Kitty Hawk, N.C. (WTKR) - A plan to widen the beach in Kitty Hawk is moving forward, and how to pay for it is also being discussed.
Years of coastal storms and erosion have washed away precious yards of beach front in the Outer Banks community.
A proposed plan for beach nourishment will cost an estimated $17 million. About $13.2 million of that would come from the Dare County Beach Nourishment Fund.
To pay for the Town's share of the project, Kitty Hawk is considering raising property taxes based on three municipal service districts.
"We will be able to ascertain the additional tax that we need for the beach nourishment," explained Town Manager John Stockton. "The methodology that we basically used was which areas of the town most benefit from the beach nourishment?"
A proposed map divides the town into three districts: A, B and C.
The map won't be final until all property owners are notified, a public hearing is held and the map is adopted by Town Council.
"What we call District A is basically the beachfront properties and then the properties what we call between the highways. Between US 158 and NC12 and the commercial properties," Stockton said.
District B is the area west of U.S. 158 known as the ridge area and District C is the village area.
"A decreasing amount of additional tax based on the area you live in. Of course we go from the ocean back to the village and it would probably be a decreasing tax rate," Stockton said.
The beach nourishment could start in 2016 if the design and permitting process goes according to plan.
