A new economy

Back when we spent vacations in Buxton, the idea of buying land would usually pop up. Maybe to build a house and retire someday or as an investment for college tuition.

Then the phrase “water rights” would burst the bubble. In those days, about 25 years ago, the Hatteras Island water supply was limited. Getting water rights to build on a lot was harder than finding tickets to a Washington Redskins game.

In other words, forget it.

Since then, the county has built a reverse osmosis water treatment plant there, and people with better vision, or luck, have seen their investments pay off in bundles. But another thing happened. One of the checks on Hatteras Island development was removed, and the character of the place changed.

Development on the northern beaches took off even earlier. I must confess, in those days I was happy to get through it all to the relative seclusion of Hatteras Island.

Still, some controls were built in over the years. Architectural standards, height limits and other rules didn’t prevent huge houses from replacing old stores and motels on N.C. 12, but at least they helped keep the Outer Banks from becoming another Myrtle Beach.

Now, the rules seem almost beside the point because the economy is regulating growth. Construction and home sales have stalled, and the county and towns are looking for more sources of tax revenue. Kill Devil Hills recently reduced its water hookup fee from $5,000 to $4,000 to make it a little easier to build a house or business.

It’s a modest change — Kill Devil Hills’ fee was considered on the high side anyway. But I hope it’s not a sign that local governments might be tempted to open the floodgates in the faint hope of jump-starting more development.

Maybe, instead, this is an opportunity for some new ideas.

Earlier this year, an effort called Create the Future Initiative held a forum that looked at high tech and access to fiber optic cable as a lure for businesses that can operate anywhere and don’t depend entirely on tourism. Internet publishing companies, for example, or small industries assembling alternative energy components. Schools and research facilities, like the University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute.

Maybe the towns and county could pick up on an idea discussed in Nags Head — better incentives to use thousands of square feet of vacant storefront space rather than building more. They don’t have to be stores or restaurants. They can be the kinds of businesses Create the Future was talking about.

Encouraging sensible redevelopment might be another route. Would that give contractors enough of the work they need? I don’t know.

But with the barrier islands almost fully developed and an economy not conducive to the old model of build it and they will come, now seems like an excellent time for creative planning to diversify the Outer Banks economy.

It might be an even better investment than buying a lot in Buxton would have been 25 years ago.

This column originally appeared in The Virginian-Pilot

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