Reprinted from Outer Banks Voice
Dare County commissioners in a unanimous vote Monday authorized county staff to begin the statutory process of establishing a municipal service district in the Hatteras community of Avon to help cover the cost of a $11 million beach nourishment project that will pump roughly 1 million cubic yards of sand along 2.5 miles of beach.
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Property owners in the service district are expected to collectively contribute an estimated $750,000 per year over a five-year period through a special tax in an effort to stave off an encroaching Atlantic Ocean that has, during recent storms, flooded N.C. 12 and threatened homes.
“We’re at a point where we’re going to do this (and) we’ve got to start a process to create a tax service district — and there’s a statutory process for that,” County Manager Robert Outten told the commissioners Monday prior to the vote.
The action signals the board’s desire to move forward with the 2022 project, roughly half of which would be funded through the Dare County Beach Nourishment Fund, with the other half funded by property owners in the community.
Oceanside property owners from Due East Road to the community’s southern border will foot the largest contribution that comes from taxes, paying an anticipated 25 cent tax per $100 in addition to their annual property bill. Westside property owners in the project area will be asked to pay 5 cents per $100 for the sand pumping.
Several steps are required to establish the district, Outten explained, including sending notices and maps to property owners as well as holding a public hearing. Those steps take about 60 days. Commissioners will then need to come back to finalize the district and set a tax rate during the budget process in late May or early June.
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The proposed beach nourishment plan has attracted significant attention among Avon residents. The county received hundreds of emails regarding the project and the special tax. During a public information session last month, dozens of residents spoke both for and against the project.
During the public comment period of the Monday meeting, several residents spoke prior to the vote, offering different views on the subject. One resident said that the proposed district was drawn up “in an unfair and arbitrary way” and would represent a 45% increase in her annual taxes.
Another resident praised the commissioners, noting that, “Obviously saving the beach is essential to the entire community, and we are willing to pay our fair share … No one wants their taxes raised, but some things are worth paying for, at least until there’s a more permanent solution.”
This story is provided courtesy of the Outer Banks Voice, a digital newspaper covering the Outer Banks. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Voice to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest about our coast.
