Texas Administrative Code › Title 31 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION › Part 1 - GENERAL LAND OFFICE › Chapter 15 - COASTAL AREA PLANNING › Subchapter A - MANAGEMENT OF THE BEACH DUNE SYSTEM › Section 15.1 - Policy

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
The General Land Office has identified the following goals
					 as a basis for managing and regulating human impacts on the beach/dune
					 system:
(1) to assist coastal citizens
				  and local governments in protecting public health and safety and in protecting,
				  preserving, restoring, and enhancing coastal natural resources including
				  barrier islands and peninsulas, mainland areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico,
				  and the floodplains, beaches, and dunes located there;
(2) to aid coastal landowners and local
				  governments in using beachfront property in a manner compatible with preserving
				  public and private property, protecting the public's right to benefit from the
				  protective and recreational functions of a healthy beach/dune system,
				  conserving the environment, conserving flora and fauna and their habitat,
				  ensuring public safety, and minimizing loss of life and property due to
				  inappropriate coastal development and the destruction of protective coastal
				  natural features;
(3) to foster
				  mutual respect between public and private property owners and to assist local
				  governments in managing the Texas coast so that the interests of both the
				  public and private landowners are protected;
(4) to promote dune protection and ensure
				  that adverse effects on dunes and dune vegetation are avoided whenever
				  practicable. If such adverse effects cannot be avoided and have been minimized,
				  every effort must be made to repair, restore, and rehabilitate existing dunes
				  and dune vegetation;
(5) to prevent
				  the destruction and erosion of public beaches and other coastal public
				  resources, to encourage the use of environmentally sound erosion response
				  methods, and to discourage those methods such as rigid shorefront structures
				  which can have a harmful impact on the environment and public and private
				  property;
(6) to aid communities
				  located on barrier islands, peninsulas, and mainland areas bordering the Gulf
				  of Mexico which are extremely vulnerable to flooding and property damage due to
				  violent storms by working to reduce flood losses, by minimizing any waste of
				  public funds in the National Flood Insurance Program, and by ensuring that the
				  insurance remains available and affordable;
(7) to protect the public's right of access
				  to, use of, and enjoyment of the public beach and associated facilities and
				  services as established by state common law and statutes. The public has vested
				  property rights in Texas' public beaches, and free use of and access to and
				  from the beaches are guaranteed. The Open Beaches Act requires local
				  governments to preserve and enhance use of public beaches and access between
				  the beaches and public roads. If an access point must be closed, then existing
				  law requires it to be replaced with equal or better access consistent with the
				  appropriate local dune protection and beach access plan. Whenever practicable,
				  local governments should enhance public beach use and access;
(8) to provide coordinated, consistent,
				  responsive, timely, and predictable governmental decision making and permitting
				  processes;
(9) to recognize that
				  the beach/dune system contains resources of statewide value and concern, which
				  local governments are in the best position to manage on a daily basis. This
				  subchapter is designed to provide local governments with the necessary tools
				  for effective coastal management and are regarded as a minimum standard; local
				  governments are encouraged to develop procedures that provide greater
				  protection for the beach/dune system;
(10) to educate the public about coastal
				  issues such as dune protection, beach access, erosion, and flood protection,
				  and to provide for public participation in the protection of the beach/dune
				  system and in the development and implementation of the Texas Coastal
				  Management Program; and
(11) to
				  minimize public expenditure on damages caused on public and private property,
				  including the public beach, by erosion, storms, and meteorological
				  events.