Sand on the beach is not the only thing mixed up every time a hurricane like Helene sideswipes Florida beach towns along the Gulf of Mexico and storm winds re-arrange “sand-scape” all over a barrier island.
Beach experts with the U.S. Geological Survey warned everyone living or hunkering down on Florida’s Gulf Coast beaches that Hurricane Helene was, without doubt, going to forever reshape the West Coast of the Sunshine State.
The USGS experts were precise and correct.
Hurricane Helene’s winds and storm surge washed up and over beaches, flattened dunes, and carried tons and tons of sand inland, leaving sand piles on roads, sand resembling snow drifting over grassy lawns, and tossed like salt over concrete driveways -- blocks and blocks away from the everyday location of the Gulf of Mexico shoreline.
What the USGS did not warn anyone about was how Hurricane Helene’s “sand-tricks” would reignite Florida’s long-time property-rights struggle over who owns the natural sands along the Gulf of Mexico.
Access denied
The debate over who gets to lounge on which beach has caused a mayor in Belleair Beach near Clearwater to claim he “was the law” when confronting two women, not from Belleair Beach, drinking coffee on not-their beach, which was not illegal. So the mayor ended up in hot water.
In Sarasota County, a homeowner’s belief that she owned a sometimes underwater portion of limestone boulders down below the end of her lawn on South Siesta Key led to fist-a-cuffs and arrests.
There’s been an endless number of shouting matches between beachfront homeowners sure their deeds, showing on paper that their property lines go out under the water into the Gulf of Mexico where sand once was, are proof they own all of the beach versus those with Florida Law on their side, which has established the sand is public if it's dry during a low tide but wet at high tide.
Easy, right?
There are dozens of variations of that argument.
For example, if the beach was rebuilt with state and federal tax dollars after a storm, which benefits a homeowner’s property values by adding dozens of feet of protective sand between their house and the water — isn’t that sand public since Joe and Jane Everyone paid for the new beach?
Another version of the sand wars is already playing out on Englewood Beach and Fort Myers Beach. It goes like this:
Slightly inland landowner: “I have all this sand all over my grass and house and I don’t want it here. Someone get rid of it."
Beach-front homeowner: “That MINE! I bought that sand with this house. I demand it be put back on "my" beach right away.”
The local or state department of health: “First things first. folks. We have to inspect all the tons and tons and tons of sand, run it all through a cleaning machine to ensure it is free of oils or contaminants or sharp things so we are sure it is environmentally acceptable to lay in or on. And that ..."
(Beach-town mayor chimes in: “So nobody gets hurt on this beach and sues us!)"
The local or state department of health: “… which means the legal owner of the sand must repay the taxpayers for the time, manpower, and equipment to ensure the sand is safe.”
Beachgoers: “That’s us. We live here and paid for all that. Since we own it, just lay the sand back out here on the beach and, forever more, the debate on whose beach it is solved!”
Beach-front homeowner: “Now just a minute! That is my sand and I never asked that it be cleaned.…”
Sand under emergency order?
With so much sand to be put back and cleaned, the battle over who owns Florida’s shores may heat up now more than ever.
The first and only official guidance made newly public is from the Town of Fort Myers Beach, which was submerged under several feet of storm surge and high tide during Hurricane Helene, and where piles of sand were still in, and along, the public road down the middle of the beach on Sunday:
“The Town asks that you do not pump water from your pool directly onto the beach. Doing so will cause it to scour. Instead, place a dewatering bag at the end of your hose outlet and pump the water into a side yard.
“Overwash sand is a valuable resource! The Town asks you to not mix it with debris as clean sand can be returned to the beach, but it must be FREE OFF ALL DEBRIS.
“Returning overwash sand to the beach requires permission from the Town under the State’s Emergency Order. If you are placing sand on the beach, email chadd@fmbgov.com with the address and a picture of the sand. It will be inspected. If any debris is found in the sand, the owner will be required to remove it from the beach at the owner’s expense.
“Alternatively, sand can be brought near the sidewalk to be collected by the Town’s debris contractor.
“Please comply with the following:
- Do not obstruct sidewalk or road with sand or debris.
- Place sand as close to the sidewalk as you can so that it can be picked up. Within 10 feet of sidewalk is ideal.
- Do not mix sand with debris. Make separate piles if necessary.
If you have any questions, please contact the Town at (239) 765 – 0202.”
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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