Some Ike victims may not be allowed to rebuild

The law was enacted when there were far fewer houses on the Texas coast. In fact, there are lot more houses on the coast now than there were in 1983, during Hurricane Alicia, the last time the law was invoked against large numbers of homeowners. Many of the beach homes on Galveston and other nearby beaches are second homes, many of them rather modest.

Schwartz said the area's homeowners should not be surprised.

"Every one of them was warned of that in their earnest money contract, in the deed they received, in the title policy they bought," he said. "And whether you like it or not, neither the Constitution of the United States nor the state of Texas nor any law permits you to have a structure on state-owned property that's subject to the flow of the tide."

California and Oregon have similar laws.

A long wait
State Rep. Craig Eiland, a Galveston Democrat, said he is not aware of any move in the Legislature to change the Open Beaches Act. And the track record for those who choose to fight the state in court is grim.

"No one has ever succesfully ever beaten the state when the state comes after you under the Open Beaches Act," said Charles Irvine, a Houston coastal law attorney. "But everyone still tries to think up innovative arguments."

Susan Holman, 60, of Dallas, owns a house with her brother on Pirate's Beach on Galveston Island. Her parents built it 25 years ago as a vacation home. The home is still intact, but the water's edge is now close, meaning the house might be seized.

"Until we know more, I'm not going to worry about something that hasn't happened," she said. But she added: "If that did happen, it would break our hearts."

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