• Adopted a $250 fee for general permits for installing sandbags in front of oceanfront property. The fee is necessary to offset monitoring and record-keeping costs. It is scheduled to take effect in August.

• Voted to repeal an exemption for certain types of bulkhead, riprap and pier projects. Such projects will be eligible for CAMA general permits. The repeal is scheduled to take effect in August.

At its January meeting, the CRC:

• Adopted rule amendments that would provide an alternative vegetation line to communities faced with a situation where, because of recent storms, the vegetation line determined prior to the start of a nourishment project was significantly landward of its likely long-term location. The alternative line, which would be applied following nourishment, could help property owners who want to build on nourished beaches where previous storms have left too little room to meet construction setback requirements. The setbacks are measured from the first line of stable natural vegetation.

• Adopted a temporary rule that modifies exceptions to the coastal shoreline buffer rules. One exception allows owners of previously platted lots smaller than 5,000 square feet (7,500 square feet if an onsite septic system is needed) to align their house with other existing homes within the buffer zone if they meet certain conditions. The temporary rule modifies the conditions so that the exception will apply in cases where the lot lies between an existing house and a road or body of water, both of which must be within 100 feet of the lot’s center. Previously, one of the conditions required existing waterfront houses on both sides of the vacant lot.

• Voted to collect public comments on proposed rule changes that would make more types of projects on the sound side of barrier islands eligible for CAMA general permits when the property is within the Ocean Hazard Area of Environmental Concern.

• Instructed the Division of Coastal Management to take no further enforcement action on the Shell Island Resort’s sandbag permit until May 15 or the completion of the inlet relocation project, whichever comes first. The permit expired Dec. 31, but the sandbags are still in place. DCM issued a notice of violation in early January.

• Granted a variance to Larry and Antoinette Franklin of Richmond, Va., to build a house that would encroach into the 30-foot buffer on their lot on Roanoke Island in Dare County. The variance contains a condition that all stormwater must be retained on site.

• Granted a variance to James and Dena Pate of Rowland to build a house that would encroach into the 30-foot buffer on their lot at Holden Beach.

• Granted a variance to the Town of Atlantic Beach to extend an existing public accessway over the dune system to protect it from foot traffic. CRC rules prohibit such structures seaward of the vegetation line.

• Denied a variance to Gerald Brooks of Bath, who wanted to build a covered boathouse on his property. CRC rules do not allow such structures on lots with less than 75 linear feet of shoreline.

• Rejected an administrative law judge’s recommended decision in the case of Sammie Williams of Engelhard. DCM staff had denied Williams a CAMA permit to build a seafood freezer because the development footprint encroached into coastal wetlands. Williams appealed the permit decision to the Office of Administrative Hearings. The judge disagreed with the staff’s determination and recommended that DCM award the permit. In such cases, final decision rests with the CRC, which disagreed with the judge’s decision.