North Carolina's coastal towns and counties are in the midst of a period of tremendous flux, and markets, consumers, and regulators are all struggling with the problem. The issue: how to craft a situation that will deliver either property owner security, or fairness, or tax revenues, or environmental protection, or some or all of the above. We may as well try to stabilize grains of sand along the shore. And in fact, that's the problem.
Coastline management issues are taking on added significance these days, both in policy and in conservation circles. One part of the discussion of coastal policy focuses on the increasing costs of storm-related damage to North Carolina's coastal areas and property. Another aspect focuses on the dynamics of coastlines and barrier islands themselves. But perhaps it's time that beach property owners ante up, or build their 'ocean view' from a distance.
