Nags Head staff outline living-shoreline designs, basis-of-design due Aug. 1 and community meetings planned

At the July 15 meeting, planning staff and consultants updated the board on estuarine shoreline management and living-shoreline concepts for multiple sites in Nags Head. Joe (S7) said engineers have completed most modeling and the Basis of Design report is scheduled for Aug. 1; consultants will present concept designs at a community meeting the week after the board meeting.

Joe described a mix of approaches: larger breakwaters near the northern Nags Head Woods area and marsh sills with smaller breakwaters in the Southside Road area, chosen to reduce impacts to submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) so that permitting agencies will approve the work. "The basis of design report should be done August 1," Joe said, adding the concepts are preliminary and consultants will finalize designs before permitting.

Board members asked about durability and reimbursement after storm damage. Joe said he has asked consultants for examples of damaged living shorelines and whether recovery is reimbursable; he noted that FEMA can reimburse some work and that living shorelines tend to be more resilient than hardened structures, but he did not guarantee performance for specific storm events.

Staff also discussed drone-based imagery used in mapping the sites; staff said the drone imagery was about 98% accurate in identifying subaquatic vegetation and that county partners assisted with flights. Next steps include completing the design report, holding community meetings (tentatively Aug. 7) and pursuing additional grant funding to advance designs from 60% to 100% for construction procurement.