Last Thanksgiving's storm ravaged Florida's Atlantic coast and now Hurricane Elena has ravaged the beaches on the west coast. How much more evidence does Florida need that beaches and buildings simply cannot exist together? Either the ocean will destroy the buildings or the buildings will destroy the beaches.
It's irresponsible even to talk about letting owners of beachfront property rebuild whatever Elena clobbered. For one thing, it's dangerous to let people rebuild homes or condos or hotels too close to the water. What would have happened in the Tampa Bay area if Elena had hit it head-on? Few, if any, Gulf- front buildings would be standing today. The death toll could have been in the thousands. The state would do waterfront dwellers a favor by banning any reckless coastal redevelopment.
But it's not just the people who live on the beach who suffer. All of Florida pays for building on the beaches.
Many of the homes and condos damaged by Elena were built right on top of dunes that are needed to replenish a beach after a storm. Even worse, when seawalls are built to keep the sea away from the houses, the erosion accelerates. The walls force waves to hit harder and take more sand back to sea.
Actually, people need look no farther than Volusia County for evidence of why Florida should retreat from the beach. After last Thanksgiving's storm, its 43 miles of overdeveloped and seawall-laden beaches suffered $23 million in erosion damage. That's just the price tag for replacing the lost sand; it doesn't include pumping the sand to the beach.
What's more, it looks as if Volusia's erosion is here to stay. A few months ago it appeared that the beach might be rebuilding ever so slightly. But a few summer storms came and then Elena swept through. The buildup disappeared. In certain places there simply is no beach left at high tide. What a shame.
Thanks to the 1985 Legislature, Florida now does hold some of the clout needed to force building back from the beach. Lawmakers banned all but single- family homes from the part of the beach that is expected to erode in the next 30 years.
Unfortunately, those restrictions -- which go into effect Oct. 1 -- will not solve the problem themselves. Why? Because the so-called coastal control lines, which set boundaries for the state's control, are inadequate in 18 of the state's 24 counties with beaches. So the state cannot call all the shots. The local governments have to help. Yet they don't have the expertise to dictate -- or defend -- what should and should not be built on a beach.
One solution is for the state to immediately begin setting temporary coastal control lines so it will have the authority to say no to many of the requests for rebuilding.
Beyond this, the Cabinet, which has the final say over beach development, must commit itself to saving the beaches. Sadly, when it was faced with a major test two weeks ago, it crumbled. In a 4 to 3 vote, it allowed the owners of a condo in Indian River County to build a seawall even though the Cabinet had set a policy in March against such barriers. Only Gov. Bob Graham, Insurance Commissioner Bill Gunter and Attorney General Jim Smith stood up for the beaches. It's encouraging to see the governor and Mr. Gunter indicating that they will stand tough on the Elena requests as well.
Saying yes to Florida's beaches means saying no to irresponsible rebuilding. It's that simple.