The Emerald Isle Board of Commissioners has cracked down hard on coastal property damage, approving a massive increase in financial penalties for destroying protected oceanfront dunes.
In a unanimous vote Tuesday night, town leaders raised the maximum civil fine for damaging a primary dune from $1,000 to $10,000 per violation. The strict new ordinance also slashes the timeline for property owners to rebuild flattened dunes and replant vital sea oats, cutting the allowed restoration window from 60 days down to just 30.
The emergency policy shift follows intense public outcry and a local media investigation after a primary protection dune was completely bulldozed and leveled at a multi-million-dollar oceanfront construction site on Ocean Drive.
While that specific property remains under a strict stop-work order, town officials confirm the builder will escape the new $10,000 penalty, as the violation occurred before Tuesday’s vote.
