Grow, dune grasses, grow! That will be the battle cry of edge-of-the-ocean homeowners and builders after a crucial rule change by our state's Coastal Resources Commission. The bottom line is that on some beaches the CRC will allow houses to be constructed closer to the breakers.

This, in the topsy-turvy world of beachfront building, stands as fairness and progress. It's more like building sandcastles before a rising tide.

The CRC gave in to beachfront property owners and coastal towns. They say regularly "nourished" beaches -- those on which sand is pumped, at considerable cost -- can withstand the ocean's march. So it's safe to build closer to the Atlantic.

The measure of all this is the line drawn in the sand by beach grasses.

At present, structures have to be set back a certain distance from the first line of established vegetation on a beach. If, after sand is pumped on shore, the grasses creep toward the water, legal building sites will be allowed to follow.

As they do, North Carolina, which once prided itself on uniquely tough (and rational) beachfront rules, will drift back into the pack. And taxpayers will be lucky not to find themselves pumping up more cash for storm-related losses.

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