Not being from hurricane country, every time one of those behemoths slams into a coastal community, I ask myself why anyone would build there. We more or less know the line of fire and wouldn’t be a good idea to stay out of it? I’m sure though, that folks in Daytona probably wonder what’s up with us Left Coasters building on fault lines on in literal lines of fire as they watch homes shake and burn on their television screens. In any case, one company, though it didn’t really set out to to do so, has come up with a prefab home design that seems to be pretty much storm proof. They’re cool looking, too.

Deltec is a Northern Carolina-based – hello hurricanes – manufacturer of prefab, mostly circular homes that can be put together by your local contractor. You can get one for as little 100k for 300-ish square feet, but throw down 500 and you’re looking at about 5,000 square feet. These guys are way big on eco, too, with tons of green built into their homes and a manufacturing facility that boasts one of the largest solar arrays in North Carolina. They’re into extremely low-waste manufacturing processes, as well, and shoot for building with 100 percent renewable energy. They’ve even constructed a LEED Platinum home for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. In the end, though, how green you go is up to you, as virtually everything these guys do is customizable. Kinda neat for prefab.

Deltec talks a lot about “kindship with earth” and “treading lightly upon it.” “Circular homes bring another dimension into our lives, one that is often forgotten, the dimension of a beautiful space linking us with our forbearer’s sense of free-living and connectedness to the earth.” Whatevs. Even they admit there’s nothing new about the round house. But round is good in terms of both functionality and strength. These homes have less exposed surface area, which improves durability and energy efficiency, and good aerodynamics. Says them: “There is not enough surface area on any part of the house for pressure to build up.”

Which brings us back to the hurricane issue. Deltac doesn’t claim to make hurricane proof houses, but it seems they do a good job of it – they got some great “still-standing” pics from Hugo, Dennis, Fran, Charley, Andrew and Katrina. In fact, says Deltec, none of their homes suffered any structural damage from the latter’s level-5-force winds, and two were hit by 20-30 foot tidal surges and winds of over 145. Not bad for no claims of being hurricane proof.

It’s a classic feud predicated upon the idea I have my land, now you cannot have yours.

In this case, the land is the pristine white beach that stretches along the Florida Panhandle, a beach that has been restored over the past 30 years through a renourishment and restoration program.

Turns out homeowners with wonderful views of the green waters of the Gulf of Mexico have challenged the program to save eroding shorelines because the new strips of sand imported belong to the public and not to them.

According to the Washington Post, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the homeowners’ property rights had not been infringed upon. And now those homeowners have produced a new challenge, stating their constitutional rights and 100 years of common law have been ignored in support of the program.

The  U.S. Supreme Court will hear the argument next week, considering whether a decision by the judicial branch, rather than the executive or legislative, can create the kind of private property seizure forbidden by the Constitution. The court has yet to decide whether restoring storm-damaged beaches is an unconstitutional taking of private property.

“It’s one of the great open questions” in property law, said D. Benjamin Barros, a law professor at Widener University who edits a blog on such topics.

Most often, the money spent on Florida’s beach renourishment and restoration program has gone to coastline ravaged by erosion and hurricanes. For example, Destin and Walton County spent about $22 million in 2006 to restore about six miles of beach in western Walton County and in the city. In he past, homeowners have appreciated the assistance and have filed no claims.

Main Image: Just Jennifer