When it comes to rebuilding coastlines decimated by Hurricane Sandy, New York governor Andrew Cuomo has a plan—don’t do it.

The tack is decidedly different from the usual post-hurricane building rhetoric, which often emphasizes construction measures meant to help homes weather the next storm. Instead, Cuomo wants coast dwellers to concede the battle.

“At one point, you have to say maybe Mother Nature doesn’t want you here,” he told the New York Daily News. “Maybe she’s trying to tell you something.”

For those ready to listen, Cuomo has proposed a broad buyout program that will give everyone from the newly homeless to the barely scathed a chance to vacate the coast.

The $400 million plan would offer pre-Sandy values for most homes, with owners in particularly vulnerable areas getting a bonus for clearing out, according to a New York Times report.

The reclaimed land could be employed for a number of uses—wetlands, public beaches, sand dunes—but could never be built on again, according to the Times. The plan, which would use money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development along with some of the $51 billion in Sandy relief funds, is still awaiting federal approval.

The buyout, if successful, could be a win-win for state and federal governments. Not only would they save money by not rebuilding homes in vulnerable areas, but the open swathes of coastline could act as storm buffers to protect property further inland.

“The main thing is to put some distance and some friction between places you’re trying to protect and the coast,” G. Paul Kemp, vice president of the National Audubon Society’s Gulf Coast Initiative told the Times in January. “You want to have some areas where if you have a surge and waves, they can dissipate energy before they get to the infrastructure you care about.”

State officials expect the Cuomo plan might get only get 10 to 15 percent of eligible takers, according to the most recent Times article. The rest are liable to hunker down and hang on to the shreds of their community. A lot of locals affected by the storm have indicated not only disinterest, but also anger at the prospect of selling their homes.

Despite that, Cuomo will press on.

“You have to be sensitive,” he to the Daily News. “I’m not saying anybody should sell, but you should think about it. And if you want to sell, we’ll have an option.”