Saturday, February 11, 2006
Welcome to Salvation Sands
Beach renourishment is not a religious movement even though you will hear the word Salvation or terms like "it's our only Salvation" or "our Eventual Salvation" used quite often. It lends the aura of a noble cause to the process. Salvation is also used along with the term beach restoration as well. Salvation can also mean to deliver one from harm in the secular sense as well although some experts equate going the sand renourishment path with taking on a heroin addiction. They say once you start renourishing you can't stop. Maybe that's why they call it OPM (other peoples money). Orrin Pikey Jr. of the Duke University school of the Enviornment and Earth Sciences says that " Renourishment can cost $2 Million Dollars per mile and it can Kill Wildlife and inhibit Sea Turtle Nesting"
And these costs will only go up if there is more competition for borrow sites for available qualifying sand which leads to a supply problem. There are only a handful of companies that do this type of renourishment work so getting around to every mile of beach in time can also become a politically charged issue.
BUT:
For Beach renourishment or restoration (read buying more sand to widen your beach) to begin.........
THE GOVERNMENT MUST ESTABLISH AN EROSION CONTROL LINE WHERE UPLAND (private)PROPERTY
ENDS AND STATE OWNED PROPERTY BEGINS. ANY WIDTH ADDED TO THE BEACH IS THEN *DEEMED TO BE PUBLIC PROPERTY BECAUSE IT IS PUBLICLY FUNDED.
*Deemed: To hold, consider or treat as if.
AND:
STATE FUNDING HINGES ON INCREASING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE BEACH.
SO:
TAKING FEDERAL AND STATE $$$ = INCREASING PUBLIC ACCESS AND MORE PARKING.
Once public funds have been mixed into your beach through public funding The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has more control over your beach as well because other law takes effect through this same process. The beach mouse in particular benefits from this outcome.
There is a whole lot of TAX money flowing into Government from Tourism and Tourism needs a beach like a junkie needs a fix.
So....What can we do ???
Option 1. All homes are temporary. Beach homes are more temporary than most.
Move the construction line further inland and make people self insure if they want to live within the 30 year storm erosion zone freeing up more Federal and State money.
Give developers that have built under the existing laws tax credits and incentives to build new buildings further inland away from storm and flood zones. Fund a Government purchase of endangered gulf front condos for use by Federal, state and local agencies
until they are taken by the Gulf.
Option 2. Get that sand on the beach NOW! and keep the Salvation coming.
And if we need Dept. store sized parking lots for all the new people who will be using our beaches send some asphalt trucks too.
And if we need to create a new tax district to fund our share at the county level thats fine. Collect a toll on the 331 bridge to buy sand,not a problem.
The point of this little exercise is to stress how important it is for our leaders to make some bold moves to get us through the next 100 years.
We are behind the eight ball here folks and time and tide wait for no man or beach.
And these costs will only go up if there is more competition for borrow sites for available qualifying sand which leads to a supply problem. There are only a handful of companies that do this type of renourishment work so getting around to every mile of beach in time can also become a politically charged issue.
BUT:
For Beach renourishment or restoration (read buying more sand to widen your beach) to begin.........
THE GOVERNMENT MUST ESTABLISH AN EROSION CONTROL LINE WHERE UPLAND (private)PROPERTY
ENDS AND STATE OWNED PROPERTY BEGINS. ANY WIDTH ADDED TO THE BEACH IS THEN *DEEMED TO BE PUBLIC PROPERTY BECAUSE IT IS PUBLICLY FUNDED.
*Deemed: To hold, consider or treat as if.
AND:
STATE FUNDING HINGES ON INCREASING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE BEACH.
SO:
TAKING FEDERAL AND STATE $$$ = INCREASING PUBLIC ACCESS AND MORE PARKING.
Once public funds have been mixed into your beach through public funding The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has more control over your beach as well because other law takes effect through this same process. The beach mouse in particular benefits from this outcome.
There is a whole lot of TAX money flowing into Government from Tourism and Tourism needs a beach like a junkie needs a fix.
So....What can we do ???
Option 1. All homes are temporary. Beach homes are more temporary than most.
Move the construction line further inland and make people self insure if they want to live within the 30 year storm erosion zone freeing up more Federal and State money.
Give developers that have built under the existing laws tax credits and incentives to build new buildings further inland away from storm and flood zones. Fund a Government purchase of endangered gulf front condos for use by Federal, state and local agencies
until they are taken by the Gulf.
Option 2. Get that sand on the beach NOW! and keep the Salvation coming.
And if we need Dept. store sized parking lots for all the new people who will be using our beaches send some asphalt trucks too.
And if we need to create a new tax district to fund our share at the county level thats fine. Collect a toll on the 331 bridge to buy sand,not a problem.
The point of this little exercise is to stress how important it is for our leaders to make some bold moves to get us through the next 100 years.
We are behind the eight ball here folks and time and tide wait for no man or beach.
