Pointe One still making waves as it pushes for marina approval

Destin harbor will be safer if Pointe One Beach and Yacht Club doesn’t land a permit for a 53-slip Norriego Point marina, charter boat captain Ken Beaird says.

“53 slips is way too many,” Beaird told The Log recently. “When do we look at the safety issue, the practicality, increased pollution, increased congestion?”

Beaird was one of the captains, boaters and residents who opposed the marina in 2005, when Pointe One LLC requested Destin approve its 79-condominium Norriego Point development, with the marina as part of the project. Critics said the marina would be too close to East Pass, increasing the congestion and safety risks in what was already a crowded stretch of water.

Pointe One responded by dropping the marina from its development application. Two months after the city approved the marina-less condo towers, Pointe One applied to the Department of Environmental Protection for a marina permit.

Although Pointe One sales material has heavily advertised the marina, sales representatives have predicted that the condos will sell even without a yacht club. Pointe One representatives and salespeople did not return The Log’s calls.

In 2006, Pointe One said that if the City Council applied to the DEP for a dredging permit — which the DEP was more likely to approve than if a private company applied — Pointe One would pay all or part of the cost of relocating Destin harbor’s navigation channel and dredging the sand shoaling part of the harbor, provided that the marina was approved. The amount the company paid would depend on how big a marina they were allowed to build.

It turned out that City Manager Greg Kisela had already applied for a dredging permit, but the councilors authorized him to continue with the process.

In 2007, the DEP rejected Pointe One’s marina application, saying the marina was too large; could pose a navigational hazard; would lower water quality; and that Pointe One needed to provide more information if it reapplied. The DEP’s Shawn Hamilton told The Log in January that since Pointe One reapplied, the agency has requested further information.

Beaird, a former Destin mayor, said the further a marina extended into the harbor, the more of a danger it could pose. He said Pointe One had “some rights to their waterfront” but not if it was so big it threatened public safety.