Va. Beach to begin Cape Henry sand replenishment

VIRGINIA BEACH

Crews will soon start putting sand on the bayfront beaches between the Lesner Bridge and First Landing State Park.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission on Tuesday expanded the city’s initial sand replenishment permit from Jade Street west to the Lesner Bridge.

The commissioners voted unanimously, despite opposition from some residents who argued that sand could be placed on the beach without infringing on their property rights. Those same residents also said the case was being rushed through.

The public’s interest in maintaining the beach and protecting some of the buildings from sand erosion and storm damage overrides the concerns of the private landowners, commission members said.

They also said they didn’t want to clash with last week’s Virginia Beach Circuit Court decision that allowed the city to condemn some land along the Chesapeake Bay for the replenishment project and for public recreation and construction easements.

“We’re certainly very pleased with the outcome,” said Tuck Bowie, president of The Terry Peterson Cos. , which owns the former Duck-In site. The city initially left his company’s property off the permit, but it will now be included.

City officials have insisted that they needed to have some type of public access easement from all 21 waterfront property owners and condominium associations before the Army Corps of Engineers would place the sand on the beach.

The city took four of the property owners to court last week to get the easements.

Louis Paulson, a property owner and an attorney, said he and others are giving up more than the easements. They also are relinquishing any right to the future growth of their properties.

Currently, if sand naturally drifts onto their beach, increasing its size, that land belongs to the private property owners, Paulson said.

Under the easements and permit, if the city dumps sand into the water, which is state-owned bottomland, future natural sand buildup in the area would belong to the state.

Marine resources commission staff and members said they were concerned that property owners would lose these rights as a result of the replenishment project.

A court will have to decide how important those rights are and how much the city should pay private landowners for that loss, said Kyle Schick, a commissioner.

“I do see that as something that needs to be discussed,” Schick said.

The Corps of Engineers opened bids for the dredging and nourishment project Tuesday and expects to award a contract by Friday to qualify for federal stimulus money.

The work could start as early as Aug. 10 and last into November.

Much of the sand will likely be placed in front of the Westminster-Canterbury retirement community, the former Duck-In site and the Harbour Gate Condominiums next door, locations where the erosion has been particularly intense in recent years, a corps official said.

Paulson has vowed to appeal the Circuit Court decision, and the property rights case will likely continue winding through the legal system.

Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com