![cropped-HBPOA-Logo-6x6-Square.jpg](https://holdenbeachpoa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/cropped-HBPOA-Logo-6x6-Square-300x300.jpg)
October 17, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on October Commissioners’ Meeting
October 11, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on Hurricane Matthew
UPDATE as of 10-13-16
ICW Marsh & Shallotte Inlet During Hurricane Matthew
Thanks to member Pat Kwiatkowski for this video taken during the storm!
UPDATE as of 10-11-16
Additional Videos:
745 OBW to 1065 OBW Oceanfront Properties
There are also photos at the bottom of the post.
We realize that many members are not on the island and are concerned about their property. For the most part, the island fared well. There were a few spots where the dune was breached on the ocean front and there was also erosion. The canals went over their bulkheads which wreaked havoc with boats and floating docks. There are some missing shingles off roofs, missing vinyl siding and damaged walkways.
Now that the curfew has been lifted we can get out there and share the impacts of the hurricane with you. Below are links to videos taken from a drone of the oceanfront and major roads. We will add to this post as new videos are completed.
Click the links below:
East End to Bridge Oceanfront Properties
OBE from Bridge to Blockade Runner
OBW from Boyd Street to Bridge
Bridge to 300 block OBW Oceanfront Properties
OBW from 300 Block to Boyd St.
Pier to 200 block OBW Beach Strand
300 OBW block to the Pier Oceanfront Properties
Campground and 500 block OBW Oceanfront Properties
500 OBW to 700 OBW Oceanfront Properties
Photos of during and after Hurricane Matthew. If you have any photos you would like to share send them to us at [email protected].
August 28, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on Labor Day Meeting
Please join the
for our next meeting,
in the Meeting Room at Town Hall.
We will provide an update on what has happened over the summer, and what is coming up in the next few months. You will also hear updates from Town officials and have an opportunity to provide input.
At our Labor Day Meeting we will also have elections for Board Members. Are you interested in serving as an HBPOA Director? We have one vacancy on the Board. Contact Nominating Committee members Mike Sullivan or John Witten for more information or to volunteer.
We look forward to seeing you!
August 28, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on MSD Public Hearing and August Board of Commissioners’ Meeting
Click here for a short summary of the results of the Public Hearing on the Municipal Service District and the August Board of Commissioners’ meeting.
You can now listen to an audio recording of the meeting. Click here to listen.
The Commissioners met August 22nd for the second meeting required to establish the MSD and passed the ordinance unanimously. You can read ordinance 16-14 here.
As always, feel free to email us at [email protected] with questions and we will get back to you.
August 11, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on August Board of Commissioners’ Meeting and MSD Public Hearing
Click here for the agenda for the August Board of Commissioners’ Meeting and the Public Hearing to create a Municipal Service District (MSD) as required for the Central Reach Project. Information on the MSD begins on page 17 of the Commissioners’ Meeting Packet.
Please note that if you plan to speak in the first public comment period you need to sign up in advance beginning at 6:00 pm.
Candidates for the vacant alternate position on the Planning and Zoning Board will be interviewed during a Special Meeting beginning at 6:45pm.
You can now review the whole meeting packet here. The packet contains the agenda and all the background information on each agenda item.
August 2, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on Commissioners Approve Condemnation for Easements
The Town held a Special Meeting on Monday, August 1st to consider a resolution authorizing the filing of condemnation actions to acquire any missing easements for the Central Reach Shore Protection Project. The easements are needed for the project to move ahead.
The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Resolution 16-09 authorizing the Town to acquire the easements by condemnation. You can read the resolution here.
Beginning August 2nd, letters will be sent to all property owners in the project area (240 OBE – 781 OBW) who have not returned their signed easements advising them that the Town will start condemnation proceedings on August 12, 2016. Property owners will have 30 days to comply.
If you own property in the Central Reach project area and have still not received your revised easement, or if you need more time to execute it, please contact Noel Fox immediately at 910-815-0085 or [email protected].
If you have concerns about signing the easement and would like information about the HBPOA attorney’s assessment, please see the postings on our website or send us an email at [email protected]. We would also like to hear from you if for some reason you do not plan to execute the easement.
July 21, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on Central Reach Easement Update
July 14, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on July Board of Commissioners’ Meeting
Click here for the agenda for the July Board of Commissioners’ Meeting. Highlights include removal of the recycling center near the water tower and discussion on the Nies lawsuit. Please note that if you plan to speak in the first public comment period you need to sign up in advance beginning at 6:00 pm.
You can now review the whole meeting packet here. The packet contains the agenda and all the background information on each agenda item. Thanks to this change, all property owners, whether local or thousands of miles away, can stay current on what is happening in Holden Beach!
June 25, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on June Board of Commissioners’ Meeting
June 18, 2016
by HBPOA
Comments Off on IMPORTANT: Central Reach Project – Easement Update
Attorney Clark Wright has finished his review of the draft easement. He also has reviewed several other NC town beach nourishment easements, and conducted legal research into relevant NC statutes, rules and published cases. Mr. Wright interviewed several other NC beach town attorneys who have worked on similar issues, as well as University of North Carolina Professor Emeritus Joe Kalo, who has taught and written numerous articles on North Carolina coastal law issues. Mr. Wright wants to emphasize the cooperative manner in which the Town Attorney has worked with him, and that the primary objective is to fully support implementing the Central Reach project, while also respecting private (and public) property rights.
Mr. Wright emphasizes that his interactions with the Town Attorney were not a negotiation process, but rather a constructive information sharing process. Similarly, Mr. Wright is not representing any particular landowner, but rather is providing general advice to the HBPOA, at its request. These distinctions are important legally – they mean both that the Town and its Attorney are acting as they best see fit in the interests of the Town, while Mr. Wright is providing general input to the Town, and then informing the HBPOA of the results of those discussions, along with his best general legal overview. Mr. Wright emphasizes that every property owner in the Town is free to seek their own legal advice.
In all events, Mr. Wright is pleased to report that the Town has revised the terms of the Central Reach Project easements. The fundamental purpose of the easement has not changed – namely, to satisfy the requirements of state and federal permits so that the Central Reach Project can go forward on schedule. Mr. Wright emphasizes that affected property owners should NOT print out and sign easements using any copies provided informally by the HBPOA or other unofficial sources – they should wait until they receive official communications from the Town.
The amended easement terms address many of the concerns raised by HBPOA property owners. The amended easement:
The signed and returned easements will not be recorded until the Central Reach Project is ready to go forward. There may come a point where the relevant federal or state agencies require the Town to record easements as a prerequisite for final funding or other approvals, and if such a request is made, the Town will of course then record. Mr. Wright also noted that, although some owners have raised concerns about the Town’s legal right to assign the easements, this right is limited and actually may be beneficial. The purpose of this provision is to deal with the potential that in the future another governmental agency or entity might assume responsibility for beach protection activities and step into the shoes of the Town. This could mean that the Town and homeowners would benefit from additional financial support for beach protection. The assignment provision would not, however, allow the Town to assign the easement to any private entity or for any purposes other than implementing and maintaining the Central Reach Project as permitted, renewed or amended.
Mr. Wright emphasizes that an easement document is not the place where every concern that has been raised can be directly addressed or resolved. He noted as an example that the Town of Emerald Isle is embroiled with litigation now before the NC Supreme Court that could end up changing – for all NC beach property owners – the definition and scope of littoral rights and the long standing, customary rights of the public to use and enjoy the dry sand beach. On this issue, Mr. Wright noted that while some property rights advocates contend that Emerald Isle has overreached in its beach management ordinances, he very much hopes that the NC Supreme Court will reaffirm the right of the general public to use and enjoy the dry and wet sand portions of the State’s ocean beaches, even in areas where such areas remain in private ownership. He summarized this very important issue by noting that the revised Holden Beach easement represent a strong statement in favor of both the private property (littoral) rights of beach front property landowners and the equally important right of the public to use and enjoy the dry sand beach.
With regard to concerns expressed over possible eminent domain proceedings, Mr. Wright noted that Holden Beach, like all local governments, possesses eminent domain authority for public purpose projects, such as the Central Reach Project. He noted that from his review of other local beach nourishment projects in NC, the number of actual, contested eminent domain proceedings is very small – especially when compared to the total number of involved property owners. He also noted that in any such proceeding, the affected owner retains important constitutional and statutory legal rights. He finally observed that the benefits of the revised easement likely would flow to any property owner that the Town might issue an eminent domain proceeding notice to in that should the Town “win” a court order, the result very likely would be implementation of the terms of the revised easement as to the involved property.
While every landowner should, of course feel free to contact and obtain their own independent legal advice, and while Mr. Wright emphasized that NC attorney ethical rules prevent him from giving individual legal advice to such a large group of landowners, he does believe that the terms of the revised easement are such that all affected owners should give serious consideration to quickly signing and returning it, once received from the Town Attorney. Mr. Wright concluded his recommendations by observing that time is of the essence in order to preserve the Town’s ability to move forward with the Central Reach Project.