, Fla. — Beachfront owners and engineers who are trying to recover from back to back hurricanes say government red tape is putting the process, and properties at risk.
Many who are trying to repair or replace seawalls are instead hitting walls with various agencies.
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Up and down the Volusia County coastline, you see destruction awaiting construction, including Jeffrey Hartman’s New Smyrna Beach dream, which is now barely braced on new sand.
“Never thought I would ever own a house on the beach,” Hartman said.
The back half of his house was ripped away, along with his dune-filled backyard that faced the ocean. Before he can fix his house, he needs to secure the site with a seawall. Though his next door neighbor’s seawall survived, doing its job to protect the property, Hartman can’t get approval to build one in the same spot.
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“I think that it’s caught up in a whole bunch of politics between four or five agencies, who all have their own different agendas,” Hartman said. “And it’s a shame.”
Volusia County leaders told 9 Investigates that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection reviews and permits all construction near the coastline, and as part of that process, another state agency, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, acts as a ‘commenting agency’. FWC’s goal is to make sure permits don’t conflict with rules regarding protected species, including sea turtles and gopher tortoises who used to nest in Hartman’s dunes.
“They’ve always had a say in the siting of seawalls,” Jonathan Adams said. Adams is the Vice President of CRA and Associates, which is a New Smyrna Beach-based structural engineering firm. “What’s happening now is the criteria in a lot of the administrative code says for the seawall to be sited as close to the dune erosion line as is practicable,” he explained.
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Adams’ firm has been hired for 95 seawall repairs and installations post-Ian and Nicole, but only about 20% of those projects have had permits approved. He says in most cases, FWC wants seawalls to be moved much farther inland than expected, greatly reducing his clients’ usable property.
“So there would be a Sawtooth seawall,” Adams said. “In addition, there would be not adequate protection for these homeowners.”
9 Investigates reached out to FWC about the process. The agency’s stance on coastal construction can be seen right on its website, which states ‘sea walls have been shown to lower the frequency of sea turtle nesting.’
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“These bureaucracies are trying to make what was historically property owners’ backyards and private property into public beach,” Adams said.
Hartman feels like it’s a land grab, too.
“Taking the property is not acceptable,” Hartman said.
Volusia County leaders have been advocating at the state and federal levels for construction to continue during turtle nesting season, with steps taken to ensure active nests are protected. However, as of right now, any projects that are not underway before May first cannot start until nesting season ends in November, putting homeowners at risk of another hurricane season without protection of their properties.
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