Gulf Coast Owners Fight Texas Act that will Take Their Homes

In Texas, we like our land and our property rights just as much as steak and BBQ.

While the Surfside Beach houses themselves aren't floating in the Gulf (yet), the prime beachfront on which they sit is slipping away. Due to the 1959 Texas Open Beaches Act, some of the homeowners in the town of Surfside Beach (about an hour south of Houston) are told that they must move their houses since they are now blocking public beach land.

The pictures shows an example of beachfront erosion of Riggings Condos at Kure Beach along the Pacific Ocean.

The 1959 Texas Open Beaches Act was meant to make sure that every inch of beach access wouldn't be gobbled up by hotels and private homes, which is a good thing. The problem is that the law does not allow for any state compensation to homeowners, many of which simply cannot afford to move or purchase a home elsewhere. Homeowners on Beach Drive have been in the middle of a lawsuit for 6 years to allow them to hang on to their property, but the city cut has now cut off their water and wastewater utilities. 

What's happening to Beach Drive residents could happen in just about any Gulf Coast town. It may be time legislators took another look at the nearly 50 year-old Open Beaches Act to make sure property owners, as well as beach goers, don't lose out on what should rightfully be theirs.

Comments

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"It may be time legislators took another look at the nearly 50 year-old Open Beaches Act to make sure property owners, as well as beach goers, don't lose out on what should rightfully be theirs."

What dumbass buys property on an eroding beach?

Perhaps people should not buy property on dunes/beaches that are constantly shifting. It is also common knowledge that the beaches in Texas are not private and are reserved for ALL the residents of Texas, not just the people represented by cut throat realtors who would sell out there own mothers to make a buck.