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The town and the property owners have agreed on a new baseline for the lots in a 10-lot subdivision between Folly Creek and Singleton Beach. The baseline has been moved to the base of the sand dune, on the landward side. The setback line is now 15 feet behind it.
The baseline, the point closest to the beach that structures can be built, had been located up to 30 feet farther inland. The change means that lot owners have more room to build on their lots.
The agreement came as a relief to Ed Flynn, an agent for JJ Development, the company that developed the subdivision
"I'm happy that the settlement agreement has been reached, because these lots were sold to individuals back in 2005, and they have suffered ... because they haven't been able to build until now,"Flynn said.
The state Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management had moved the line closer to the beach in January, in large part as a result of the town's beach renourishment efforts in the area and a rock groin the town built to stabilize the beach. The state reviews baseline locations along the coast every eight to 10 years.
Town officials had objected to moving the line forward in the Singleton Beach area because that area historically has been very unstable. The town had installed the groin there to try to stabilize the beach.
When property owners bought the lots, they thought the baseline would be moved forward because of renourishment. The town's last renourishment project was completed in February 2007.
The property owners attempted to get the baseline moved before the state's once-a-decade review. But in 2007, an Administrative Law Court judge upheld the town's right to prevent the baseline from moving. State law has been clear from the start, the judge ruled, that the baseline could not be moved unless the town certified that the change was consistent with its beachfront management plan.
In September, the town established its Dune Accretion Zone and Critical Storm Protection Area, which sets the baseline for building restrictions at 1999 locations. Property owners can't build any major structures closer to the beach than those that already exist. Such restrictions have been in place along Forest Beach since 2006, but they now extend the entire beachfront, from Fish Haul Creek to Lands End.
The negotiations with the Singleton Beach owners had begun months before that.
The state's Shoreline Change Advisory Committee has recommended the state adopt a similar policy of not allowing the baseline to move seaward as a result of renourishment.
Town officials said they were satisfied with the result of their negotiations.
"The baseline is on the landward side of the dune," said assistant town manager Curtis Coltrane. "(It) can't be encroached on by any development."
Property owner Tad Segars said he was just grateful his ordeal was over.
"I still can't believe it," Segars said of the settlement.
He said he can now build on the lot he bought for $1.6 million in 2004.
