The final heaps of debris are finally being carted away a year after Hurricane Ike focused its most devastating force on the Bolivar Peninsula. The damage was so much greater than other areas in the storm's path that the peninsula will likely take longer to recover. The peninsula has lost about half of its 2,000 full-time residents, said Sid Bouse, chairman of the Galveston county commissioner-appointed infrastructure subcommittee that is helping shape the peninsula's recovery. Before the storm, about 5,400 part-time residents spent weekends or holidays on Bolivar. How many of them lost homes is unknown, but the Galveston County Engineer's Office reports that 3,593 structures were destroyed and 401 severely damaged. The extent of the damage is reflected by the 2.2 million cubic yards of debris cleared from the peninsula. That contrasts with 800,000 cubic yards removed from the Galveston County mainland and 1.7 million cubic yards removed from Galveston Island. Ike scoured entire communities from the landscape when it struck Sept. 13 and chewed away land where rows of beachfront homes once stood. The 200 building permits issued since the storm are evidence of efforts to replace what was lost. The owners of beachfront property were finally able to consider rebuilding last month after the General Land Office set the line of vegetation that defines where the public beach ends and private property begins. Officials hope the new peninsula will be a better place, said John Lee, county mitigation coordinator. 'The Bolivar Peninsula as we knew it before is more than likely gone,' Lee said. He said new construction standards will mean houses better able to weather another storm. Commissioners are also considering building a sewage system to replace the less sanitary septic tanks used on the peninsula. Tourism has yet to return because there are no hotels and few rental houses available, Bouse said. 'Getting a community back together is going to be the hardest part,' he said, noting that part of restoring community is building affordable housing and creating jobs. The Galveston school district serves the west end of the peninsula and the tiny High Island school district serves the east end. High Island Superintendent Paula Quick said the district lost 70 percent of its tax base and was forced to raise taxes 30 cents to meet its bond obligations. County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl Johnson predicted that it would take at least two to four years before property values recover. harvey.rice@chron.com 