Dear Outer Banks Neighbors,
On March 20, 2020, with only a few hours warning and lack of due process, OBX homeowners who didn’t carry a Dare, Hyde or Currituck driver’s license were denied access to their homes. They were not stopped from entering Dare County because they had Covid, or symptoms of Covid, or refused to wear a mask. They were stopped at the bridge and forced to turn around with no exceptions while those who possessed local driver’s licenses were free to access their homes as much and as often as they pleased.
Inexplicably, a small number of government officials denied thousands of homeowners access to their properties for 70 days. And yet, despite this denial of access, homeowners were expected to pay real estate taxes and utilities on their OBX homes.
Thankfully, because we live in America and there is a legal framework that supports property owner’s rights, this problem was adjudicated. Today, homeowners who do not reside on the Outer Banks full time will never again be denied access to their homes for a health-related event.
During the homeowner lockout, many painful exchanges and emotions surfaced on both sides of this issue, including vandalism and ad hominem attacks. How does our community come together after so many hurtful words and actions? To address this challenge, a group of concerned homeowners formed a coalition to create a productive path forward to improve relations and communications among all who call the Outer Banks home.
We are the Outer Banks Owners Alliance, and we are here to stay. The alliance has brought together many who have a shared focus. We are not just homeowners - among our members are many business leaders and government officials. Together, we are building on this framework to ensure an “Outer Banks for All”.
We have learned several important takeaways from the last two years:
• All of us have something special in common: we love the Outer Banks. Not only those who live here full time but the homeowners who do not carry a Dare, Currituck or Hyde driver’s license. It 2 is a myth that people invest in the Outer Banks for profit alone. Rather, home ownership is a means to come spend time in a place we love or to begin retirement plans. For the majority of those who buy a home here, it is not only an investment but a labor of love and hope for the future.
• There should not be a second-class label for homeowners, no matter where they hail from. During the lockout, the term “non resident property owner” (NRPO) took on ugly connotations. We firmly believe that another word for NRPO is “neighbor.”
• Currituck County recently dropped the tiered system of re-entry after storms. We hope that Dare County will follow suit very soon. We encourage polite, productive correspondence with Dare County urging them to promptly drop the tiered re-entry system and recognize all homeowners equally.
• We respect the people of the Outer Banks: both residents and those who work hard to ensure our community runs smoothly and well. Those who work on the Outer Banks work very hard, especially in the summer. We admire them and believe they should be respected and fairly compensated. Without this hard work from residents or summer laborers, our community can’t survive economically. No one should take their contribution for granted.
We believe the Outer Banks is for all people, in fact #OBX4ALL is our tagline. If you’d like to join us in our efforts to unite everyone in the OBX community, please contact us at outerbanksownersalliance@gmail.com or visit our website at outerbanksownersalliance.org.
We look forward to welcoming you!
Sincerely,
Outer Banks Owners Alliance
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