Posted on August 7, 2023
The job of protecting oceanfront property and the beach is not a simple task.
It involves the coordinated assistance, regulation and oversight from multiple government agencies to help property owners through the process of rebuilding sea walls and restoring the beach.
What are local, state and federal governments doing to help property owners restore the beach?
Following last year’s storms, Volusia County received a $5 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for emergency sand placement. Through entering into a five-year coastal easement agreement, the county assists property owners in placing sand-filled TrapBags as a temporary measure to help prevent additional erosion. Near the end of July, almost $1.3 million of the original grant had been used to assist 318 property owners.
Gov. Ron DeSantis also presented a check for $37.6 million to the county in January for use with beach restoration. The first disbursement from the grant was on the County Council agenda for Aug. 1, with a second agenda item to follow in the next meeting in August or the first meeting in September.
County Manager George Recktenwald stated, “This generous funding will definitely help us with recovery efforts, and we look forward to stepping up our efforts to replace sand and restore dunes.”
Also, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging of Ponce de Leon Inlet and the Intracoastal Waterway in May and June created 60,000 cubic yards of material that was deposited north of the Ponce de Leon Inlet Jetty.
After more than a decade free of tropical storms or hurricanes impacting Volusia’s Atlantic coast, in 2016 Category 3 Hurricane Matthew’s passage barely 25 miles offshore was the first of three major storms in four years to impact the coast, eroding much of the dune that had accumulated during calmer years.
The county’s weakened beach and dune system was no match for the one-two punch of Tropical Storms Ian and Nicole in a span of just six weeks late in 2022.
The storms inflicted nearly $900 million dollars of damage to Volusia oceanfront properties. Now managers and owners are scrambling to obtain the funds and permits necessary to rebuild sea walls and dunes.
The lengthy, complicated and costly process can be frustrating. First, a coastal engineer must be hired to access the damage and outline a restoration plan, then you must navigate through the complicated process of meeting the requirements necessary to obtain county, state and federal permits before reconstruction can begin.
After a permit is issued, funding for the expensive restoration work may be secured through insurance claims, available federal or state disaster assistance, and grants or low-interest loans. Multi-owner properties, such as condominiums try to spread out the millions of dollars needed for repairs through a series of assessments spaced out over time to reduce the financial impact.
When a construction company is selected from an in-demand list of qualified contractors, rebuilding is allowed to commence. Still, additional obstacles, such as supply chain issues, material and labor shortages, and adverse weather may delay or hamper construction.
Florida established the Coastal Construction Line to protect the coastal system from encroachment of structures that can destabilize or destroy the beach and dune system. It is not a setback, but a demarcation “red line in the sand” for more stringent construction standards.
While it can take many years, an undeveloped beach will gradually rebuild. The natural dune system is free to give its reserves of sand to the sea during storms, then receive from offshore sand bars in calmer times.
When sea walls are built to protect buildings, parking lots and roads, the beach is no longer free to move (as it must) in response to storms. The placement of a wall to preserve valuable real estate impounds all of the sand behind it and contributes to eroding the sand in front. The beach’s natural defense stops.
Volusia County has jurisdiction on the beach. As defined in the County Charter, the beach is lands and waters lying seaward of the seawall or line of permanent vegetation. This definition also is used for the enforcement of the Beaches and Dune protection ordinance.
As part of permitting sea walls, Volusia County has an ordinance that requires replacement of a dune (regardless of whether it was present before the sea wall failure). The ordinance states, “All new and reconstructed armoring structures must be buried with an artificial dune at least four feet above the existing grade, at a slope no greater than three to one and planted with the appropriate native coastal vegetation.”
The county’s requirement to build a vegetated dune does not sit well with some cash-strapped coastal properties struggling with the cost of recovery. According to one Daytona Beach Shores property manager overseeing the condominium’s post-storm recovery, the new “dune” will add a quarter million dollars to the cost of reconstruction of the 350 feet of sea wall that collapsed.
The property manager went on to say the previous “dune” on the county’s beach was small, had little vegetation and was washed away by storms years ago, and the artificial dune would soon suffer the same fate. The manager stated the condominium will do what it needs to protect the property, but the beach in front of the sea wall should be the county responsibility.
When asked how the county would monitor compliance and enforce the Beaches and Dune ordinance, Volusia County Community Information replied:
“The County Council deferred the requirement for replanting the dunes for armoring projects until Dec. 31, 2024. The state funding we have received is for sand placement only. The county will seek additional funding to support vegetation planting, but it is ultimately the property owner’s responsibility if additional funds are not secured. If there is a need for enforcement after Dec. 31, 2024, then the county will utilize the standard code enforcement process to attain compliance.”
Few know the pulse of the ever-changing beach better than Dustin “Dusty” Dipersia, a long-time Ponce Inlet surfer and Mad Dog surf shop owner. Back in 1990, when in the 10th grade, Mr. Dipersia recalled surfing great waves at the end of an onshore sand replenishment project’s discharge pipe north of Ocean Avenue when the Inlet was being dredged for navigation.
“We called it The Dredge. It was point break-perfect peeling waves where the sand was pumped onto the beach,” he said. “It would be good for restoring the beach and surfing if they pump sand on the beach again.”
