Hollywood recently hosted a meeting to update residents on its ongoing battle with beach erosion.
A $48 million sand renourishment project completed just two years ago appears to have made little headway in some areas of Hollywood beach that are still showing signs of depletion.
Mayor Peter Bober assured residents at the Hollywood Beach Culture and Community Center that the city is aware of the severity of the problem and is committed to pursuing all available options.
"This is a major safety issue," he said. "One of the things we are doing is looking at long-term solutions. We've got to be totally diversified and think outside the box."
Sand bypassing, a method that shuttles sand from one area to another, was once thought too costly to consider, but now it is on the table, he said.
Higgins cautioned that it won't be a quick fix. Obtaining permits, he said, is often a lengthy process due to stringent guidelines to protect coral reefs.
"Coral reefs are highly protected and heavily scrutinized by the regulatory agencies to make sure that the permit applicant is not going to damage these resources," Higgins said. "It took us six years to implement the last project that we built down there, so it's not something that you can just do overnight."
Some residents at the meeting, however, said action is needed quickly.
"We can not wait till 2010," said Juan Cuesta. "This is a fight between bureaucrats and Mother Nature, and you know who will win."
"It's very frustrating to hear them talk about ideas and concepts that are virtually no different than they were two years ago," said Lee Gottlieb, a resident of The Renaissance.
Gottlieb, who said he was able to solve his building's erosion problem by planting sea oats, urged the city to pursue planting vegetation on the beach as a major part of its plan.
He said he has seen the benefits firsthand after Higgins referred him to Thaddeus Hamilton of the Broward County Soil and Water Conservation District in 2006.
Hamilton has been using plants to retain sand for years, a process that leads to the formation of sand dunes, which become natural barriers.
"Thaddeus Hamilton helped us to design and install the dune system," Gottlieb said. "If we had not done that, the ocean would be at our pool today."
Many at the meeting expressed interest in planting vegetation, though there are those against it because the dunes block their view of the ocean.
"We know of many locations where there is a pretty dedicated opposition against putting sea oats down and building a dune for those reasons," Higgins said. "I think its shortsighted, but they are within their rights and they can actually stop a project by objecting to a permit."
Gottlieb said it's still worth pursuing.
"We have the answer. It's not the only answer, but it's one important element," he said. "And I'm a firm believer that if you give Mother Nature a hand, she will take care of the rest."
source: sun sentinal
link to the original post:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/hollywood/sfl-flbeach1116swnov16,0,7640499.story
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