Seawalls

[John R]

We're not resolved on this issue yet. Does anyone have any updates as to what the state's and DEP's stance is on this. Hopefully someday the people who installed illegal walls and their contractors will held responsible. Is the (laughable)$500/yr going to go into some post hurricane cleanup superfund? $500/mo should be more like it.

 

[NotDeadYet]

Check the agenda for tomorrow's BCC meeting. The $500 lease agreements for those seawalls in Seagrove located on PUBLIC beaches are supposed to be decided upon. The county has a long and unfortunate history of controversial issues like these ending up on their agendas close to a holiday and at a meeting in DeFuniak. Probably protestors will be few and far between.

 

[JustaLocal]

I wonder if I could get a beachfront property owner to lease me a strip of dry sand for my towel this summer for $500 a year?

 

[Smiling JOe]

As I understand it, the DEP will not look at the permit requests of the seawalls which are on the public's beach, until the County addresses the issue of the legalities of them being on County property. Only after the County works this out, could they go to the DEP to request a permit for the seawall. If the County says not to the licensing agreement (which is highly unlikely, IMO), the DEP will not look at the request for permits, and the walls would likely have to be removed at some point in time.

 

[scooterbug44]

I wonder if I could get a beachfront property owner to lease me a strip of dry sand for my towel this summer for $500 a year?

I would definitely pay $500 a year for a strip of dry sand !!!

What an unrealistic price. Some of those seawalls encroach so far onto the beach that by extrapolation I could lease a 1/4 acre beachfront lot for $2-3K a year.

 

[Andy A]

First of all, I love the idea of an "artificial reef" at Blue Mt. Beach. My wife and I were sitting on the walk over this mornining noticing and commenting on how the waves were breaking at the second sand bar. Consequently, there was little or no break at the seashore. Right now, we have more beach than we have had in a long, long time. I do think, strictly from personal observation, the idea of creating wave breakage further out from the shoreline definitely has some merit. But not being versed in oceanography, I don't know. Secondly, for some of us who have constructed walls, replaced sand and planted new plantlife, removing the walls is not an option. There are many reasons why this is not feasible but the main and overriding one is endangerment of the existing stuctures that have now been totally restabilized. Many of these walls were constructed using proper engineering, surveys and building techniques. Taking them out now would be tantamount to a criminal act. By the way, DEP sat in on at least three major meetings concerning the building of our wall. They offered little or no guidance at the time and have been totally silent regarding permanent approval of the wall, now in place for over two hurricane seasons.

 

[Smiling JOe]

and that is why you will never see the County tearing down the walls.

 

[NotDeadYet]

Many of these walls were constructed using proper engineering, surveys and building techniques.

Andy, we are not talking about your wall, or walls that were built as described above. We are talking about walls built on public beaches, some as far out as 80ft onto public beaches, much further than they needed to be. The "proper engineering and surveys" were in error, supposedly. But that old Seagrove plat never even deeded the entire bluff to the beachfront property owners, let alone the beach, and anyone who tells you they didn't know that probably has some swamp land in South Florida to sell you. And most of them were built by a sitting county commissioner's business. I'm not saying they should be torn down, or even that they never should have been built - that is a topic for another discussion - but I am saying they should have been sited as far landward as possible and since the beaches there are public, all this business about leases should have been settled before they were built. Before everyone and his brother started claiming "ownership' of the beach and the right to exclude people from the beach, it didn't matter so much. As far as I am concerned, every inch of public beach now matters.

 

[Andy A]

NDY, agreed. Sometimes on this board its hard to understand to what a poster is referring.

 

[GoodWitch58]

Andy, we are not talking about your wall, or walls that were built as described above. We are talking about walls built on public beaches, some as far out as 80ft onto public beaches, much further than they needed to be. The "proper engineering and surveys" were in error, supposedly. But that old Seagrove plat never even deeded the entire bluff to the beachfront property owners, let alone the beach, and anyone who tells you they didn't know that probably has some swamp land in South Florida to sell you. And most of them were built by a sitting county commissioner's business. I'm not saying they should be torn down, or even that they never should have been built - that is a topic for another discussion - but I am saying they should have been sited as far landward as possible and since the beaches there are public, all this business about leases should have been settled before they were built. Before everyone and his brother started claiming "ownership' of the beach and the right to exclude people from the beach, it didn't matter so much. As far as I am concerned, every inch of public beach now matters.

THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION:
SECTION 11. Sovereignty lands.?The title to lands under navigable waters, within the boundaries of the state, which have not been alienated, including beaches below mean high water lines, is held by the state, by virtue of its sovereignty, in trust for all the people. Sale of such lands may be authorized by law, but only when in the public interest. Private use of portions of such lands may be authorized by law, but only when not contrary to the public interest.

I wonder if the County has considered hiring a good constitutional lawyer and getting an intrepretation of this Section of the Florida Constitution ...