In August 1983, property owners formed the South Bethany Property Owners Association, and that year the town annexed the neighboring Sand Piper Pines community. At the time South Bethany consisted of 1,282 separate properties, 748 houses, and 105 year-round residents. During the mid-1980s, a beach replenishment project took place along the town's Atlantic coast to recover sand lost during major storms. On November 19, 1987, South Bethany expanded its boundary westward by annexing the Cat Hill community, and on March 22, 1992, Cat Hill conveyed 22 acres (8.9 hectares) of wetlands to the town.