Eroding support - Engineers, surf group differ about how to protect site of Montauk Lighthousel

After five years of studying how best to protect the site of the Montauk Point Lighthouse from future erosion, the Army Corps of Engineers says it has the answer: a rock wall.

But while the local historical society agrees that's the best solution, a surfing-environmental group has been a consistent voice of dissent, saying the lighthouse should instead be moved back from the Point.

After completing a $1-million feasibility study last fall, the Corps recommended spending $14 million to replace a 450-foot revetment or wall made from boulders placed by the Coast Guard in 1992 with a bigger wall. It would be made of 12.6-ton boulders extending 840 feet to bracket the easternmost tip of Long Island. The project, designed to last 50 years, has the enthusiastic support of the Montauk Historical Society, which owns the lighthouse that was completed in 1796.

Three developers stress experience to convert Uplands Apartments site

Executives at three development companies vying to transform a vacant Southwest Baltimore apartment complex into mixed-income housing yesterday promoted their experience with such projects in distressed neighborhoods across the country.

Before an audience of about 30 in the auditorium at Edmondson High School, development executives highlighted their past projects in cities such as Washington, Pittsburgh and Charlotte, N.C., where low-income residents live alongside homeowners.

Beaufort County - Trees illegally axed Developer ordered to stop work on construction site along U.S. 278

BLUFFTON -- The developer of a commercial complex on U.S. 278 will have to replace a slew of trees that illegally were chopped down last month and may be charged for the trees it can't replant, said Beaufort County officials.

The county issued a stop-work order Oct. 26 to developer Stafford Properties after learning nearly all the trees were cleared from a required 50-foot natural buffer. The complex is being built on the north side of U.S. 278, just east of S.C. 46 next to The Crescent, and includes a Best Buy.

The stop-work order prevents any construction for 30 days. In the meantime, Beaufort County zoning administrator Hillary Austin is assessing the damage and determining what types of trees should be planted. She plans to discuss the issue with the county's Development Review Team today before making a final decision.

The county's Highway Corridor Overlay District rules require a 50-foot buffer between the highway and the development, but numerous protected trees and vegetation were cleared, said Judy Nash Timmer, county development review planner. Construction cannot resume until Nov. 26.

"They should not have removed anything within that first 50 feet," Nash Timmer said. "These buffers were put in place to protect our sense of place so that we didn't have concrete to concrete and asphalt to asphalt."