It’s just 2,500 square feet of yellow sand, opposite the house on the other side of State Road A1A, at 2732 South Ocean Shore Boulevard. Flagler County government has been trying to convince Leonard Surles, the homeowner who lives in South Florida, to sign an easement and join nearly 100 other property owners who have done so to enable the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild dunes along 2.6 miles of beachfront in Flagler Beach. The dunes are expected to prolong the life of the barrier island against rising seas, especially the homes and businesses along A1A.
The easement changes nothing about property owners’ rights. It merely grants the Corps access to dump and shape sand into dunes, and to do so periodically, for maintenance, over the next 50 years. The parcel remains private property. Nothing may be built there, unless the homeowner wants to build a walkway that complies with city rules. If anything, the easement is a form of property insurance–at no cost to the homeowner. (See: “‘We’re Fighting For the Life of Flagler Beach’: County Urges Property Owners’ Cooperation in Beach Rebuilding.”
But Surles has refused to sign the easement. Monday, the Flagler County Commission authorized Al Hadeed, the county attorney, to pursue legal action against surles and acquire the easement by eminent domain. Surles is now the second property owner along that 2.6-mile stretch against whom the commission has authorized legal action. It authorized such action against Cynthia D’Angiolini earlier this year. D’Angiolini owns two parcels (at 2538 S. Ocean Shore and 2420 S. Ocean Shore). The eminent domain process is in its earliest stages with D’Angiolini, with a good-faith effort to negotiate, and the county has become more hopeful that D’Angiolini and the handful of other hold-out property owners will be signing.
That hope has vanished regarding Surles (he has put up the house for sale: it’s currently listed on Zillo for $2 million).
“It really represents a present and potentially future impairment of our efforts, especially when the project moves into the non federal area,” Hadeed said. The federal area is that 2.6 mile stretch. But the county plans on extending the dune protection down to the Volusia County line and up to North 19th Street in Flagler Beach. It cannot do so if property owners hold out and create “gaps” in the dunes. Those gaps all but render the dunes’ protection ineffective. “So I think it represents a potential impairment, unless we make it absolutely clear, and we would do that through the pursuit of the suit that these are not factually based, not legally based reasons to not execute an easement.”
Surles, Hadeed said, believes the county will not be able to live up to its promises–promises that the county or anyone else would not infringe the property, that dunes would not block the property’s view, that only native vegetation would be planted on the dunes, as opposed to sea grapes. Surles also believes that someone other than the county would take control of the easement sometime in the future, or that construction would be allowed on the dunes, east of A1A. That’s also not the case. “We can turn it over to others for purposes of maintenance, but all the power comes through us once a person executes that perpetual easement,” Hadeed told county commissioners Monday evening.
Surles is not demanding money. He simply does not believe that the government will uphold its obligations. “And I don’t know how much more demonstrative or fact based, or legally based I can be about the need to reject those conclusions,” Hadeed said. I had hoped that he would see that many others were signing these easements, that we’re getting very close to the project, and that there is an imminent need to have these done.” He did not see. “I believe in the end that this is going to be a person that is going to be a hold-out, that is going to take a court order to change that result.”
“I strongly recommend that you authorize me to proceed on this property,” Hadeed said. Commissioners did.
Two other property owners in the South 2700 block are in “serious” discussions with the county. There have been many discussions between county officials and Surles–not just from county government, but from other government agencies, what Hadeed described as “numerous efforts, numerous conversations, hourlong conversations,” all of which led to the conclusion that he would not budge. The county now has 98 percent of easements signed along the length of the project, but “98 percent is still an F, because we don’t get the project” permitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hadeed said.
The corps allowed the county to segment out unwilling properties at the tail end of the project, in the South 2700 block, where three parcels remain unsecured. Since the block is at the very end of the project, the renourishment can conceivably begin one block up, though not having those easements in hand would hamper the extension of the project south in the future.
The dune-rebuilding project has been in the works for over 15 years. It was to have been completed by last December. The hold-outs have delayed the work. The Corps of Engineers came close to annulling the project because of the delays, but has granted extensions.
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Bruno says
Go for it , we need all 100% I’m in between the last 2 on south 27 st
ASF says
They want more money. That’s it and that’s all. And, sadly, I bet they’ll get it so they can raise the sale price of their properties even more and make a killing.
I bet they still think of themselves as “solid citizens” and “freedom fighters” though…And as victims of the government and everybody else out to get them.
Concerned Citizen says
Is the purpose of this article with detailed names and addresses an attempt to bully and publicly shame property owners?
When you purchase ocean front property part of it comes with Littoral rights. And that property belongs to the ones who purchased it. Why is this County so hell bent on grabbing up things that don’t belong to them?
Flagler Beach ought to be ashamed. It’s residents went door to door harassing these people trying to get something that wasn’t there’s. Names and addresses posted. Nasty comments made towards the owners. Good on the owners for holding out.
All of this beach project is farcical at best. And a wanton waste of funding at worst. One good Hurricane or Nor’Easter and all of your bullying,harrassing and bickering is moot. Mother nature will reclaim all of that beach and then whatever else she wants.
We have a real crisis in thic county with homeless and mental health issues. Imagine what we could accomplish with this type of funding. And time wasted with all the threats and legal action.
But no. Selfish greed is the rule of the day. And you folks are spending money for free sand from the ocean to be deposited on a coast line that will eventually be blown/washed away. Then you’ll have bigger concerns.
Skibum says
Do you not see that there are times such as in this effort where the benefit to the entire community outweighs the rights of an individual? When the county’s efforts are solely targeted to PROTECTING both public and private property, and such efforts include a multi-million infusion of federal money and federal assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do the work for the public good, then it should be a no-brainer for all involved to agree to the work that needs to be done. We have all witnessed first hand the destructive damage from past hurricanes along the Flagler Beach coastline. If this vital work is not done then those with private property right across A1A from the ocean may see their scenic view, as well as their real estate, wash away with the next severe storm!
Concerned Citizen says
So if you own a house on S Daytona and they want to widen it past the right of way and just come in and do it no problem then? I mean by your reckoning the right to have a wider roadway usurps your right to private property?
I imagine if that happened there would be a fire storm of complaints and legal action. But because people are jealous of those who own a little bit of beach property (See Littoral Rights) they feel that it’s OK to bully and harrass them into submission.
I still stand by what I said. This project is an enormous waste of funding. That could be utilized elsewhere to address real problems. One day Mother Nature will reclaim what’s hers.
Dennis says
I really dont blame the lans owners who don’t trust the government at any level. Anyone in their right mind should not trust any government entities. They have proved time and time again that they can not be trusted
Fredrick says
The fact that you say “Why is this County so hell bent on grabbing up things that don’t belong to them? ” proves you did not read the article or others about this topic, or you are just being dishonest in this statement.
erobot says
How does the county get into the act?
Concerned Citizen says
They made an eminent domain grab.
But according to some that’s perfectly fine. But I bet that tune would change if it affected THEIR PROPERTY.
FlaglerLive says
It would be an eminent domain proceeding, but it is inaccurate to call it a “grab.” No land is being taken. The proceedings would merely allow decor the corps to do its work there.
Concerned Citizen says
It’s still an example of the county doing what they want to who they want.
And all under the guise of “legal proceedings”. Once they get a taste of it where does it end?
MikeM says
Is it better that the dunes wash away during the next hurricane? Just a handful of money grabbers waiting for a payday at the expense of many. Take it by eminent domain and get it done. You just can’t argue with a brick. If it doesn’t get done , the greedy holdouts should be the first ones washed out to sea.
Concerned Citizen says
It’s all going to wash away anyhow. You’re just prolonging the inevitable at enormous expense.
I stand by what I said earlier.
This county has a major issue with mental health care. We have homeless not being taken care of. Imagine what we could accomplish with that sort of funding allocated to those issues. Instead of paying someone millions. To dredge up free sand from the ocean floor. And deposit it on the shore just so people can come and play.
But yeah tourism money is more important than taking care of our own.