Retreat Blog

Just Listed
61 Bermuda Dr. (lot 88, backs up to the preserve)
Approx 4620 Sq. Ft.
4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths
$3.5 Million

Great reporting from the National Resources Defence Council on Florida Coastal Waters.
Interesting that Walton County has 9 Beaches that are tested and 8 that are not while Okaloosa County has 12 beaches that are tested and 41 that are not.

The full report is here:
Testing the Florida waers

Florida is intimately linked with the sea. All of Florida lies within the coastal plain, with a maximum elevation of 120km above sea level. There is not a single point in the state that is more than 100km from the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. In some places, those distances are slowly shrinking. The plain fact is that erosion is a constant and natural process that the state must live with.

I read in the local paper today that several property owners in the approved re-nourishment area are threatning civil suits if renourishment attempts are made.

Coastal law is getting a lot more attention these days.

I find this whole Enchantment concept very interesting... Suburban homes became idealized settings for family life and suburbia became the locus of relentless aspiration and restless consumption (Brooks 2004)


Full Article Here


This commentary interprets the development of upscale American suburbs in terms of the changing political economy associated with distinctive phases of political-economic develop-ment.

The current outcome, it is suggested, is “Vulgaria:” the emblematic cultural landscapes of contemporary American suburbia. They are landscapes of bigness and spectacle, character-ized by packaged developments, simulated settings, and conspicuous consumption, and they have naturalized an ideology of competitive consumption, moral minimalism, and disengage-ment from notions of social justice and civil society.

To Buy homes in the Retreat.

You have no doubt heard the one about various locals in Florida that goes something like this; " You know what's happening over in so and so dont you darling ?"
No dear, What?
"The billionaires are kicking the millionaires out"

Let's consider:

Insurance rates could double after every storm season

Special Assessments will be more frequent and in increasing amounts

House Building costs continue to rise

Interest rates are higher

The Fed and the Banks are getting tighter

Well, you see where I am heading. Recent events have only accelerated an existing trend in the US which is the decline of the middle class and the growth of the Upper Class and the growth of the underclass.

Which is another way of saying that beach front communities are becomming the playground of the seriously wealthy and the price of admission is going up darlings....

And remember, What happens when you catch up with the Joneses?
The Joneses refinance.

I have been told that a "mini Tornado" was spotted in the Dune Allen area early this morning during the thunderstorms.

Meanwhile Draper lake continues to amaze with how much water it can hold.

Let's hope and pray that all the Hurricanes next season are "mini-canes"

Only 168 days until Hurricane season.

From the university of Florida Levin College of Law's Conservation Clinic website: Click on blue link for the full paper.

Geotextile Tube Impact

Forgetting the law of unintended consequences is never a good thing...

California is a bellweather state. Could this be the new thinking?

Studies Show West Coast Beach Sand Coming from Coastal Bluffs

Two separate studies that have been recently published assert that the majority of sand at Southern California beaches comes from naturally eroding sea cliffs, and not from streams and rivers that empty their sediment load into the coastal zone. One study used a type of "sand fingerprinting" technique, and the other study used a laser imaging system to ascertain sand origin. Among other things, the results of these 2 studies indicate to us that shoreline structures stopping beachfront cliff erosion rob our public beaches of their most important source of sand.

and a recent Harris poll on what they are thinking about the environment these days.

Environmental poll

Were candy and nuts, everyone would have a Merry Christmas.

There are:

Only 173 days to hurricane season.

Only 123 days (M-F when civil servants are at work)

This also assumes that everyone concerned is staying in town and/or on the job with no extra vacation time figured in for Christmas, new Years, Spring Break,Easter etc.

This is starting to sound like one of those Reality based TV shows.

So Team Retreat: working towards June 1, 2006 the official start of Hurricane season from today you have to:

1. Have a doable plan with a better than average chance of success
2. Have a fully completed DEP application that gets final approval
3. Sign a contract with a contractor to have the plan implemented
4. Have it done before June 1, 2006

And just to make things interesting don't forget Sea Turtle nesting season:
In Florida, adult females begin to nest as early as late April and they continue right up to early September. Nesting activity is at its peak in June and July. Average clutch size varies from 100 to 126 eggs.


Godspeed and Goodluck Gentlemen. You will need both.

Glink Survey Shows Strong Belief in Bubble
About 67 percent of Americans believe there really is a real estate bubble, according to a recent survey by ThinkGlink.com, a real estate advice and information site.
"Of the survey respondents who believe there is a real estate bubble, just 18.1 percent believe the bubble will burst within six months. Accordingly, the other 81.9 percent of those respondents who believe a real estate bubble exists think the bubble won't burst for at least six months. Another 41.3 percent indicated that the bubble won't burst for at least a year and the balance (40.6 percent) predicted a real estate bubble would burst six to twelve months from now.
The survey, with 475 participants, was conducted by ThinkGlink.com in November 2005. Ilyce R. Glink is a nationally-syndicated columnist, television reporter, radio talk show host and author. ThinkGlink.com offers news, tips, advice and information from Glink on real estate, personal finance and consumer issues.

Only 174 days untill Hurricane season.

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
-Albert Einstein



Only 175 days untill Hurricane season.

Yes, less than half a year.

Forecaster predicts slightly calmer 2006 hurricane season
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Next year's hurricane season is likely to be busier than average but not up to this year's ruinous, record-setting pace, one of the nation's top hurricane forecasters said Tuesday. William Gray of Colorado State University predicted 17 named storms in 2006, almost double the long-term average, and said nine of them could become hurricanes — five of them major hurricanes, with winds of at least 111 mph.

Consider.

Beach Re-Nourishment from four mile village(Sandestin area) west to the Walton county line is a go . No new emergency permits can be issued now because the project is due to begin within 9 months. They plan to begin this summer.

This end of the county east to the Bay county line could be approved (some say) within 18 months. The same restriction would apply within 9 months of the projected start date.

The above project moved forward only after a legal Challenge to the DEP permit took a year to settle. Any citizen can challenge a DEP permit and from what I read the standard is very low. A challenge could come from the Sea Turtle Watch group.
They have already pointed out in a recent article in the Walton Sun that the number of Loggerhead sea turtle nests located dropped from 58 in 2000 to only 19 in 2005.

Kipp Frohlich, section leader for the imperiled species management section in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Services is concerned that building practices may cause the
turtles to become extinct.

Our neighborhood board has stated that we may not get a DEP permit at all.
They have also said that if we do get a permit it could take 12 to 18 months.
And they have said they are making the application for a DEP permit.

If we do obtain a DEP permit and the time period happens to be within 9 months of the projected start of a beach renourishment project then we will not be able to begin the project even with a permit.

The wildcard is any challenge by one individual or group or coalition of groups that might oppose these permits.

Another wildcard is how the county will manage any future "emergency period" after a major storm based on their experience of late.

One more wildcard is how many lawsuits will occur when the DEP refuses to grant permanent permit status to many emergency projects and owners refuse to remove them.
This could then make it harder for future emergency permit applicants.

This is a very fluid (no pun intended) situation with many unknown twists and turns.

Howdy neighbor,

I took my Kayak the "redout" on a ride around Draper lake this morning.
The lake is higher than I have seen it in 2 years.
There are lots of dead pines around the edge of the lake . One interesting thing I saw at the north east end fully covered in 3 feet of water are some flowering (yellow) plants. The sunlight is still reaching the flowers .
Also the lake has cut a small channel of approx 150 feet in length into the back side of our preserve area . And you have to step over a foot of water along the dune path to the beach.
If we cannot protect the preserve area before the next "H" season , I do not see how this area can remain as is. I think it is possible that the hurricanes will breach the ragged preserve area dunes and then the lake will over run this area until we have another drought period along this coast.

Full story here: 44 Acres

I received a very well written letter from Watercolor.
We must vote yea or ney on the plan to fix our hurricane problem'

Two steps:
1. Install Protec tubes not Geo-tubes and cover with sand.
2. Seek a long term solution like beach restoration with county,state ,federal.

cost: if vote is approved? $2484.61 per property owner.

If approved watercolor will endeavor to complete the installation prior to the next storm season....

Yes, it does look like a Hurricane spinning through space...

Patterns and clues are all over existence.
I think the movie by the name Pie (not apple pie but the math Pie) showed this principle very well and the fact that as soon as your mind begins searching for a certain thing or pattern you "suddenly" start to notice that thing,
or pattern all around you... like a search engine.

(click on picture to enlarge)