RODANTHE, N.C. — Homeowners of precarious oceanfront structures in Rodanthe have been encouraged to move their houses before they are taken by the sea.
Proactive residents have begun the process to get their house moved — however, some claimed that paperwork and bureaucratic red tape has slowed this effort down. Like Betty Jane Saylor, whose home sustained damage during Hurricane Erin's brush past the East Coast.
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"I want people to know it's not the homeowner's fault these houses are falling in. It's the federal government and CAMA, they're taking too long with all this paperwork," Saylor said.
Saylor has owned her Rodanthe home since 2014. She started the process to have it moved back in late 2024 — expecting it to take just a few months.
“We lost the whole rental season over this," she said.
On top of the wait, the Saylor family had to watch as Hurricane Erin left her mark.
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"She totally destroyed the whole bottom. I have pictures of what the pool looked like. We now know longer have a pool. Took the fence down. It took our hot tub," Saylor said.
The Saylor's want to move their home back as far as possible. The Division of Coastal Management told News 3 that because the Saylor's wanted to move it to an area that would require filling in wetlands, it triggered the Coastal Area Management Act and a major permit process followed. This procedure involves the United States Army Corps of Engineers, other state agencies, and local government because of the potential presence of wetlands where the house is expected to be moved.
DCM telling News 3 in a statement:
"The Rodanthe homeowner initially proposed relocating the house in 2024. At that time, the homeowner was advised that relocation to a site that did not require wetland fill could proceed under a CAMA minor permit, which would have been issued within the standard 25-day review period. The homeowner declined this option, requesting instead that the house be moved as far landward as possible, which required filling USACE Section 404 wetlands. This triggered the CAMA major permit process and through the DCM umbrella process, was circulated to the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE”) and other state agencies and local government. For the USACE, the Regional General Permit 291 is a special regional general permit in North Carolina that streamlines the application review process for projects in coastal areas. Rather than requiring a separate application to the USACE, the Regional General Permit 291 coordinates the review by the USACE with North Carolina's Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) program.
The Division of Coastal Management deemed the application complete on May 7, 2025, and circulated it for review on May 16. Through the applicant’s agent, the permit review was placed on hold pending a final agency decision by the USACE.
On August 25, 2025, DCM received USACE’s decision. The Division then issued a CAMA major permit on August 25, 2025, authorizing relocation with wetland fill."
"All we want to do is move it back 350 feet off our land. And we had to fight the government even get it back that far," Saylor said.
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DCM confirmed that they marked the application as complete by their agency in mid-May and then sent it to USACE for final approval. The final approval didn’t come until Aug. 25. USACE said a typical review process takes about 60 days but there can be delays. The three-month wait for this approval isn’t uncommon, according to USACE officials.
For the Saylor's, they feel as homeowners who are being proactive on this issue, the wait is unacceptable. They're especially frustrated since the homeowners foot the bill for the permits and the relocation of the house as well.
"I'm gonna say over $300,000 by the time we get everything back the way it was before. And that's just a rough estimate," Saylor said.
