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SANTA ROSA BEACH ? More than 100 panicked property owners breathed a collective sigh of relief Thursday when the Walton County Commission voted to allow them to use dark sand to shore up homes and businesses endangered by severe beach erosion.
At an emergency meeting, the commission decided to loosen the county?s existing white sand color restrictions so that property owners can repair damage from Hurricane Dennis before another storm comes.
?Our biggest enemy here is time,? County Commissioner Scott Brannon said.
White sand has a high price tag and is harder to come by than darker sand.
That has created problems for property owners in need of a fast way to reinforce foundations, said county Planning and Development Director Pat Blackshear.
?Many homeowners are having a hard time finding a source to stabilize their homes on a temporary basis that meets the standards,? she said.
About 90 percent of the beachfront properties along the Walton coastline have suffered damage from stormrelated beach erosion, Blackshear said.
Walton County?s white sand requirement allows only granules that fall at an 8 or higher on the Munsell color scale, which ranks color on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being whitest.
The county is temporarily allowing the use of darker sand that rates a 6 or higher on the Munsell scale to be used as fill under endangered structures.
Storm surge from the hurricane sliced through sand dunes like a hot knife through butter, destroying some homes and leaving hundreds of others teetering at the edges of unstable sand cliffs.
Hugh Lambert worries that his property in Four Mile Village may fall victim to the erosion.
Dennis? impact on the beaches there impressed him so much that he has reversed his stand against beach renourishment and fully supports the use of dark sand for repairs.
Lambert is not a party to the ongoing lawsuits on the issue but has been a vocal opponent.
?I was wrong,? he said. ?I?ve changed my mind.?
Walton County is close to two sand mining pits that provide white sand: Owl?s Head Sod Farm in Freeport and the Sikes Highway 20 Sand Pit in Chipley.
Brad Pickel, director of beach management with the Walton County Tourist Development Council, urged property owners to exhaust all possible sources of white sand before using the darker granules.
?If there?s good beach quality soil there, it?s a bad idea to leave it sitting in a pit,? he said.
Those in search of white sand could run into problems, however.
Owl?s Head provides sand only to certain contractors, and the Sikes pit has limited supplies of sand readily available.
The cost of white sand could also hinder speedy repairs.
White sand averages about $22 per cubic yard. Darker sand, which is more available, starts at around $4 per cubic yard.
The county planning department is currently compiling a list of sand sources for beachfront property repairs.
The county will allow the use of dark sand at least until a beach scraping program begins next week.
The scraping project involves moving sand from the shoreline up the beach to reinforce structures and dunes.
The county is waiting on the Department of Environmental Protection to issue a permit for the scraping.
State Sen. Charlie Clary assured commissioners that he is working with the DEP to speed up the permitting process if possible.
Commissioner Ro Cuchens made an emotional plea to the DEP to expedite the permit approval.
?These people are hurting,? he said. ?These are their homes ? everything they?ve worked for.?
Righteously cool.