Texas Coastlines May Remain Unbuilt

"Where someone can build along the Gulf has been a war of ideology and values for years. The debate, however, intensified a few months ago after [state land commissioner Jerry] Patterson, who oversees the state's beaches, proposed new restrictions on coastline construction."

"But public officials from Galveston and other coastal communities blasted the proposal, saying the rules represented a land grab by the state.

In a written response to the proposed rules, the Gilchrist Community Association asked the state: 'How can a community exist without new construction?'

Patterson said the desires of those with beach property and blueprints should be considered, but nature is taking away the land through erosion, not the state."