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THE MUCKY DUCK
On Oct. 16, The Mucky Duck posted on social media about the Captiva Erosion Prevention District’s beach renourishment project and voiced concern about the new dunes’ height blocking the view.
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THE MUCKY DUCK
On Oct. 16, The Mucky Duck posted on social media about the Captiva Erosion Prevention District’s beach renourishment project and voiced concern about the new dunes’ height blocking the view.
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The Captiva Erosion Prevention District’s (CEPD) commission received an update on the beach renourishment project at a recent workshop, as well as heard of some community concerns.
On Oct. 16, Chairman John Wade explained that he called for the workshop to review the project’s progress and upcoming milestones and address any questions or discussion points related to it.
APTIM Coastal Market Lead Nicole Sharp first provided the board with an update.
“Things are moving along great,” she said. “The dredger is hitting great production rates.”
Sharp noted that the dunes and beach accesses at Turner Beach need to be finished.
The project is still on target for completion on Nov. 28.
CEPD General Manager Brighton Heard also provided an update.
“I have received a handful of complaints,” he said.
Heard explained that about five individuals shared that they can no longer see the beach from their property and that their views are being blocked because of the height of the new dunes going in.
“These dunes were constructed with the intent of storm protection,” he said.
Heard continued that the CEPD essentially used the same template as previous projects, but it added some additional height to the dunes in an effort to adapt to the increased storms and sea level rise.
“As a district, I think it is our duty to protect the sustainability of the shoreline,” he said.
Heard mentioned to them dune walkovers and other ideas to make it more aesthetically pleasing.
Asked by the commissioners, Sharp explained that the footprint of the dunes is the same as previous projects. However, in planning for this project, the board decided to increase their elevation by 1 or 2 feet. The height of the dunes was 8-10 feet NAVD in prior projects compared to 10-12 feet this time.
Chairman John Wade pointed out that the scope of concern is literally 2 feet. He offered that people are so used to seeing the beach as is post-storms that they may simply just be shocked at the rebuilt dunes.
“There’s really nothing different than the 2-foot elevation,” Wade said.
The board directed staff to communicate the project specifications to concerned citizens.
The same day as the CEPD workshop, The Mucky Duck posted on social media about the project.
“We are facing yet another hurdle, and this time it’s not one about our reopening timeline, but rather potentially losing much of our treasured beachfront view. We ask that you please refrain from commenting about how we should have raised the building, etc. because that ship has sailed. We are a historic building and either had to rebuild exactly as it was, or build to all new codes. As we’ve said from the beginning, we didn’t want to do that for various reasons. Mainly, it wouldn’t have been the same Duck people have known and loved for 50 years,” the restaurant shared.
“As many of you are aware, we are in the middle of a beach renourishment project contracted by the Captiva Erosion Prevention District. Things are moving fast and we expect they will be up by the Duck next week. Honestly we feel the beach is fine the way it is where we are, but the powers that be think differently and they are building the dunes so high that it’s basically going to wreck the view of many beachfront properties, ours included,” it continued.
The restaurant included two photos of the view of the beach if seated on the patio and seated by a window. It reported that the blue tape marker shown on the green post indicates the approximate height of the new dune, noting that there will also be about 2 feet of vegetation planted on top of the dune.
“You can use your imagination from there,” the restaurant shared.
“Anyone unhappy with this situation is free to contact the appropriate governmental entities involved, in fact, we hope you do. Not only will this severely impact many property and business values on Captiva but also potentially cause health and safety issues. It’s obviously too late to stop the project, but we are fervently hoping it’s not too late for post-completion modifications to be made to appropriately remediate the situation,” it concluded.
On Oct. 17, the CEPD shared that informational workshops will continue to be held on Thursdays at 1 p.m. throughout the remainder of the project to provide updates and address community questions.
“We appreciate your understanding and continued engagement as we work to complete this important project for Captiva Island,” it added.
The CEPD also reported that the board will hold its next meeting on Nov. 10. It noted that a special meeting may be held prior to it and that the community will be notified immediately if one is set.
For the most up-to-date meeting and workshop schedules, visit www.mycepd.com.