The federal government is refusing to restore eroded beaches in Pinellas County unless homeowners agree to one condition: public access.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/37059204

Lisa Hendrickson is almost out of sand.

Hendrickson is the mayor of Redington Shores, Florida, a well-heeled beach town in Pinellas County. Her town occupies a small section of a razor-thin barrier island that stretches down the western side of the sprawling Tampa Bay metro area, dividing cities like Tampa and St. Petersburg from the Gulf of Mexico. Many of her constituents have an uninterrupted view of the ocean.

The town’s only protection from the Gulf of Mexico’s increasingly erratic storms is a pristine beach that draws millions of tourists every year — but that beach is disappearing fast. A series of storms, culminating in last fall’s Hurricane Idalia, have eroded most of the sand that protects Redington Shores and the towns around it, leaving residents just one big wave away from water overtaking their homes.

  • @Treczoks
    4•5 months ago

    I hope their elemental insurance learns about this and sends them a nice “We are sorry to have to let you go”.

    Because the climate issues are not getting any better, even if DeSantis removes each and every instance of the phrase “climate change” from all books in Florida.

    Adding sand for $42M will be an expensive stopgap measure - the sea has taken this part of the beach, and it will take it again. In a few years they will be back at the same point. A Herculean effort on a Sisyphos job, not more.