Note: As of December 14, 2020, none of the property owners in the three strategic areas discussed below have notified the County of their interest in providing public easements

The County is offering incentives to property owners in three strategic locations along the beach to devote a small portion of their private property to public easements that will dramatically decrease the non-federal cost share, benefitting themselves and all property owners sharing beach costs. These are detailed below:

1.    Property owners in “gap” locations (Empress/Princess, Turtle Reef Club, Miramar Condominiums) must agree by July 31, 2020, to provide public beach access with associated parking in order for the County to have time to comply with federal deadlines to begin construction. These new access easements will require improvements (that would be offset with savings received from their implementation) that require design and implementation prior to July 2021. Therefore, time is of the essence. These new elements will also include some form of County maintenance in perpetuity, the cost of which is currently unknown.

2.    In an effort to further encourage the identified condominiums to provide additional public beach access easements, the County could provide up to $1 million toward the initial project cost, as depicted below on a sliding scale based on local cost share. Each public easement would reduce the amount of non-federal cost share proportionally. Based on the current situation, the non-federal, local share of construction is 65%.

 

 

3.    The access rights to the three public easements (access and parking included) previously identified could be negotiated under a tentative plan being developed by the County. The County would not be purchasing the properties – instead, the County would help facilitate public access easements using funds generated by the project-specific MSTU. By incentivizing participation, the County could assist in increasing the public beach access/parking required for substantial project cost savings. The idea is to reward those private properties that participate and contribute to increasing the federal cost share associated with the project.

Any payment, the amounts of which are being determined, could be made to the Board of Directors or Homeowner’s Association of each property (their choice), which may be distributed in an initial installment or over time, based on governing circumstances. 

Currently, the only public access to the beach is from County-owned beaches at Normandy, Dollman, and Waveland. The USACE requires minimal access to the beach and small parking areas (up to 18 parking spaces) at each site.

If all three properties participate, the savings to local residents would be approximately 26% of the total cost, and perhaps even approaching 30% if all USACE project-wide requirements are satisfied. That would mean more than $6 million in reduced local costs.

The County would construct the easements with funds generated from the MSTU and would maintain them in perpetuity.

Potential Improvements to Increase USACE Funding 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A detailed analysis by a County consultant previously identified the “gap” areas along the project shoreline, base on the USACE requirements for public beach access. The findings suggested that additional public beach access and parking at the following locations could help increase federal participation.

Potential Access Points	Location	Max. Potential Shoreline	Max. Potential Increase In Funding
1	Los Tortugas Beach	360	1.32%
2a	Admiral	525	1.93%
2b	Island Dunes North	525	1.93%
2c	Island Dunes South	525	1.93%
3a	Islandia (North or South)	1,320	4.84%
3b	Empress	1,744	6.40%
3c	Princess	2,640	9.69%
4a	Miramar Royale	2,546	9.34%
4b	Miramar Condo	2,546	9.34%
5a	Turtle Reef Club	2,264	8.31%
5b	Vacant Lot South of Turtle Reef	2,264	8.31%

 

Click here to view memo on Public Access