THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412290399
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KITTY HAWK LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
When Steve Sheffield bought a seaside lot on this Outer Banks beach, he knew it would be a gamble to build so close to the ocean.
He didn't know, however, that he probably is the last person who will be permitted to take such a risk.
The $200,000 rental cottage Sheffield is now having built could be the last oceanfront house constructed in Kitty Hawk.
``There just aren't any lots left which are large enough to meet our setback requirements,'' Kitty Hawk Building Inspector Chet Forrester said Wednesday. ``You've got to have 60 feet between the dune line and the house to meet state codes. The town requires at least a 25-foot front yard.
``That's the last lot left that's deep enough to support a seaside structure,'' Forrester said of Sheffield's property. ``Unless someone tears down something and rebuilds, that will be the last oceanfront house to go up in this town.''
Just south of the Kitty Hawk pier, Sheffield's lot is about three miles north of the four homes that tumbled into the tides during Hurricane Gordon last month. The old Anderson apartments were on the site. But Sheffield had the apartment building demolished earlier this month to have the 2,400-squre-foot cottage constructed.
Sheffield's lot is 100 feet wide, 180 feet deep. It stretches from the beach road to the ocean. No dunes protect the flat land from sea or storms. The sand slopes slightly upward near the east end of the property. Sheffield plans to build some dunes back while contractors build the house.
``At high tide, the ocean water already washes over that duneline,'' Sheffield said Wednesday from his Alexandria, Va., office. ``It'll wash my building materials right away if I don't stack them up on the deck. I plan to come down there next week and push some of the dunes up with heavy equipment. I've already gotten the permits for that.''
Carpenters with Joe Rhodes and Son builders were nailing the second-story floor onto Sheffield's house while he spoke. The first floor sits eight feet above the sand. The ocean churned about 75 feet east of the pilings.
``This is a very unusual situation. We've never done anything quite like this,'' said Steve Johnson, project manager for the Kitty Hawk construction company. ``The house just fit on this lot by inches. We had to do a lot of changes to squeeze it in. The owner probably spent an extra $3,000 to $4,000 just to do all the adaptations.''
The east edge of Sheffield's house sits directly on the setback line required by the N.C. Coastal Area Management Act. So when Sheffield ordered an oceanfront deck, Johnson had to do some quick thinking. The contractor designed a ``free-standing,'' 22-foot wide deck which is detached from the house. It's one-half-inch east of the back wall, supported on its own set of pilings. That way, the deck is not considered livable space, so it can sit closer to the sea.
``We put the pilings closer together than normal, too,'' Johnson said Wednesday at the cottage. ``Usually, they're eight feet apart. These are 6-foot-six, or so, for better support. And we had to shorten the stairway to fit it inside. It's three-and-a-half feet wide now instead of four. It's all legal. But it's really tight.''
Sheffield plans to include six bedrooms and four baths in his new home. Most of the framing already is up. Workers said the rental property will be finished by late April - just in time for summer vacationers.
``These oceanfront cottages do fabulously with rentals,'' Johnson said. ``And this one is a fortress. It probably will be standing even after the older ones all around it have fallen into the ocean.''
A builder who owns six other Outer Banks rental cottages, Sheffield knows the risks in his latest venture. Flood, storm and other insurance costs alone will top $4,000 a year, he said. The house will have to rent for 10 years before Sheffield can begin to recoup his investment.
``The part that worries me the most is the steady erosion that eats away an inch of shoreline at a time,'' Sheffield said. ``That's what'll usually get you anyway. Not the single storm.
``Individual storms are expected to wash under the houses. That's why we build them on pilings. The pier offers me some protection from the northeast. I've got pilings sunk 16 feet into the sand. I'm willing to take the chance.
``It's somewhat of an honor to have the last oceanfront house in Kitty Hawk, I guess,'' Sheffield said after learning of the distinction. ``But it's also a shame we're at this situation now.''
Forrester agreed. ``Southern Shores, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head all have some seaside lots left. It's not economical for the town not to have any more buildable oceanfront properties,'' Kitty Hawk's building inspector said. ``But, on the other hand, it's kind of a relief.
``Eventually, there won't be any houses on the east side of N.C. Route 12,'' Forrester said. ``It's not a matter any more of whether that's going to happen. Now, we're asking when it's going to happen.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON/
Builder Steve Head of Kill Devil Hills checks the alignment of floor
boards to be hammered into place Wednesday on a $200,000 oceanfront
cottage in Kitty Hawk. Unless someone tears down an existing
building, it will be the last beach house built in town.
by CNB