Back to All About SoWal

Do You Care About the Dothan Ave. Walk Over and the Beach?

cabytheseaBeach Lover
1,877 views
The Dothan Ave. walk over is experiencing significant erosion ever since the new house construction next to it began last year. When contacted, the builder, architect, various county departments and the DEP claim no responsibility and are not interested in correcting the problem. Now, I'm all for someone paying a bunch of money for a beach front lot and building a large, unattractive house (as long as it meets code) - but this walk over has existed for decades and the fact no one is interested in preserving it, is alarming. The erosion is washing onto the beach and looks nothing like the "sugar white sand" which we are accustom to. Let's collectively petition our elected county commissioners and see if we, the people, can affect change.

Replies

5
Kurt avatar
KurtAdmin
#2
Have they disturbed the dunes at the dune line? Any ideas why the construction would cause erosion on the adjacent lot? Any ideas what the solution would be? Other than widening our beaches with more sand?

The boardwalk through the seagrove is one of our most beautiful. I hope it remains that way.

http://www.sowal.com/park/dothan-avenue-access

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvyQo4UoHOs
cabytheseaBeach LoverAuthor
#3
I am not an environmental engineer (although my daughter is) - it appears that prior to construction, rain would perc through the vacant land. Now, it is displaced towards the walk over and the significant runoff is eroding the dirt beneath the steps - sending the dirt towards the beach and weaking the structure itself. Again, any/all of you concerned - please contact the county commissioners seeking help!
Kurt avatar
KurtAdmin
#4
I am not an environmental engineer (although my daughter is) - it appears that prior to construction, rain would perc through the vacant land. Now, it is displaced towards the walk over and the significant runoff is eroding the dirt beneath the steps - sending the dirt towards the beach and weaking the structure itself. Again, any/all of you concerned - please contact the county commissioners seeking help!

I thought you meant it was the gulf that was eroding it. Erosion from rainwater runoff can be fixed and should be part of their plan to put up retention fabric, etc. Sounds like a simple job for code enforcement. What did they say at the building department when you filed a notice of possible code violation?

The TDC is responsible for the walkover so you might want to let them know there is a problem.
scooterbug44 avatar
scooterbug44SoWal Expert
#5
Definitely call code enforcement - if I am remembering correctly this has been going on for months - and it looked bad months ago!
cabytheseaBeach LoverAuthor
#6
When contacted, Code Enforcement piled sand on the dune in front of the property - result, no help. It is water run off from the construction site - the owner, builder, architect and TDC take no ownership of the problem or the solution. The county has had an engineering firm check out the situation - the solution is some type of retention pond on the construction site itself - again, the owner, builder, architect and TDC, at this point, are taking no responsiblity. They claim the county permitted the construction, requiring nothing be done should a situation like this develop.
PLEASE contact the county commissioners ASAP - while this valuable walk over can be saved. Please spread the word, we need your help.

Checking your forum account

Please wait while we verify your forum account.

New posts