A ‘significant step' toward bringing sand to Holiday Isle?

The eroded beaches of Holiday Isle still don’t have a supply of sand, but if one turns up, at least they have somewhere to put it.

Wednesday night, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued an emergency order covering recovery from Tropical Storm Ida. Destin City Manager Greg Kisela said Thursday that he believes it will allow the city to place sand in the area between Destin Pointe and Holiday Surf & Racquet Club, even in areas that no longer have a beach to build on.

“It’s a significant step,” Holiday Isle homeowner Larry Hines told The Log, “because that was unclear in the past ... In order to have an effective solution to our situation we need to put sand in the water, obviously.”

The order doesn’t provide a sand supply, although Hines said he and the Holiday Isle Improvement Association were meeting with the DEP about that.

Several parts of Holiday Isle, such as Jetty East, no longer have any beach at all. When protective sand berms were built along the waterfront earlier this year, parts of Jetty East’s waterfront were left out because DEP rules forbade depositing sand in the water.

Okaloosa County is working on a beach restoration project, but it faces multiple lawsuits from landowners who don’t want to participate. Earlier this year, Hines organized a “unified group” on both sides of the issue to look for an alternative.

With the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers preparing to dredge the Destin harbor entrance within two weeks, the group hoped some of the sand could be used for the properties that need restoration, skipping the owners who object.

That didn’t sit well with some Okaloosa Island residents, who challenged the Corps’ state permit. After the DEP revised the permit to say dredged sand would be deposited only on Okaloosa Island, the Holiday Isle owners filed their own challenge.

At the City Council’s Nov. 16 meeting, charter captains and city officials said that if the challenge delayed the dredging, the Corps might decide the dredging money could be better spent elsewhere.

Jetty East General Manager Jerry Stalnaker said Jetty East and the other properties are still talking with the DEP to see what can be worked out. He said they’re waiting to see what happens Monday, when they talk with DEP Secretary Mike Sole again.

“We hope to come up with a resolution before there’s any impact on the dredging operations,” Hines said.

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PHOTOS FROM THE STORM
For photos of the cleanup at Destin Pointe, click here.

To see photos from Jetty East and Destin Pointe immediately after the storm, click here.