Croatan Surf Club in The Coastland Times
The following article was run on May 10th, 2009 and reprinted with the permission of The Coastland Times.
New KDH development built in rarely designated ‘X’ flood zone.
Article by Megan S. Shaw
Another Outer Banks development project officially opened with a ribbon cutting and open house. But, what sets this development apart from countless other ribbon cuttings and open houses is the rule change that was required for approval to build.
Many locals will have memories of the location, which formerly housed Quagmires Restaurant. It’s no secret that some of the best oceanfront views have been witnessed at that very spot.
In this case, “X marks the spot” in terms of flood zones and this is the only X-rated spot on the North Carolina coast, according to information from the developers. The legwork for the rating change was done by lead project developer Bud Dean, along with assisting engineers.
Kill Devil Hills (KDH) Mayor Ray Sturza said Dean had “the persistence of a polar bear” and commended his effort to develop the prime property.
The Coastland Times newspaper article photo.
“We thought is was a good thing,” said Sturza, adding town officials made the “right decision” to assist in the change. He applauded the economic bost the development lent the town by putting people to work.
Dean said the process to change the rating was quite a struggle, but in the end, he was able to prove that stretch of beach was high and dry.
“This is high ground, where locals historically chose to build,” said Dean. He said that KDH was one of the first sites for oceanfront development.
Although the town officially applied for the change, Dean said his organization did the legwork.
Explaining the process in a nutshell, developers from the Croatan Surf Club conducted physical and topographical surveys of the dunes to prove the technology used to determine the 2006 flood zones was inaccurate. It was their belief that the size and the magnitude of the dunes in that KDH location had been misjudged.
While town officials spent more than a year working with the state and FEMA, they were able to secure a Letter of Map Revision that redesigned the stretch of beach as an ‘X’ zone. Flood insurance isn’t even required in an ‘X’ zone, but developers still maintain it.
“This is a great addition to KDH,” said pro tem Bob Woodward.
In times of economic downturn, the project has also served as a needed boost to the local economy. Dean said that considering the scope of work that went into the development — tile, painting, pool, furniture, interior design, and building to name a few — he estimated some 1500 jobs were created with the development.
Further stamping out economic woes, Matt Whelan, broker for the development, said that sales are off to a good start, with 19 of the 38 units already under contract.
Genius is only the power of making continuous efforts.
–Elbert Hubbard
