File:Coast watch (1979) (20472203518).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_11 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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desire for coastal property is keener than ever. As the migration to the coast contin- ues, it is imperative that these homebuyers — many from out of state — understand the realities of buying beach property so that their investments and the coastal communi- ties themselves are protected. Real estate agents and developers have an important role in enlightening potential buyers. The stakes are so high that Gov. Jim Hunt recently made clear his position on the matter in a letter to real estate agents and developers. He said both professional groups are responsible for informing buyers of the inherent risks they face in purchasing coastal property. "We have an obligation to help people who decide to purchase their places at the beach, by giving them as much information as possible about owning property on our coast, including the things they can do to protect themselves — and the things they can't," Hunt wrote. Robin Smith, assistant attorney general with the N.C. Department of Justice and advisor to the Coastal Resources Commis- sion, explains that coastal real estate is different from that in other areas. "In terms of property law, most of the effects of law on the oceanfront are more magnified," she says. Coastal property is property that can have a moving boundary line. "With erosion, the property is getting smaller," Smith says. "You lose title to land that becomes submerged, and the state gains title." At Right: Topsail Island homes left standing sustained heavy damage in Hurricane Fran. Spencer Rogers When erosion moves the property line landward, the property owner actually loses land. Likewise, new property created by accreted sand belongs to the adjacent landowner. The Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) put in place protective rules such as oceanfront setback lines that prohibit building a home or small commercial building within 60 feet of the first line of stable natural vegetation or 30 times the long-term erosion rate — whichever is greater. The erosion rates are calculated by the N.C. Division of Coastal Management and updated every five years. In areas with long-term or chronic erosion, property owners in years past have tried to save their homes and land by hardening the shoreline with seawalls and revetments. This practice, however, was banned by the Coastal Resources Commis- sion in 1985 because it can cause erosion of neighboring beachfront property and it can interfere with public uses of the beach. "There is now a lot of scientific data to show that the effects of this are adverse," Smith says. Similarly, jetties, groins and breakwa- ters control erosion by trapping sand moving along the shoreline. But in many cases, they solve one erosion problem only to create worse erosion farther down the beach. As a result, these structures can no longer be built on the oceanfront. With all of these changes in the rules and the landscape, real estate agents find they need to learn more about the regula- tions North Carolina has imposed to protect both beaches and homeowners. Lois Dixon, a Wilmington broker with 20 years of experience, says she is now more careful than ever to point out possible hazards to buyers. "I not only gather as much pertinent information as I can about the prospective purchase, but I give the buyers names and phone numbers of agencies and officials Continued
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COASTWATCH 17

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