Posted on July 7, 2021
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The county has put off a $9.9 million beach repair project because not enough beachfront owners would allow the heavy equipment to cut through their properties.
County commissioners Tuesday agreed to delay the work until 2022-23.
The section of beach, referred to as Sector 7, is between the Treasure Cove subdivision and Floralton Beach. It was last renourished in 2007 after hurricanes Frances and Jeanne tore through the Treasure Coast.
Since 2013, the beach has been losing about 1½ feet of sand per year.
“Sometimes, it just doesn’t make sense,” said County Commission Chairman Joe Flescher. “I just don’t understand the logic in preventing us from going forward.”
Money to repair the beach would come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Florida Department of Environmental protection, insurance payments and the county bed tax.
“We have the funding, the resources and I can only think if we delay this another year or so and we get a couple of good storms, that every beach area or beach ownership or access to ownership will be nothing more than seawall.”
The county needs about 82 property owners, or about 90% of them along that stretch, to allow beach access for the project to be economically feasible, officials said. Without access, the county would have to work around certain parcels, creating large gaps among the repaired dunes.
As of June 23, the county had received easements from 51 owners, or 62%, with an additional eight easements in the approval process.
Fourteen property owners within Sector 7 have flat-out denied the permission for trucks to bring in sand and dump it on the beach. Nine others have not officially responded despite multiple requests, officials said.
There are no public-access points within Sector 7 for equipment to enter the beach. The closest are at South Beach Park, about 1.4 miles north of the project area, and Round Island Beach Park, about 1.9 miles south, county Public Works Director Rich Szpyrka told commissioners.
“The problem we have right now is access,” said Szpyrka. “Within Sector 7, we have no public access at this time where we can put trucked sand on the beach.”
The county previously had rented property near Sector 7 for truck access, but that parcel has been sold and the agreement is no longer in place. Szpyrka said the project delay could give the county time to secure a similar property if one becomes available.
County staff has reached out to property owners, trying to convince them to grant access to the beach, but with little success.
“We go out and visit people, we would call them, asking how can we make this work. We need to put sand on this beach,” said Szpyrka. “We have been proactive for the last couple of years. Staff has spent an inordinate amount of time just trying to contact people and get the easements that are necessary to make this a viable project.”
Permits for the beach renourishment project are good for 15 years, and federal funds received after hurricanes Matthew, Irma and Dorian, along with grants from the Department of Environmental Protection, could be delayed another year, Szpyrka said.
