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DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS Attorney Thomas G. Tomasello, representing eight property owners in the South Beach area between Ocean Ridge Subdivision and Bonita Beach Subdivision, has submitted applications for the construction of eight seawalls along the Atlantic Ocean coastal dune line. Since 1973, property owners have lost 60' - 120' of coastal dune depth in the area due to aggressive erosion. In the past eight months, approximately 10' of dune loss perpendicular to the shoreline has occurred. Attached is Table # 1 that lists the Nov. 18, 1996 status of each property owner's existing condition regarding distance to the dune escarpment from primary and accessory structures, and the status of Florida Department of Environmental Regulation's (FDEP) permit process for permanent seawall construction. Florida Statutes Chapter 161.085(3) states that 'if erosion occurs as a result of a storm event which threatens private structures or public infrastructures and a permit has not been issued pursuant to Subsection (2), the agency, political subdivision, or municipality may install or authorize installation ofrigld Coastal armoring structures for the protection of private structures.. as long as the followmgitems are considered and incorporated into such emergency measures: a) Protection of the beach dune system, b) Siting and design criteria for the protective structure, c) Impacts on adjacent properties, d) Preservation ofpublic beach access, e) Protection ofnattve coastal vegetation and nesting marine turtles and tbeirbatcbiings. " Paragraph (6) of the statute states that " .. the structure... sball be temporary... and the property owner sball remove the structure or submit a permit application to the Department (D.E.P.) for a permanent rigid coastal armoring structure... within 60 days after the emergency installation of the structure or other measure to relieve the threat... " In speaking with the F.D.E.P., the newly adopted Chapter 62B-33.0051(6) Rules and Procedures for Coastal Construction and Excavation, Coastal Armoring and Related Structures, Emergency Protection, contains more specific language which pertains to emergency permit issuance by local governments. Structures must "have become damaged or vulnerable to damage from a subsequent frequent coastal storm. " "Vulnerable" is when an eligible structure is subject to either direct wave attack or to erosion from a 15 -year return interval storm which exposes any portion of the foundation." Section 932.06 of the Coastal Management Chapter of the Indian River County Code, Paragraph 7 prohibits seawalls unless non-structural alternatives have been employed correctly and proven to be unsuccessful, County and DEP staff recommend the seawall, the party constructing the seawall agrees to mitigate any adverse environmental impacts, (including increased downdrift erosion of adjacent property, and the seawall is necessary to protect real property improvements from a 25 year storm using FDEP approved methods. Paragraph 9 of this section gives the Board the authority to temporarily suspend the provisions of Chapter 932 in the case of an emergency. ALTERNATIVES AND ANALYSIS In analyzing the application received, staff has met in Tallahassee with DEP Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems, conducted site visits with FDEP staff, and reviewed applications for completeness and conformance with Florida Statutes. Since all applications have the same agent (Thomas Tomasello, Attorney and Randy Mosby. Engineer -of -Record), all applicants have proposed meeting the five state requirements as follows: NOVEMBER 19, 199629 BOOK 99 ma