Altered Environments: The Outer Banks of North Carolina

Six: Living with Change in Coastal Communities

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Six Living with Change in Coastal Communities A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. Aldo Leopold Physical processes such as storms, waves, and wind make coastlines some of the most changeable places on the earth’s surface. The change caused by a particular force, such as the 1846 hurricane that struck Portsmouth Island, can be both immediate and deferred. Human activities can alter barrier islands as well. However, many of humankind’s alterations are more predictable and the causes better understood than nature’s forces. Therefore it is useful to search for policies that best minimize damage to coastal areas. The rapid population increase in recent decades is responsible for many of the problems facing coastal communities. It is no surprise that people want to be near the natural beauty of land and sea to escape the congestion and hectic lifestyles of cities and suburbs. Unfortunately, as the mobile American population rushes to the shore, the intensive use of fragile coastal resources creates substantial damage. No one ever purposely sets out to pollute waters, destroy wildlife habitat, or create congested communities . We inadvertently damage the environment as we make choices about what to produce and where and how to live. For example, as developers build new communities, they alter and destroy some of the natural environment . Similarly in the production process, industry often uses the air, water, and land to dispose of waste. Although it is not possible to have zero impact on the environment, we can collectively choose to minimize environmental pollution and harmful alterations. Humankind’s actions can be difficult to control, but policymakers may be able to direct human activity to minimize the damage in- flicted on coastal areas. The key is to alter incentive structures. Controlling Coastal Development Many coastal areas have become overdeveloped because so many people want to be at the beach. Unfortunately we have a limited amount of Living with Change in Coastal Communities : 83 : coastline. In areas adjacent to the U.S. coast, the population density is more than 230 persons per square mile—three times that of the nation as a whole.1 Although the new residents and tourists may be good for the economy, larger populations can damage the environment and the quality of community life. This is not a new problem. So many Romans were crowding their shore in the sixth century that Emperor Justinian passed an ordinance prohibiting construction within one hundred feet of the shore to protect sea views. Fifteen centuries later we are still struggling to control coastal development, and we continue to use government regulation to rein in the problems created by having too many people at the beach. Some Outer Banks communities have implemented policies to limit the negative impacts of growth. Nags Head, for example, has channeled growth to areas best suited for development in order to protect the aquifer that provides the island’s water supply. Town planners discourage development in aquifer-recharge zones, wetlands, and areas most susceptible to natural disasters. Shore-line setbacks are farther from the beachfront than required by federal and state law. In addition planners limit the number of oceanfront condominiums and hotels by restricting building size. In the summer of 2003 local government planners set limits on house size and created guidelines for design in Nags Head, Southern Shores, Kill Devil Hills, Duck, and Kitty Hawk.2 Buxton Woods provides an example of how citizen activists can work with local government to preserve unique areas. In 1986 developers planned to build a new golf course and housing development in Buxton Woods, a unique maritime forest. Buxton Woods, which protects Hatteras Island’s water supply, is the only heavily wooded area on the island. The development would have destroyed much of the forest, and the golf course would have required a large amount of the limited water supply on the island. Following months of negotiations the county commissioners adopted the island’s first zoning code, and the state eventually purchased 450 acres of Buxton Woods in order to preserve the area. The towns of Kill Devil Hills and Pine Knoll Shores have followed the Buxton Woods example to protect valuable resources.3 In 1991 residents of Ocracoke instituted several policies to control development that would have changed the character of the community. The citizens barred new marinas and limited the development of coastal wetlands . In addition Ocracokers prohibited...