§ 62-4206. Policy.

(a)

The county possesses approximately 70 miles of high-energy sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. These natural sandy beaches constitute an integral component of the dynamic beach-dune system, which plays a significant role in the economic, scientific, recreational, cultural and environmental well-being of the inhabitants of the county. The integrity of this beach-dune system is dependent upon its ability to fluctuate in response to the natural forces of the ocean, such as tides, waves, winds and storm floods.

(b)

The board of county commissioners recognizes that the beach-dune system constitutes a first line of defense against the attack of storms, waves and currents, and also acts as a sand bank for the county's beaches. Rigid coastal and shore protection structures, such as seawalls, bulkheads, revetments and mound structures, block the movement of sand from the dunes to the beach, thereby preventing the natural renourishment of the sandy beaches. This blockage of sand, coupled with the historical rise in relative sea level, could cause the loss of the natural sandy beaches, if allowed to occur.

(c)

Development of the county's coastal barriers, through construction of beachfront structures, significantly impacts upon the beach-dune system. Excavations associated with the construction of such structures remove sand from the system. Impervious surfaces created through this construction prevent the sand from assuming its proper role in the dynamics of the beach-dune system. Structures located near the dunes deprive the shifting frontal dune of the equilibrium necessary for the beach-dune system to function in its capacity as the first line of defense from ocean forces. Failure of this defense capacity of the beach-dune system during a severe storm event or hurricane could result in substantial loss of property and life, with the county's limited number of evacuation routes from the coastal barrier, congested roadway network, and the resulting impediment to the evacuation of the coastal barrier inhabitants during such an emergency.

(d)

In response to the findings mentioned in subsections (a) through (c) of this section, the board of county commissioners finds and declares that it is in the public interest to preserve and protect the county's coastal barrier beach-dune system from imprudent construction, which would jeopardize the stability of the beach-dune system, accelerate erosion, provide inadequate protection to upland structures and endanger adjacent properties.

(e)

Therefore, the public health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the county require the establishment of special construction regulations to allow the beach-dune system to maintain its equilibrium, so as to buffer persons and property from devastation by ocean forces, and the establishment of additional setback requirements to provide that structures located on oceanfront property be set back sufficiently and constructed in a manner so as to provide a useful life thereof, considering the perils of storm and sea.

(Ord. No. 85-17, § 1, 6-4-85)