Uncompliant Homeowners Left This Small Florida Town Unprotected From Hurricanes

The elected officials of the pristine beach town of Redington Shores, Florida, are at a standstill with its residents. Residents who enjoy uninterrupted views of the ocean and millions of tourists each year want to continue to enjoy the natural splendour; unfortunately, the increasing intensity of hurricane season might take it away entirely.

The tense situation in the small Florida town has resulted from a standoff with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency that handles flood prevention and restores beaches around the U.S., and the residents who don’t want to lose their beach access.

Recent storms in the area have almost completely stripped the beaches of their sand, so the U.S. Army needs to replenish the stores.

Due to the low sand levels on the beach, one large storm could overtake the entire area. Usually, man-made easements on beaches are a town’s best defence to stop flooding in case large waves crash the shores.

The standoff in Florida highlights the growing tensions felt around the country. Coastal communities and low-lying cities have been dealing with the brunt of climate change in recent decades, often losing their homes due to storms and deteriorating shorelines.

Populated coastal areas are often left like sitting ducks waiting for the next storm. Because the lands are usually owned by private property owners and residents, the areas are privately insured, which is growing increasingly expensive in coastal regions.

Over the past few decades, the Army Corps has worked with local communities to create policies to restore private and public beaches destroyed by storms and rising sea levels.

The agency is now warning officials in Pinellas County that no more sand can be brought to the beach for restoration if they do not obtain the easement release from all property owners on the beach. For now, the beach is incredibly low on sand, making the area vulnerable to storms.

The residents of Redington Shores don’t want to sign the documents because the easement release is perpetual. This means that if the residents do sign the documents, the Army Corps can come in and work on the beaches at any time.

The agency says that the perpetual order is necessary so that they can come in any time a storm has damaged the beach to create beneficial easements for the community. However, they are now refusing to help the community at all unless they comply with the order.

In an attempt to get residents to work with the agency, Pinellas County officials tried to obtain signatures by going door to door and pleading their case to residents.

The beaches in the middle of the controversy aren’t actually completely private. They’re still mostly owned by public agencies, but the homeowners who do own the beaches have a say in what happens to the sand.