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� s � Prior to and after the seawall construction, Mr. Pishock placed beach compatible sand seaward of his dwelling. This sand was a "non-structural" alter- native, but eroded due to storm surge. After lengthy debate between Mr. Pishock's consultant and staff, both the Community Development and Public Works Department concur that other effective alter- natives would have a greater adverse impact on the localized beach area for this unique location only. Other alternatives would not provide adequate short- term protection to this property due. to the close proximity of the house to the mean high water line. It is staff's opinion that the seawall, as constructed, would probably not be effective in resisting a signi- ficant storm surge event nor provide a long term solution to poor planning in placement of the structure in the early 1970's prior to Coastal setback policies. In summary, the Consultant has shown that the construc- tion does not contravene the local zoning code since other non-structural alternatives are not acceptable. 2) The County Comprehensive Plan for beach erosion is the recently adopted "Beach Preservation Plan for Indian River County " as prepared by Cubit Engineering (1988). This plan does not recommend seawall construction in Sector 2 of the Barrier Island. Since the Cubit plan does not isolate each specific site, the approximate 100' of ocean frontage along the Pishock property was not individually analyzed. Due to the close proximity of the house to the ocean, staff is of the opinion that the recommendations of the Cubit plan for this area which include a "feeder beach" system at the Sebastian Inlet and dune maintenance, may not protect the Pishock structure. Staff recommends that the Cubit Report be amended to allow the seawall. construction along the Pishock property only with the following conditions: 1) Adequate beach dune type sand and suitable dune type vegetation be maintained over and seaward of the structure during normal conditions. If a storm surge or other erosion event occurs, the sand and vegetation must be replaced within a six month time interval. 2) Localized erosion of downdrift beach areas (300' both north and south) would be restored due to the effects of the seawall. RECommENDATIONS AND FUNDING Although the County's current plans and codes contain no provisions for vertical seawalls, staff recommends the following: 1) Based upon an analysis of beach management alternatives presented by Coastal Technology Corp., the Board hereby accepts the conclusion that non-structural alternatives are not adequate to protect the Pishock structure and that a combination of the recently constructed vertical seawall, dune sand placement to cover the seawall, and appropriate vegetation on a suitable dune slope will provide compatible short term protection from minor storm surge events. 2) Amend the Indian River County "Beach Preservation Plan" prepared by Cubit Engineering Corp., page 10.9 to allow for the Pishock seawall to remain. MAY 11990 49 Boos 7 P,�4626