The Mobile Register got all flood newsy over the weekend, reporting on the federal government's redrawing of flood maps and about a dispute over how close to the water a homeowner in Fort Morgan should be allowed to build.
Holes in the flood maps In the first story it appears the government has been working nights and weekends to redraw flood maps in Louisiana and Mississippi while allowing those in Alabama's coastal areas to wait. Why is this a problem? Local experts and engineers are concerned that areas which flooded in this year's storms will flood again in future storms if not rebuilt higher. They don't want people to be able to rebuild using standard construction in areas which should be considered prone for flooding.
More than insurance costs, which are based on flood elevations, or rebuilding costs could be at stake for coastal residents.
"It's not just the money," said University of South Alabama coastal engineer Scott Douglass, who has conducted significant research into coastal flooding. "It's the heartache of the next storm. All the heartache ... It's just going to happen again if they build again at those same elevations."
Fort Morgan beach house challenged Two property owners are taking their dispute to court. The issue is whether one property owner should be allowed to build his vacation home 52 feet over quite literally, a line drawn in the sand, known as the control line. The control line is a somewhat arbitrary line set back some distance from the surf line in front of which homeowners cannot build. The state granted a variance for the new construction some months ago. The new construction, however, is planned to take place in front of the other property owner's home. The offended property owner contends the new construction will compromise the control line, which will make his vacation home more vulnerable. Interestingly enough, the article doesn't say anything about how he doesn't want his view obstructed.
The existing homeowner did however ask his lawyer to point out that a smaller home than the one being proposed could work.
Garrison, who has a vacation home directly behind Strong's lot, challenged the decision the next month, saying the dunes that protect his own home would be destroyed if Strong's home were built atop them.
A year's worth of hearings and related proceedings before an ADEM administrative law judge began that November, according to the records.
On Garrison's behalf, Caddell made the case that a smaller home than the one Strong wished to build could be constructed north of the control line. At a hearing, he presented a homebuilder who designed a beach house that would fit the property north of the line.