Daytona Beach Shores approves moving ADA beach access to nearby Saint Kitts Park

Daytona Beach Shores commissioners voted 4-0 on May 6 to follow city staff’s recommendation to build a new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) dune walkover at nearby Saint Kitts Park rather than rebuilding the storm-destroyed public walkover attached to the Tuscany Shores Condominium at 2901 South Atlantic Avenue.

Stuart Cruz, community service director, told the commission the dune walkover at Tuscany was dedicated to the city by the developer in 2005 but has been repeatedly damaged by storms and is expensive to replace. “Staff is recommending option 3, which is to build a new ADA dune walkover at Saint Kitts Park,” Cruz said during a presentation that laid out six options and the regulatory, construction and reimbursement risks associated with each.

The commission’s vote followed about two hours of staff presentation and public comment. The decision matters because it determines where the city will invest public funds and which public beach access will be maintained: a reconstructed walkover at the Tuscany site, or a new, lower-elevation ADA structure at a public park one building north.

Cruz told commissioners the cost estimate for rebuilding a standard ADA dune walkover at the Tuscany location, using a basic contractor quote, is about $247,104 in current dollars before engineering, survey and permitting fees; staff estimated a comparable structure at Saint Kitts Park would cost about $86,000 before extras. Cruz said the city could face…