erosion is within 20 feet of the structures to protect them from the effects of ocean surf while their owners make arrangements to move them.
But increasingly, property owners have begun treating sandbag walls as permanent structureswhich, in some cases, have risen as high as 10 feet along stretches of Dare County beach, blocking public access. Other sandbag walls have remained along the beachfront long after the buildings they were protecting were removed, creating a nuisance for beach-goers.
Two years ago, many residents along the northeastern North Carolina coast, including the environmental group Surfrider Foundation, objected to the long-term use of sandbags along the beach. Division of Coastal Management staff members said much of the state's policy on the use of sandbags was too vague to be enforced.
Currently, about 2,500 feet of sandbags are being used on 30 pieces of private oceanfront property along the northern Outer Banks. Another 5,000 feet of sandbags are in place along a one-mile stretch of N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island. Sandbags also are being used at the foot of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
``The simple fact of life is we have adopted a policy that says move or relocate,'' said Courtney Hackney, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. ``The question is how much time we give people to relocate their property.'' MEMO: RULES ON SANDBAGS
The rules on sandbag use approved by the Coastal Resources Commission on
Friday limit the amount of time sandbags can be in place and restrict
the size of sandbag walls. They also specify what structures can be
protected and who is responsible for removing the bags. Here's a look at
the proposals, which go into effect April 1:
What is threatened: Sandbags only can be used to protect ``imminently
threatened'' structures, which means a structure's foundation or a
right-of-way in the case of roads is less than 20 feet away from the
erosion scarp.
What can be protected: Expands the use of sandbags to include the
principal building and its associated septic system.
How long they can be used: Limits sand bag structures to two years from
the date of their approval for buildings less than 5,000 square feet; or
five years for larger buildings; or until the structure they have been
protecting has been relocated or removed from the property, whichever is
shorter. The rules extend the two-year time period for buildings in
communities that are actively pursuing a beach nourishment project.
How often they can be used: Limits sand bag use to once per property,
regardless of ownership.
Bag size: Sandbags used to build temporary erosion control structures
must be tan in color, three to five feet wide, and seven to 15 feet long
when measured flat. The base width of the erontrol structure limiteto 20
feet and its height to st.
Who removes: The individual who receives a permit to install sandbags is
responsible for removing them or making repairs to any damaged sandbags.
Once sandbags are covered by dunes and stable vegetation, they will not
have to be removed.
Existing sandbag structures: Existing sandbag structures that have been
properly authorized and installed before May 1, 1995 can remain in place
for the appropriate time period.
Source: N.C. Division of Coastal Management.
KEYWORDS: EROSION SANDBAG by CNB