East Pass is dredged, but Destin still waiting for berms

Although contractors dredged at least 30,000 cubic yards from East Pass last month, Destin can’t use the sand yet to build protective berms for eroded beaches.

“At this point, we do not have authorization from the private landowners to transport any of that material off their land,” City Manager Greg Kisela told the City Council Monday.

Nevertheless, the council voted unanimously for a $2.50/cubic yard contract to transport the sand, in the hope the city would be able to move some of it by the end of the week.

Contractors for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers carried out two separate dredging operations in East Pass last month, depositing 30,000 to 50,000 cubic yards of sand on the end of Holiday Isle. Kisela said Monday that the Corps has an easement to deposit the sand, but the city has no authority to remove it without the owners’ approval.

“Are they the same homeowners we’re trying to help by building up the beach?” Councilor Jim Wood asked.

Kisela said the property owners involved are Destin Pointe, Jetty East and Holiday Isle. He said the Corps had an easement to deposit the sand but not to remove it.

City Engineer Chuck Meister said state rules require the berms be at least 20 feet from the water so the sand can’t be used for beach rebuilding. He said that would make it impossible to build a berm on Jetty East property, which doesn’t have that much space.

Also Monday:
•The council voted unanimously to budget $116,000 for the immediate resurfacing of Azalea Road. A staff report said the city had hoped to pay for the resurfacing as part of the redevelopment of the harbor district, but Azalea is too badly worn to wait.

•The council voted unanimously for an ordinance forbidding property owners from enclosing the area below the lowest floor of their building in a breakaway wall, then turning the enclosed area into livable space.

Stormwater-management specialist David Forstrom said in a report that the enclosures violate Destin ordinances; put the neighbors at risk for damage from fragments of the wall; and could cause the National Flood Insurance Program to raise Destin flood-insurance rates. Forstrom said the ordinance would save Destin property owners $100,000 per year on flood-insurance premiums.
The bill doesn’t affect existing enclosures unless the buildings are damaged or remodeled more than 50 percent.

•The council, which voted two months ago to set up a new city committee on “workforce housing,” decided to have the city’s Local Planning Agency hold a workshop on the subject instead.
The city has proposed requiring developers either provide housing or pay into a housing fund, but developers have asked the city to consider alternatives. The council voted in March to create a new committee to do that.

“This is what we need new councilors for,” Councilor Kelly Windes said, “to abolish what was done right before they came on board.”

New Councilor Sandy Trammell said the vote simply assigned the research to the LPA rather than creating a new committee.

The council voted 6-1, with Windes voting no, to drop plans for the new committee, then voted unanimously to direct the LPA to hold a housing workshop.

Reporter Fraser Sherman offers live updates from City Hall during Monday's council meeting. Click on http://frasersmind.freedomblogging.com/ for a play by play of the meeting.