TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — Pinellas County’s beaches are the envy of the world.
They bring in visitors from all over, and for locals like Anthony Coston, they are a major highlight of calling Tampa Bay home.
“Honestly, man, you know, it’s a blessing,” he said. “I came down here for school, and the beach was an extremely big part of that.”
WATCH: Pinellas County to spend $126 million to widen, elevate badly eroded beaches
But for all the beauty, many of the county’s beaches are considered extremely eroded after recent storms like Hurricanes Helene and Idalia. As a result, the barrier islands are more vulnerable to future storms.
Wednesday afternoon, as he scanned Treasure Island Beach, Coston could spot the difference in topography.
“Most definitely,” he said. “I would say a lot flatter than what I would normally be accustomed to.”
In the past, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers paid most of the money to help the county renourish its beaches by widening them and rebuilding sand dunes.
However, that help has been on hold because of a controversial rule.
The federal government will no longer help fund the work unless 100% of beachfront owners grant the federal government perpetual public access to their properties.
Because many Pinellas County property owners refuse to grant the easement, the stalemate continues to this day.
Now, Pinellas County is going it alone.
“We can’t wait,” Commission Chair Brian Scott said Wednesday. “We have to get this project done.”
Pinellas County has approved a plan to use almost $126 million in tourism development tax funds to renourish miles of county beaches.
“From Sand Key all the way down to Upham Beach,” Scott said.
The county still needs cooperation from beachfront owners. However, unlike the more stringent federal requirement, Pinellas County only needs a temporary construction easement.
“Help us help you,” Scott urged beachfront owners. “We cannot have gaps in this project.”
So far, many beach-front property owners are on board, including all of the owners in North Redington Beach and all but nine in Treasure Island.
However, more than a hundred owners are still hold-outs. During a Wednesday night meeting, some questioned the effectiveness of nourishment, including the building of man-made sand dunes.
The county has rebuilt sand dunes in the past, including after Hurricane Idalia, but some residents said the nascent dunes were largely ineffective during Hurricane Helene’s storm surge.
“All they did was blow in the road. Cover everybody. Holiday Villas had 90 loads of sand pushed in underneath their building, and their whole frickin’ building was a mess,” said Mark Pelon from Indian Shores.
Engineers for Pinellas County said the dunes are a last line of defense against surge and will function more effectively as part of a more holistic beach renourishment project. Additionally, property owners can opt not to have a dune built.
Whether Pinellas County gets construction easements from 100% of property owners or not, it will move forward with the project in the coming months.
The project is expected to commence in September and conclude by January 2026. Crews are expected to work 24/7 on the renourishment project.
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