SECTION 15.33. Certification Status of Nueces County Dune Protection and Beach Access Plan

(a) Nueces County has submitted to the General Land Office a dune protection and beach access plan which is certified as consistent with state law. The county's plan was adopted on March 25, 1992 and amended on October 23, 1996.

(b) The General Land Office certifies that the dune protection portion of the La Concha master plan adopted by the Nueces County Commissioners Court on March 20, 1996 is consistent with state law.

(c) The General Land Office certifies that the dune protection portion of the Palms at Waters Edge master plan adopted by the Nueces County Commissioners Court on December 27, 1996, is consistent with state law.

(d) The General Land Office certifies that the dune protection section of the Mustang Island Episcopal Conference Center master plan adopted by the Nueces County Commissioners Court on January 31, 2000 is consistent with state law.

(e) The General Land Office certifies as consistent with state law the amendment to Nueces County plan that was adopted by the Nueces County Commissioners Court on March 16, 2005, Order No. 20050032. The order amended the plan to increase the beach user fees imposed for parking on the beach in fee areas designated in the plan.

(f) The General Land Office certifies as consistent with state law the amendments to the Nueces County plan that were adopted by the Nueces County Commissioners Court on December 7, 2005.

(g) The General Land Office certifies as consistent with state law the following variances from §15.6(f)(3) of this title (relating to Concurrent Dune Protection and Beachfront Construction Standards) in the County's plan as amended on December 7, 2005. The plan establishes special erosion and flood protection requirements for dune protection permits providing that a permittee shall:

(1) locate residential and commercial structures permitted after May 2000 at least 350 feet landward of the vegetation line unless no practicable development alternatives are possible; and

(2) restrict development permitted after May 2000 in the area between 350 feet and 200 feet landward of the vegetation line to recreational amenities such as pools and picnic areas. In any case, applicants must demonstrate that every attempt has been made to minimize use of impervious surfaces in this zone.

(h) Compliance with the special erosion and flood protection requirements for dune protection permits specified in subsection (g) of this section establishes a rebuttable presumption that the permittee has followed the mitigation sequence requirements in §15.4(f) of this title for avoidance and minimization of effects on dunes and dune vegetation. The variance certified in subsection (g) of this section does not exempt a permittee from compliance with compensatory mitigation requirements for unavoidable adverse effects on dunes and dune vegetation.

(i) The special erosion and flood protection requirements for dune protection permits specified in subsection (g) of this section shall not apply to a previously platted subdivision lot that was the subject of a prior dune protection permit, or that was part of a master planned development, the plans for which were previously approved and adopted by the Commissioners' Court, provided that the construction authorized by a new permit is consistent with the prior permit or master plan.

(j) The special erosion and flood protection requirements for dune protection permits specified in subsection (g) of this section shall not apply to areas within the jurisdiction of the City of Port Aransas.

(k) The General Land Office certifies as consistent with state law the amendments to the Nueces County plan that were adopted by the Nueces County Commissioners Court on July 14, 2010.

(l) The General Land Office certifies as consistent with state law the Joint Erosion Response Plan for Nueces County and the City of Corpus Christi as an amendment to the Nueces County plan. The Joint Erosion Response Plan for Nueces County and the City of Corpus Christi was adopted by the Nueces County Commissioners Court on June 27, 2012.

Source Note: The provisions of this §15.33 adopted to be effective October 21, 2003, 28 TexReg 9075; amended to be effective December 8, 2005, 30 TexReg 8174; amended to be effective May 28, 2007, 32 TexReg 2869; amended to be effective January 18, 2011, 36 TexReg 143; amended to be effective February 26, 2013, 38 TexReg 1208