The Coastal Shoreline Protection Initiative: the previous proposals

IMPORTANT NOTE:   This flier is a summary of proposals no longer under consideration. On March 26, 1999, the Coastal Resources Commission voted to set aside these proposals and focus instead on a 30-foot buffer requirement along all public trust waters in the 20 coastal counties. Public hearings on the buffer proposal will begin this summer. Meanwhile, a citizen group will examine other coastal water quality issues and make recommendations for addressing them.

The CRC will continue to address shoreline stabilization as a separate rulemaking issue.

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Why Change Is Needed

The health of our waters and shoreline habitats is critical to the vitality of our coastal area. Yet the Coastal Resources Commission’s rules for protecting those waters have not changed -- for more than 20 years. In that time, North Carolina has grown, and the number of people building in the coastal area has increased.

In recent years, we have seen signs of stress in our coastal waters, including algal blooms, sediment plumes, increasing shellfish area closures and fish kills. These problems highlight the need to do a better job — now — of protecting coastal resources.

This need isn’t new. In 1994, the Coastal Futures Committee, a blue-ribbon panel that examined coastal protection in North Carolina, noted that the CRC’s shoreline rules are not adequate for protecting water quality.

The CRC agreed after spending several months reviewing studies that show clear links between development and runoff pollution. The CRC also reviewed reports that demonstrate the benefits of buffers, impervious surface limits, and alternative methods of shoreline stabilization. The Commission also looked at the rules of other states, especially land use regulations along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia.

The CRC wants to protect water quality and habitat while it still can. To do this, the Commission is focusing on four areas:

• Permit Area
• Buffers
• Built-upon area
• Shoreline stabilization

Permit Area

Within the 20 CAMA counties, the Coastal Resources Commission regulates development only in critical resource areas known as Areas of Environmental Concern, or AECs.

AECs are not setbacks: They are areas where development may require a CAMA permit. AECs cover all public trust waters in the coastal counties and about 1 percent of the land.

Right now, the Estuarine Shoreline AEC extends 75 feet landward along all estuarine waters, unless the water is an Outstanding Resource Water, where the AEC extends 575 feet.

The current AEC does not cover all shorelines. It stops at the dividing line between the jurisdictions of the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Wildlife Resources Commission. Upstream of that line, the CRC currently does not regulate development on shore.

Without changes, North Carolina could miss an important opportunity to reduce the amount of runoff pollution that reaches coastal waters.

What’s proposed:

The CRC is proposing to expand its permit area in two directions: landward and upstream. The new permit area, called the Coastal Shoreline AEC, would encompass all public trust waters, including estuarine waters. The Coastal Shoreline AEC would replace the current Estuarine Shoreline AEC.

The new AEC would extend landward 200 feet from the edge of public trust waters, or the landward edge of coastal wetlands, if any are present. Along waters needing special protection (Outstanding Resource Waters and  Primary Nursery Areas), the AEC would extend 575 feet.

Notes:

• An AEC is not a setback. If your property falls in the Coastal Shoreline AEC, you might have to get a CAMA permit to develop.
• Public trust waters are waters that are "navigable in fact." If you can float a canoe in it, it’s probably a public trust water.
• Most permits required in the new AEC would be minor permits, issued at the local level.

Buffers

Buffers serve a number of important functions. They protect water quality by filtering pollution from runoff, and they help preserve fish and wildlife habitat. Buffers stabilize soil and slow floodwaters. And they help preserve the natural character of a shoreline.

What’s Required Now:

A 30-foot buffer is required only along Outstanding Resource Waters.

What’s Proposed:

75-foot buffers would be required along shorelines throughout the Coastal Shoreline AEC.

What the Buffer Means for Landowners:

There will be limits on what you are allowed to do in the buffer:

In the first 50 feet, measured from the water, you could build water-dependent structures, such as boat ramps and docks. Grading, filling or excavating for other uses would not be allowed.

In the last 25 feet, you could build up to 200 square feet in accessory structures such as sheds.

You could trim vegetation in the buffer.

Notes:

• Previously Platted Lots: If your lot has been platted before these rules take effect, you would have to comply with the new rules as much as possible.
• If the new buffer requirements would prevent you from building, you would be allowed to have a waterside buffer equal to just 20 percent of the depth of the lot (measured at the deepest point from the water). On a lot 100 feet deep, you would have to leave only a 20-foot buffer.
• Only water-dependent structures, such as piers, boat ramps and docks would be allowed in the buffer area.

Built-upon Area

Research shows a strong link between impervious surface and water quality: As the amount of impervious surface increases, water quality declines. So the more square footage of rooftops, driveways, sidewalks and roads we have, the more we put our waters at risk.

What’s Required Now:

The CRC’s current rules set a 30 percent limit on built-upon areas in the Estuarine Shoreline AEC — unless property owners show that they can provide equal protection using a stormwater control system. On lots along Outstanding Resource Waters (in the current AEC), the built-upon area is limited to 25 percent.

What’s Proposed:

Built-upon areas in the Coastal Shoreline AEC would be limited to 15 percent of a lot or development project. Built-upon areas could be larger (25 percent) if the property owner could demonstrate that a certified stormwater system will provide the same amount of protection.

Along special protection waters (Outstanding Resource Waters and Primary Nursery Areas), built-upon areas would be limited to 12 percent. Greater coverage could be allowed with a certified stormwater system.

Notes:

• If part of your lot is outside the AEC, the built-upon limits apply only to that portion of your lot inside the AEC.

• If your lot has been platted before the rules take effect:

  • You would have to comply with the current rules as much as possible. If that would prevent you from building, you could cover up to 30 percent of your lot, if that lot is not on a special protection water.
  • You could cover more if: you have an on-site, certified stormwater system that will provide protection equal to the 30 percent limit; you connect to a local stormwater management system that does not discharge into coastal wetlands, estuarine waters or public trust areas; or if you connect to a local stormwater management system that has an existing, approved stormwater management plan.
  • On a special protection water, you could cover up to 25 percent of your lot. No stormwater system would be allowed.
• Previously platted lots: The CRC has not finalized its proposals for previously platted & developed lots and is expected to discuss the issue further before the rules go to public hearing.
  

• Urban redevelopment: The CRC continues to address redevelopment issues. The Division of Coastal Management is working with the CRC to ensure that the rules don’t prevent redevelopment of urban areas.

Shoreline Stabilization

Vertical bulkheads are common along inland coastal waters. However, these bulkheads can damage ecologically important areas at the water’s edge, including wetlands and shallow-water habitat.

What’s Required Now:

The CRC’s current rules for shoreline stabilization require that sloping riprap, gabions or vegetation be used where possible.

What’s Proposed:

The CRC is considering tailoring shoreline stabilization to site conditions. The Commission is still working on draft proposals, and probably will consider stabilization as a separate rulemaking item. Watch this site for more information.

Notes:

• The CRC has approved a new general permit to make it easier for property owners to install riprap to protect eroding wetlands. General permits are quicker and less expensive to obtain than major permits.

• The CRC also has approved amending an existing general permit to allow breakwater use in front of all wetlands, not just coastal wetlands.

• These rule changes DO NOT ban bulkhead use. The changes will become effective in August 2000.

What happens next:

These proposals are not final. The Commission is still working on them. The CRC will hold at least 20 public hearings before voting on the rules. If the CRC approves the proposals in 1999, the changes would become effective in August 2000.

Please contact CRC or Coastal Resources Advisory Council members if you have concerns about these proposals. Be specific in your comments, and if you don’t like something about a proposal, please suggest an alternative.

Questions about the proposals?

Call Mike Lopazanski at 919-733-2293, or write him at: NC Division of Coastal Management, PO Box 27687, Raleigh NC 27611-7687. Or you can e-mail him at Mike_Lopazanski@mail.enr.state.nc.us

Division of Coastal Management offices:

Raleigh headquarters: 919-733-2293
Morehead City: 252-808-2808
Elizabeth City: 252-264-3901
Washington: 252-946-6481
Wilmington: 910-395-3900

Go to Coastal Management Home Page

This page last updated Feb. 16, 1999