Sometimes the trickiest thing is knowing when to fight and when to back down, whether it’s a bully you’re facing, or an eroding shoreline.
An editorial this week in a South Carolina newspaper advocates retreating from the ever-changing water’s edge as the best strategy for dealing with erosion. As some studies have shown, the article maintains that hard-armoring the coastline only makes the problem worse—if not for the protected area, then possibly for adjacent parcels of land. Beach renourishment—the practice of adding sand to replenish areas of the beach that are eroding—is a better but still expensive alternative, the article argues, but planners must ensure that the renourishment process doesn’t encourage new development in areas where it doesn’t belong.
In contrast, this article from the East Hampton Star reports on two recently formed organizations, the Sagaponack and the Bridgehampton Beach Erosion Control Districts, that exist for the fight. The districts can levee taxes on property owners to install erosion control measures and fund emergency responses to beach erosion. They can also apply for government grants unavailable to individual homeowners. The annual tax is expected to average around $1,500 in Bridgehampton and $3,200 in Sagaponack for homes on the waterfront.
In already-developed areas, this may be the best option. But better long-term planning—preventing new development in harm’s way—is certainly the smarter course.