COLUMBUS — Property owners along Ohio’s Lake Erie coast will receive letters this week from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources identifying whether their property is preliminarily located within a coastal erosion area. The letters will initiate a 120-day comment period for an updated set of coastal erosion maps originally released in 1998.
Maps released today by the ODNR Division of Geological Survey are available online at www.ohiodnr.com/CEAm and in print at affected counties, municipalities and townships in Ohio’s coastal counties. Ohioans may learn more about the preliminary 2010 Coastal Erosion Area maps at eight public hearings scheduled across the coast beginning January 25.
Under Ohio’s Coastal Management law, ODNR is required to measure coastal recession rates along the state’s Lake Erie shore. Land areas predicted to erode within a 30-year period, if additional approved erosion control measures are not completed, are included in designated coastal erosion areas. Ohio law defines a coastal erosion area as beginning at the water’s edge and extending landward a specific distance based upon the rate of recession along that stretch of bluff, bank or beach ridge.
Following the procedures outlined in Ohio Revised Code 1506.06, the 2010 maps should be finalized in early 2011. However, until the 2010 maps are finalized, the 1998 Coastal Erosion Area designations and maps will be in effect and enforced for construction and property sale purposes.
The objective of the program is to promote wise land use. Property owners considering a construction project along the coast or selling littoral property may visit the ODNR Office of Coastal Management’s Web site at www.ohiodnr.com/coastal or call 419-626-7980 to learn more. Staff members will assist landowners in determining if a property is within a 1998 designated coastal erosion area. The Office of Coastal Management can also guide property owners through the permitting process and advise about Ohio’s Residential Property Disclosure law.
Property owners, municipalities, counties and townships with questions about the 2010 maps can visit the ODNR Division of Geological Survey’s Web site at www.ohiodnr.com/geosurvey or call 614-265-6595 for information. Pursuant to O.R.C. 1506.06, affected parties may file a written objection to a 2010 preliminary coastal erosion area identification with the Division of Geological Survey at the public hearings or at any other time within 120 days from the date indicated in their certified letters.
Courtesy letters also will be sent to owners whose properties were not within a 1998 coastal erosion area and are not in the preliminary 2010 boundary, as well as owners whose properties are within a 1998 designated coastal erosion area but are not within a coastal erosion area based on the 2010 preliminary maps.

In addition to the letters, ODNR is providing property owners with fact sheets and information on what the Coastal Erosion Area Program is and what a designation means for their properties. This information may also be found by visiting www.ohiodnr.com/CEAm.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/hide comment form

Write comment

Name

Email

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment