Florida Department of Environmental Protection Approves Construction of Perdido Key Beach Access #4!

This is FANTASTIC news for those of us who love spending time at the beach in Perdido Key.

It has been a struggle, a long, drawn-out struggle.  Read about the long fight for this beach access here.

But now we are at a major watershed moment.  The last big document we needed is now here.  Read it for yourself.

This document allows for the construction.  Our environmental staff have worked hand in hand with the department of Fish and Wildlife and other stakeholders to design an access point that both provides access to the beach for citizens and guests, but one that also meticulously follows the Habitat Conservation Plan to protect the endangered species that live on this property.

This is truly a win-win--for humans and animals.

Now--there are still those that are disgruntled, those that wanted to continue the status quo where this parcel remained sequestered behind locked gates and was only to be used by locals, the nearby and across the street condo owners,  as their own, personal private beach.  Yes, yes--although they feigned indignation about the "danger" to the "critical habitat"---this trope of "concern" was always nothing but a ruse.....That's a known fact of reality so far as I am concerned.  It was and still is all about them, their agenda, and their use of this property and a simultaneous disdain for cooler-dragging day visitors like me.  

But their efforts failed.   Again---the true reason these condo owners and other interested persons fought this access development for you and I is/was because they wanted this beach to be their own beach---they did NOT want day visitors like you and I visiting THIS BEACH.

So they filed a lawsuit which went nowhere.  And it is going nowhere. DOA.

We will soon, very soon, complete the work to #OpenOurBeach.

Meanwhile, we have approved $225,000 in TDT funding to construct this access (which may be a bit short due to increased construction costs which may necessitate an infusion of an additional $50-$70K from the TDT--no problem. ), we have 100% plans, we are moving forward.

We are Going to #OpenOurBeach

With Thursday's vote to move forward with funding $228,000.00 for construction from the County's TDT funds (Tourist Development Tax)--we are finally moving forward with the construction phase of the project that will eventually enable us to---- finally----- #OpenOurBeach at access #4 in Perdido Key!

After 7 long years and lots of gnashing of teeth, obstructions, delays, and threats--we're finally doing what we said we would do for the citizens.

It was great to have a unanimous vote to do this--even in the face of feckless, specious arguments from two persons at the meeting who gave disingenuous, opaque reasoning for holding off on doing this.

The time for holding off is officially over.  The time for action is now.

Next up--completion of a report from UWF's Haas Center illustrating the nexus between this project and tourism--which will allow for the use of these hotel tax dollars to construct this access.

After this, an affirmative vote of the Tourism Development Council (TDC) will be required for expenditure of TDT monies in support of this project.  I preferred to eliminate all uncertainty and to fund the entire project utilizing LOST funds that we have generated from the recent sale of nearly 100 acres of OLF 8 to Navy Federal Credit Union.

But the board did not support this and instead we will go the TDT funds route and see how far $228,000.00 gets us toward completion of this access.

Once completed--this access point will accommodate 34 parking spaces and provide a "Mobi-Mat" walkway from the parking lot down to the dunes which will allow access to the water by emergency vehicles if/when necessary.  These Mobi-Mats also allow access to the beach for/by citizens with disabilities that find themselves confined to a wheelchair.

And last but not least--the opening of this access point and development of this site will insure that the sensitive areas of the dunes system on the property are properly fenced off with signage added describing the protected wildlife in these areas and advising visitors to "keep-out" of these areas.

Right now, no such signage or fencing exists--- and folks currently trample all over the dunes unobstructed, leaving rubbish, disturbed dune vegetation, and disturbed habitat in their wake.

For 7 long years this pristine, 330 foot of Gulf access has been kept from the citizens that bought it--behind a locked gate and "no trespassing" signs.

But with Thursday's vote--that all changed.

And once open--this parcel and the adjacent 200' of beach owned by the Crab Trap restaurant will combine to give area citizens a brand new 500+ foot beach area to utilize free of charge.

This is a fantastic win for all citizens, what a profound turn of events this is.

We are now going to #OpenOurBeach!

How Will We Pay to #OpenOurBeach ?

Beach Access #4 has been locked and off-limits to the public for the last 7 years since the county paid just over $3Million to acquire this parcel for habitat conservation and public access.  We have done the work, we have the plan, and I have identified a source to complete the project.  It is time for us, finally, to #OpenOurBeach.  

Some folks have speculated on the "how" question.

Now that the Restore Act Project has been pulled back, in order to use restore act funds to #OpenOurBeach at Perdido Key Beach Access #4 we would have to start from scratch, build a new project, vet it, take public comment, and re-submit it to the US Treasury.  That could be an option, but that would take too long.

We could always seek to utilize TDT funds (hotel tax monies)--however that would also be a circuitous process, as the law changed in 2018 and now any infrastructure-related expenditures of these funds require a study indicating the tourist related impact necessitating the expenditure.   Additionally, the law requires that the local Tourist Development Council bless any such expenditure.  So this could happen, but again it would be a long process.

General fund dollars could always be used--but even I would not support expenditure of general fund dollars for this project.

So this really leaves few options for this funding.  LOST IV is already overspent for the first 4 years and there are no residual funds from LOST III that could be used.  This I confirmed with the budget and finance office yesterday.

But after going through multiple sources and scenarios, I finally came to a funding source that is available, unallocated, and ready for utilization.

"These funds would be an allowable source to fund the Perdido Key Beach Access Project"  Said attorney Alison Rogers yesterday evening when I asked her about this funding source in particular.

"There are more than enough funds there to do this if the board directs it" said Stephan Hall when I asked him about this specifically in my weekly conference call yesterday evening.

I intend to discuss this funding source this morning during our Committee of the Whole when we discuss this project.

We will #OpenOurBeach!

Thursday: An Update on the Progress to #OpenOurBeach

Condo Owners near the County's 330 foot parcel of Beachfront property in Perdido Key next to the Crab Trap Restaurant love to use our beach as their own "private" beach.  They even advertise it!  Now that we're going to #OpenOurBeach--this group of condo owners is doing everything they can to try to stop us.  They like it just the way it is, because it is a comfortable status quo for them.

This Thursday morning we will have our monthly committee of the whole meeting.  This week one of the items on the agenda is a 15 minute item from Tim Day in Natural Resources about the current status of our plan to #OpenOurBeach access point in Perdido Key next to the Crab Trap.

This 330' parcel directly the Gulf of Mexico was purchased by the county 7 years ago for habitat protection and public beach access.

But special interests have fought us tooth and nail over the last several years as the county began the plans to finally open this site to the public.  They have fought us in court and as the county ran this project through the development review process.

The entire sordid history of this can be reviewed here

The backup for this Thursday's discussion is empty.  What I fear is that those who are opposed to opening this access, along with their acolytes, will attempt to "scare" the full BCC into paralysis on this project.  They will urge us to "wait" to build this access until "the court case is finalized." (this could be pushed out forever in an attempt to stymie the opening of this access to the public)

I am of the belief that we don't have to wait.  We have checked the boxes and we have done our planning.  We have a nice sketch of what we can build and we are ready to go.  So I asked our attorney about what it is that could potentially shut us down, and the conversation went a little something like this:

JEFF B:  "Absent a dispositive ruling from the circuit court (i.e if there is another judge rotation, or no action is taken, or the plaintiffs push this out with additional motions or requests for continuance-- and the case is just languishing there) -----is there anything preventing the county from moving ahead with construction of the improvements provided we follow the DRC process and settle/resolve any appeals from that process.  Or to put it another--- way: Is there anything in either of these processes that would prevent us from moving forward with construction of the improvements prior to the final dispositions of any appeals to the circuit court?"

ALISON R:  "At this time, there is no requirement that we stop.  Anything we do is at our own risk.  The DRC was last Wednesday and there is a 15-day window for a potentially aggrieved party to appeal that to the BOA.  They haven’t appealed it yet.  There is some concern about other parties (such as environmental groups) becoming interested in what is going on there, but that is speculative at this time.  They might be more interested in federal causes of action."

JEFF B:  "That is what I thought.  So, if we let the court process and other outside interested parties’ potential suits work their way out on one track, and we build the access on another track, ----- wouldn’t it take a judge’s ruling to force us to remove improvements once we had completed them and opened the access point?  Wouldn’t that be the only mechanism any aggrieved party would have at that point, once the access was built?"

ALISON R:  "Or an injunction prior to completion"

JEFF B:  "A hypothetical:  If we built it out and it was being used by the public prior to the final disposition of the case (s) in circuit court, and if after it was open the judge ruled in favor of the condo owners and against the county----------would the access park have to be shuttered pending an appeal or could the park remain open while the county’s appeal of the judge’s ruling went forward to the first DCA?"

ALISON R:  "I think most likely that would be true.  It is possible that some unexpected order or outcome could happen, but almost positive it would stay until final resolution."

  

  

Perdido Key Public Beach Access #4 Design and Application Going to Development Review This Week

The long and tortured saga of the effort to open a 330' county-owned parcel of  Gulf-Front property on Perdido Key will soon enter a new chapter;  final plans for this property will be submitted for the  County's Development Review  this week.

Nearby residents, condo owners in the area, and some Perdido Key special interests have fought against opening this parcel for various reasons.  And the primary reason is that the status quo of keeping this parcel locked to citizens that don't live nearby allows for the exclusive use of this property by locals that live in the area---while simultaneously keeping the taxpayers who PAID for this property in 2013 from accessing it!!

You can read all about the gnashing of teeth by the special interests that oppose this, and the comfortable status quo these special interests and nearby residents have enjoyed by using our publicly owned beach as their private beach for the last 6 years, here and here.

Beginning last year, however,  the BCC  moved forward with doing the planning  for opening up this beach  access facility for use by all of Escambia County's citizens.  This should have happened years ago;  Better late than never I guess........And yes, you guessed it, there is litigation in the courts from the special interests aimed at derailing the initiative to #OpenOurBeach.  Imagine that?  😏

Once complete and opened, however, this access will be larger than our current three access points, combined!

It will feature ADA accessible mats that allow citizens in wheelchairs to access the beach, it will have 37 parking spaces, it will provide desperately needed west Perdido Key emergency access to the gulf for lifeguards and first responders, and it will have built-in protections for sensitive habitat in the dunes portion and most sandy portions of the parcel.  (Something that up until now has not been provided for)

We now have the  final design drawings relevant portions of which are pictured below:

Highlights and required steps going forward:

• DRC approval--application to be submitted this week.
• Approval of the Management Plan by USFWS, final plan set is required as a part of the Service review process (concurrent with DRC process)
• Engineer’s Probable Cost to Construct – the consultant is developing the estimate now
• Funding source approved by the BCC
• Bid and Construct