State plan pushes back beach construction

GALVESTON — Local leaders are chafing at new rules recently proposed by the Texas General Land Office that would force the city to push all new beach-front construction farther away from the sand dunes.

The proposed regulations ask coastal cities to adopt a local erosion response plan that includes a building setback equal to 60 times the annual erosion rate.

That could push construction back as much as 300 feet in some areas of Galveston’s West End, where beaches are eroding at an average of 5 feet per year. The city of Galveston has a 25-foot setback requirement from the north toe of the dunes.

Although state officials describe the new rules as suggestions, eligibility for grant funding is tied to compliance.

If local governing bodies do not adopt the proposed regulations, they could be denied Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act money.

The state fund supports projects in Galveston, including the planned reconstruction of the beach west of the end of the seawall.

Expensive Proposition

The new regulations could also force the city into the position of encroaching on private landowner rights, said Jeri Kinnear, chair of Galveston’s Park Board of Trustees and member of the Galveston County Beach Erosion Task Force.

Although the regulations include language saying the Private Real Property Rights Preservation Act is not applicable to the setback rules, that would not eliminate property owners’ ability to file a lawsuit if they believe the conditions imposed on their property are so onerous they deserve compensation, said Myrna Reingold with the county’s legal department.

And because the state is trying to force the city to adopt the setback requirements, the city would be on the line for taking the property, Reingold said.

The takings issue might apply only to undeveloped property or to lots where houses are destroyed by some future storm, but all beach-front property could be subject to a loss in value because of the new rules, said John Lee, mitigation coordinator for Galveston County and a member of the erosion task force.

And local governments would have to develop a buyout program for properties that could end up on the beach, seaward of the dunes, after a storm.

The state previously was responsible for purchasing the homes and reclaiming the land as public property, but that expense could now fall to the local governing bodies, Lee said.

Demanding More Time

The proposed regulations were published in the Texas Register on May 16, giving local officials and property owners 30 days to comment before they take effect.

State officials extended the deadline by another 30 days, until mid-July, but task force members and Galveston County commissioners agreed Wednesday to ask the land office for more time to consider the implications of the regulations. Commissioners plan to approve the request formally at their next meeting on Wednesday.

State officials did not adequately consider local input before writing the new rules, Lee said.

But Jim Suydam, press secretary for the land office, said the state did hold meetings with local officials during the drafting process.

Task force members also want land office officials to hold a public meeting in Galveston to explain the rules before making them final.

Based on the number of questions coming from local officials, they probably will, Suydam said.

State officials could also decide to change the regulations after hearing local concerns, Suydam said, describing the proposal and subsequent questions as part of the drafting process.