Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed Monday evening announced he had secured a long-sought easement from Flagler Beach property owner Leonard Surles, reducing the list of holdouts to a single property owner: Cynthia D’Angiolini.
She owns two parcels that require easements so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can proceed on its long-delayed $25 million plan to rebuild 2.6 miles of dunes between South 6th and South 28th Street. The Corps informed the county it needed 141 easements along the 2.6 miles in October 2018. It executed an agreement with the county in July 2019 that formalized the requests. The county secured 138 easements in the nearly three and a half years since, but Surles and D’Angiolini wouldn’t sign.
The Corps plans to dredge between 350,000 and 500,000 cubic yards of sand from a borrow pit some 9 miles offshore to rebuild dunes into a substantial barrier between the rising ocean and State Road A1A and the homes and businesses behind it. But the Corps will not proceed unless all property owners along the stretch sign easements enabling the Corps to work the dunes. The easements do not sign away rights to the land. Neither the Corps nor the county is taking over the land. The easements only allow the Corps to work on the site and dump sand, and to do so periodically, every decade, over the next four decades. The land remains in the property owners’ hands, as do all rights.
Despite those assurances, memorialized in county resolutions, some property owners had held out, and the project, its completion already more than a year overdue, has dragged. (See: “Flagler About To Sign 50-Year, $100 Million Deal to Rebuild 2.6 Miles of Dunes in Flagler Beach. It Has Only a Fraction of the Money.”)
The county has been threatening eminent domain suits, a move it’s never made against any property owner in its century-long history. That threat is still hanging over D’Angiolini, with a taking hearing taking place in court likely in May.
The Corps has issued an ultimatum, and earlier this year threatened to pull the federal portion of the funding from the project–$17 million, itself secured in 2017 after years of efforts. Flagler County was responsible for the $8 million balance. Instead of drawing from its own funds, the county engineer, Faith al-Khatib, secured $8 million in state dollars, from the Division of Environmental Protection. The project has been under study and in the works for a decade and a half. So a lot has been at stake, not least the safety and viability of residents and businesses on a barrier island now regularly battered by an increasingly temperamental and destructive ocean. The dunes will not stop the destruction. They will blunt and diminish it, and delay the day of reckoning, possibly to the end of the century, beyond which the barrier island may be past protection.
Surles and his partner agreed to sign without money. “We were just able to satisfy them as to the bonafides of the project, our objectives in the project and how it would not damage their property interest and would protect it,” Hadeed said, giving credit to the numerous people involved in finally securing the easement, among them al-Khatib and the Army Corps’ own attorney, along with volunteers in Flagler Beach who raised money to entice some of the property owners to sign. They were successful in several cases. County Commissioners Greg Hansen and Dave Sullivan also had conversations with Surles. Hadeed has played the role of legal quarterback. “So I think it is really the success of the community and our partners that have brought us to this point, obviously a very important milestone.”
Hadeed was summing up the latest development to the Flagler County Commission Monday evening. Without naming D’Angiolini, 70, who has owned the property at 2538 South Oceanshore Boulevard since 1997. “We have one owner, hopefully we can resolve it without having to go through a full-bore eminent domain proceeding, but if we’re not when we were on a track to proceed to file and pursue to conclusion to the extent necessary,” Hadeed said.
Last week Hadeed wrote the Corps an update in answer to the federal agency’s ultimatum. In that ultimatum, James Booth, the Corps’ district commander in Jacksonville, had asked for an explanation of the county’s work so far. Hadeed’s response lays out a timeline that would have the county have appraisals of the two D’Angiolini parcels certified by March 1, the County Commission approving spending money for the eminent domain suit a week later, and the county filing its action in Circuit Court on May 2. All along, the county intends to continue negotiating with D’Angiolini–who had also been in contact with Surles, who, in turn, may have some influence over D’Angiolini’s decision, just as he had influenced her decision to hold out.
The county hopes the pressure of being the last holdout, combined with the threat of eminent domain, where D’Angiolini cannot prevail (governments don;t lose eminent domain actions; they only pay) may convince her finally to sign.
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Hayride says
What does she hope to gain, her view, that, take it from her and give her a pass to LEAVE the area
Luke Duke says
During my past research into the property owner, I thought I saw in the past that she was going through some sort of financial hardship related to the property. Maybe her goal is to use it as leverage to help her situation.
Denali says
The Assessor has most of these parcels listed at about $5,000. It is just a sliver of land and the only thing that could be built there is a dunes walk-over or bench and I am not even sure if those are even permissible these days. Of course when the whole thing is reclaimed by the ocean it will all be a moot point.
Stan says
She’s after $$$$ money.
Mark says
she is the last true hero and holdout to save our natural beaches and natural order of nature. We applaud you D’Angiolini👏👏 The Army corps should just move on!!!
open your eyes says
Agree 100%.These are wealthy people issues that nobody really cares about(My ocean front property is in danger from rising sea levels).Yet, all tax payers will foot the bill whether on a federal level or local. This is a waste of time and more importantly money. This situation will not end or stop and eventually will be taken by the sea anyway. To think that were going to fight this by dredging and adding sand is comical at best. Like putting a band aid on a scratch on your arm when you know damn well the axe is going to cut your arm off anyway….
herewegoagain . says
Sand comes, and sand goes
it’s way Nature works ..
This seems like a temporary solution
to an age old problem ..
Seems like Flagler Beach is opening itself up for a serious financial issue:
In future years, the federal government will pay half the cost of subsequent renourishments. It’ll be Flagler County’s responsibility to pay the rest, or find the money to do so, through state and other grants, or by using revenue from the tourism sales surtax. But if, say, a hurricane or a named storm devastates the coast and Flagler is declared a federal disaster area, then the federal government will pick up 100 percent of the cost of rebuilding the beach in that particular instance, because the Corps project is essentially federalizing that segment of beach. The same principle does not apply to the remainder of Flagler’s 18 miles of beach–just those 2.6 miles within the Corps’ scope. ( February 26, 2020 | FlaglerLive |)
Jane Gentile-Youd says
I hope however with all my heart that the project is a success for the sake of Flagler Beach and for all of us tax payers. Fingers crossed.
Mark says
This project is damaging Flagler beach not saving it, stop the dredge!
mike says
facts please, without any why would anyone believe you?
Concerned Citizen says
It’s her property to do with as she pleases.
All of this public pressure is embarrassing. If this easement was located anywhere else in the county this would be a non issue. But because these homeowners worked hard and bought beach side property (some of which is located on the beach no matter how little) this county has vilified all of them.
For months Flagler Beach and the County in general knocked on doors and harassed folks. These people had their information publicized in hopes that they would be intimidated. So you know what? Good on them for stringing out the process.
This project unless done right from day one will be useless as soon as we get a major Hurricane in the area. Or even a good Nor’easter. And as far as that goes we only have to look at the shoddy repair work done on A1A after Matthew.
Lastly. Folks should read up on Littoral property rights. It’s rather interesting and informative.
“Florida property value depends heavily on the beaches. The majority of the most valuable property in Florida is on or near the beaches. When a person makes a costly investment in beachfront property, they hope to get a just value out of that investment, in terms of their use of and access to the water and their ability to rent or resell the property based on a continued use of and access to the water. Owners of beachfront property have special rights when it comes to the beach, known as “littoral rights,” that the government cannot alter without affecting the value of beachfront property, which requires an eminent domain proceeding that results in full compensation.”
“Public Beaches and Littoral Rights
According to the Florida Constitution, in accordance with traditional common-law understandings of property rights, beachfront property owners do not actually own the beaches. Article X, section 11 of the constitution states, “The title to lands under navigable waters, within the boundaries of the state, which have not been alienated, including beaches below mean high water lines, is held by the state, by virtue of its sovereignty, in trust for all the people.” All Florida beaches are public property for public use.
“Beachfront property owners, according to a Supreme Court of Florida decision dated September 29, 2008, “have no rights in navigable waters and sovereignty lands that are superior to other members of the public in regard to bathing, fishing, and navigation.” However, beachfront property owners do have a number of special rights, known as littoral rights, with respect to the beaches. These rights are:
The right to have access to the water
The right to reasonably use the water
The right to accretion and reliction
The right to the unobstructed view of the water
If any government action interferes with these rights, this can be the basis for an inverse condemnation action to require that the government either undo the action that limited your littoral rights or give full compensation for your loss.”
ASF says
It’s a shame, how a bunch of NIMBY’s can hold up progress for everyone else. Just sue her for eminent domain already. ENOUGH!