RODANTHE, N.C. — Mother nature is forcing some people on the Outer Banks to make tough choices about their homes.
We highlighted the issue earlier this month in Rodanthe, where beach erosion is the talk of the town.
But now there's a new push to help people whose homes could be the next one to fall.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and Cape Hatteras National Seashore hosted a virtual meeting Monday to discuss "Property Acquisition and Financial Assistance."
“Who is going to take the lead in trying to prevent or trying to get these people out of harm’s way?” Bill Holman asked, the NC State Director of The Conservation Fund.
The 90-minute meeting touched on everything from buyout programs to who bears responsibility when a home is in danger of collapse.
It seems there are no easy solutions for communities coping with beach erosion.
“While Rodanthe is the hot spot now, I think we can all anticipate in the future, there will be other Coastal communities that face the same thing," Holman said.
Our reporting in Rodanthe last month uncovered a desire for beach nourishment, but no way to fund it.
So, it’s back to the drawing board.
“Maybe if folks are buying some of these super vulnerable properties, they have to buy a policy that helps pay for removal and cleanup," Heidi Stiller from NOAA's Office for Coastal Management said.
Dare County Manager Bobby Outten wants to see insurance pay out before a home falls into the ocean.
“If they’re going to be insured and be paid out, let’s pay them out now and let’s get rid of them," Outten said. "They're really not out any more money than they're going to be in another six months or whenever another one of these houses goes in."
Another expert said there should be government incentives to build homes in safer areas.
“Norfolk is doing some really interesting work in this regard, looking at areas that they are looking to densify but also looking to disinvest over time, which is a tough pill to swallow, and it takes a lot of political will to even talk about this," Gavin Smith said, a professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at NC State University.
The group also mentioned a number of possible state and federal programs currently available to acquire or relocate threatened oceanfront structures:
Tancred Miller from the NC Division of Coastal Management recommended two programs at the state level: the Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access Program and the Resilient Coastal Communities Program.
Pre-disaster, Heidi Stiller recommended the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). Post-disaster, she said there are a number of other funding streams.
Gavin Smith mentioned the Building Resilience Infrastructure and Communities Program (BRIC), but he said it’s difficult to put together a winning application.
He also recommended investigating the Blue Acres Program out of New Jersey. Part of that plan includes the state taking control of flood-prone properties.
The group will meet for another virtual workshop in May to try and find actionable ideas for homeowners who are still left with a shrinking coastline and few options.