NORTH REDINGTON BEACH, Fla. — Sand Key wants extra sand.

It’s an ironic downside on the Pinellas County barrier island that’s residence to coastal communities like Belleair Seaside, Indian Rocks Seaside, Redington Seaside, and Madeira Seaside.

For months, mayors alongside the island have underscored the necessity for extra. Now, they’re intensifying that plea after Hurricane Idalia worsened seaside erosion that the Florida Division of Environmental Safety already considers “vital.”

Although Idalia handed by effectively offshore, storm surge churned up by hurricane-pounded dunes on Pinellas County’s barrier islands and turned many into steep cliffs.

North Redington Seaside Mayor Invoice Queen identified Thursday it additionally flattened seashores just like the one behind the DoubleTree resort in North Redington.

“This seaside ought to prolong from the highest of [the hotel’s] seawall all the way in which out about 300 ft after which it slowly, step by step goes down,” Queen defined.

Due to the brand new topography, a excessive tide Thursday climbed inside roughly ten ft from the resort’s seawall and left only a sliver of seaside for the vacationers and guests returning to benefit from the surf and sand.

“You’ve bought no sand, you recognize, you’ve bought no seaside, you’ve bought no vacationers,” the mayor warned.

The seaside erosion additionally leaves the barrier island extra susceptible to future storms with much less buffer between the Gulf of Mexico and houses, accommodations, and companies.

“We’re simply residing on borrowed time proper now,” Queen mentioned.

Historically, there was an answer. For years, the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers periodically renourished or rebuilt the seashores alongside Pinellas County’s barrier islands by reforming their dunes and berms with contemporary sand both trucked in or dredged from the Gulf.

Now, nonetheless, a current coverage has put these renourishment tasks on indefinite maintain.

The Military Corps has mentioned it gained’t proceed till personal property house owners alongside the seaside give a “perpetual” easement, or entry, to a part of their properties the place some work have to be achieved.

Some landowners are hesitant to conform to that.

Thursday night, Colonel Jamie Sales space, the district commander of the Military Corps division that oversees all of Florida, toured seaside erosion in Belleair Seaside.

Although he acknowledged that renourishment is required, he defended the controversial coverage.

“Generally, these tasks should not solely on the state facet of the seaside but additionally — typically for them to carry out correctly — are designed the place they might go up … into personal property house owners’ land,” Sales space mentioned. “We have to guarantee that when we’ve a challenge, we are able to all the time get in and do the upkeep and renourishment on them.”

Moreover, Sales space mentioned no renourishment work can start till it sees agreements from 100% of the impacted personal landowners up and down the county’s barrier islands.

As Queen identified, Pinellas County has obtained easements from all impacted personal landowners alongside North Redington Seaside and Belleair Seaside.

Nevertheless, as a result of landowners in different close by communities like Indian Rocks Seaside, Indian Shores, and Redington Shores haven’t agreed, no work can occur.

Col. Sales space stands by that call. He thinks rebuilding the critically eroded seashores alongside the county’s barrier islands will solely work if everybody buys in: all or nothing.

“If you happen to can think about a pot that you just count on to carry water, you don’t need that pot to have holes within the backside of it,” he mentioned. “If we construct that challenge with gaps, when the waves come up — when the surge comes up — it’s simply going to come back proper by.”

Sales space, nonetheless, is hopeful the stalemate will finally finish and a decision might be achieved that results in seaside renourishment.

He mentioned the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers has an open communication line with Pinellas’ coastal leaders. On Friday, Sept. 8, the Military Corps will host a public assembly to temporary each coastal leaders and members of the general public on the challenge’s standing. The assembly will start at 10 a.m. within the fourth flooring Group Room of the Indian Shores City Corridor, 19305 Gulf Blvd., Indian Shores, FL 33785.

Mayor Queen will likely be there and mentioned he hopes “widespread sense” will prevail earlier than it’s too late.

“Hear, I noticed a storm that got here in right here again within the Seventies that took the entire finish of that resort off proper there,” he mentioned, gesturing to a resort not removed from the DoubleTree. “And it was not something main, however we didn’t have any seaside renourishment out right here, and the water simply got here up and slammed in opposition to the place.”