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ARMY CORPS PROJECT
2.6
MILES OF RENOURISHMENT
1
ARMY CORPS
PROJECT
6
GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES
141
TOTAL
EASEMENTS
Outstanding Easements
OUTSTANDING EASEMENTS
We are pleased to announce that Mr. Surles and Ms. Vogel have signed their voluntary easement. We appreciate their thorough study of all the issues and deciding to move the project forward. They accepted no funds for signing, although the Go-Fund-Me organization offered.
This is an important milestone for the 2.6-mile Coastal Storm Risk Management Project funded by your federal, state, and local governments at no cost to dune remnant owners. Most importantly, we also are in the process of securing additional offshore sand to make up for the severe erosion of our beaches since the project started.
We have been fortunate to enjoy the cooperation and assistance of the County Commission, the Army Corps of Engineers, the government of the City of Flagler Beach, the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, countless civic organizations, and the help of grassroot citizen efforts.
We are hopeful we can address the concerns of the remaining owner to get the project promptly underway.
Thank you.
THANK YOU!
Thank you to
Elke Vogel & Leonard Surles!
EASEMENTS
EASEMENTS
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Flagler County and the City of Flagler Beach have been working together to improve the beach in all areas, but with the current focus on the 2.6 miles from the north side of South 6th Street to the south side of South 28th Street. The great news is that we have successfully secured more than $17 million in state and federal funding for the beach restoration for this stretch, which means there will be no cost to property owners in salvaging your dunes.
Video Archive
ARMY CORPS PROJECT EASEMENTS
Important Update on Dune Walkovers in Army Corps Project Area
In the Army Corps Project Area, (South 6th Street to the south side of South 28th Street) the City of Flagler Beach will not issue City building permits for construction or reconstruction of dune walkovers to landowners who do not give permission for dune renourishment through a signed and recorded easement. This is regardless of whether the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issues permits for such walkovers. To allow dune walkovers on an unnourished portion of the beach would create an increased safety risk to people and property. A walkover in this situation will not have the anchoring benefit of the renourishment and will be more susceptible to storm and tidal events. Aside from the public safety risk, the City cannot issue such permits legally because it would be inconsistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan and its policies and also its Beach Management Plan, all of which direct the City to protect the beach and State Road A1A.
INTERACTIVE MAP
INTERACTIVE MAP
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What is the current focus area of this project?The current focus of an overall effort to help restore two reaches of eroded beach and dune along the Atlantic Ocean shoreline in Flagler County, FL that were severely impacted by Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Irma (2017). The two project reaches are located between Osprey Drive and 7th St. South and from 28th St. South to the Flagler/Volusia County line. The project shoreline includes both private and public parcels as well as Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area. A location map is included in this package. This project is part of an overall beach nourishment that includes approximately 2.5 additional miles of federalized Army Corps of Engineers project shoreline. The Federal project is located between the two County project reaches and will be constructed immediately prior to this project. When both projects are completed, approximately 6.7 miles of the Flagler County shoreline will be nourished.
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Do I relinquish any of my rights if I sign the easement?Property owners do not relinquish any rights to use and enjoy their parcels, to have walkovers subject to normal permitting requirements, to prohibit the public from traversing their dunes to access the beach, or to sell their beach properties. You are only granting permission for the work to be done on your dune, including allowing the agencies to replenish and maintain the dune with sand and native vegetation and to work along the beach for these purposes.
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Do I have to sign the easement document?Execution of the easement is completely voluntary, but Flagler County and the City of Flagler Beach are asking the property owners of these parcels to do so to preserve their property, as well as for the protection of State Road A1A, the businesses, and the City’s residents. Restoring the beach in this fashion will preserve the unique and iconic lifestyle of Flagler Beach and will help prevent further destruction of property caused by weather conditions.
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What happens if I don’t sign the easement?No work will be performed on parcels without signed easements from the proper owner. Please keep in mind that failure to provide access for this protective work will adversely impact the effectiveness of this project. The intent is to restore the dunes in a continuous line, from end to end, for maximum protection and beauty. The added sand and stabilizing vegetation will cover the stone revetment previously installed by the Florida Department of Transportation protecting State Road A-1-A. This dune restoration will extend and strengthen that line of defense. The restored dunes and beach together will lessen the impact of storm events and better protect the roadway and adjacent properties in Flagler Beach.
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Whom can I contact for more information?You can call 386-313-4040 for answers and guidance. By email, send any questions or concerns to shores@flaglercounty.gov. The website for the project is www.shoreuptheshore.org. Please note that there is an educational session on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, at the Santa Maria del Mar Church, 915 North Central Avenue, Flagler Beach 32136 – Father O’Flaherty Hall. Professional staff will be present to answer questions about the project and the easement. At the session, representatives of Coast Title, a Flagler County title company hired by the County, will be available to notarize and record the easement at no charge to you. Doors open at 5:30 pm and the session starts at 6:00 pm.
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What does the project include?The project includes reconstruction of the eroded dune, and then gently slope down the beach to the surf, extending into the ocean to widen the beach. The project also includes planting native vegetation that has historically grown in Flagler Beach in order to stabilize the dune and provide more habitat for plants and animals that use the shore.
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What is the purpose of sand fencing?Sand fencing may be used to help stabilize the sand to allow the vegetation to take root. The fencing captures sand and is made of natural materials that will wear away naturally over time.
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What vegetation will be planted?Sea oats, beach grasses, morning glory, and dune sunflowers. No vegetation that grows in height that would obscure the view of the ocean from eye level of the road will be part of the planting plan.
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What is the benefit?The completed project will help reduce future risk of severe erosion and vulnerability for homes, businesses, and public infrastructure, while creating substantially new habitat for sea turtles and shorebirds and expanded recreational areas for the public.
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Where will the project start?The contractor will determine where the project starts and how it progresses. Flagler County will provide information and updates as the start nears, and throughout the project. The website is a good place to get updates or you can use the other contact information provided.
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What is the cost of this project?There is no cost to property owners for the beach restoration. The cost estimate for the project at this time is approximately $10.6 million. The project will be paid for by Flagler County, FDOT, and FDEP.
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Who are the partners in this project?Flagler Beach, Flagler County, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
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Will parts of the beach be skipped?At this time, the limits of the project will likely be limited by the available funding. The County is actively seeking funding to maximize the project benefits. However, the County cannot legally perform the beach restoration for property owners who choose not to grant the easement. Those properties will become holes in the community’s shoreline defense and will be most vulnerable to erosion.
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Will the project qualify for FEMA post-storm reparation funding?As the project is considered engineered infrastructure, damage caused by storm events related to a Federally declared disaster will qualify for FEMA repair cost-sharing. Repair of qualifying damages to the project will be eligible for 75% cost-sharing by FEMA. The remaining 25% will be eligible for additional cost-sharing by local government, the State of Florida, and Florida DEP.In between declared disasters, the City of Flagler Beach is entering into a funding agreement with the Florida DOT for maintenance of the dunes.
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How long will the project take?From start to finish, the renourishment of the beach should take 2-4 months to construct once the dredge and associated crews are mobilized to the project site. It is anticipated that construction will be immediately following completion of the Federal project.
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How is the project constructed?The contractor will excavate sand from offshore, mix it with salt water to make a slurry, and pump it to the beach via a pipeline. The floating or submerged pipeline will be clearly marked in accordance with U.S. Coast Guard regulations. The pipeline laid on the beach has a discharge point that releases the material. Crews will operate bulldozers to direct the slurry in a way that allows the sand to settle out and the water to flow back to the ocean. Bulldozers will then push the material to shape the beach as designed. The active construction areas, encompassing about 1,000 to 1,500 feet segments, will be temporarily closed to the public. This area will be clearly marked-off with ropes and/or construction fencing. The project will place sand along the beach at a rate of between 200 and 500 feet per day.
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What will happen to my walkover?The contractor is not permitted to destroy or damage your walkover if you have one. Your steps will still lead to the sand, and you will be able to use your walkover after the renourishment. Workers will use shovels rather than heavy equipment near walkovers. The dune will taper to accommodate the walkover. It is possible that some of your bottom steps will be buried, but they will reappear as erosion occurs.
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When can planting of sea oats and other native vegetation begin?Planting may take place after beach and dune segments are completed. Planting typically begins as beach fill activities are finishing.
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How does this project affect sea turtles?Sea turtle nesting season in Flagler County is between May 1 through October 31. Daily early-morning monitoring by state-permitted turtle observers will start April 1. When necessary, nests will be relocated to a safe location. This will continue throughout construction. Also, during the nesting season, the contractor must adhere to construction restrictions to prevent adversely affecting sea turtles. Additionally, another authorized environmental entity will start monitoring other local wildlife, including shorebirds, once construction operations start.
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What will the hours of construction be?Unless work is delayed because of possible environmental impacts, mechanical problems or bad weather, construction operations are planned to occur 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This intensity is to assure the work is completed as quickly as possible to cause the least disruption to the beach.
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What is the length of a stretch of work, and how long will it take?During active construction, according to our coastal engineering consultant, the work should proceed 200 to 500 feet along the shore each day. No one expects the equipment to stay in a single area longer than five days.
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Will there be construction noise?As the project moves down the beach, there will be noise impacts, but they will be temporary. In a particular construction area, noise impacts will be no more than a day or two. The most noticeable noise will be the federally required back up beepers for dozers. The discharge of sand onto the beach, pumped in from the ocean, makes very little to no noticeable noise according to our coastal engineering company. We ask residents to be patient during this relatively short-term inconvenience in order to gain the critical protection of the shoreline. Unlike a road project, for example, the I-95 resurfacing project in Flagler County, the dune restoration will not be skipping from here to there. It will proceed in an orderly fashion to keep the project moving along the beach.
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Is there access to the beach and ocean during construction?The beach will remain open to residents and visitors outside the work areas. The contractor expects to temporarily close at least 1,000 to 1,500 feet of the beach at a time during the project – about 10 days to 2 weeks at a time.
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What is a dredge pipe and how will it affect beach usage?The dredge pipe is used to bring sand from the permitted source site, which is about 10 nautical miles offshore in federal waters. The dredge pipe will remain on the beach until filling operations are complete. Public access over the dredging pipes will occur roughly every 200 feet with wooden ramps. The dredged sand is free of organics which means no odor as when there is an ocean upwelling.
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How will the contractor access the beach?The contractor will have two access points. The first will be the sand ramp used by the Flagler Beach Lifeguards for ATV access at State Road 100, and the second location for staging and access is just south of Gamble Rogers State Park across from the water tower.
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How can you tell if a beach restoration project is successful?Each beach project is engineered to different specifications based on the geography, hydrology and historical erosion rates of the project area. Beach restoration projects tend to need maintenance. They are built in areas that are already eroding. Erosion, however, will be addressed through an annual maintenance program operated under a grant to the City of Flagler Beach. Creating substantial dunes and a wider beach essentially protects the upland properties and infrastructure from storm surge and wave impacts. The beach and dune are designed to act as a natural buffer that absorbs the energy of the storms, so that upland property and infrastructure does not have to.
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Will the beach stay the same size after construction?Noticeable shoreline recession will occur immediately following construction. This is by design. Additional sand is placed above the water line to let the waves and currents take it to fill the lower portion of the beach below the water line. This process is called “equilibration.” Immediately following construction, wave activity will begin to reshape the placed sediment to a more natural shape. Full adjustment of the beach slope typically requires many months or multiple significant wave events. Once the project has reached the equilibrium condition, the beach is expected to recede at a slower rate.
FAQ
CONTACT
CONTACT
Inquiries
County Offices
For any inquiries, questions or commendations, please call: 386-313-4040 or fill out the following form
Contact Us
Easements
For questions about an easement with Flagler County, please send information to: shores@flaglercounty.org
Telephone: 386-313-4040
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