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County seeks property-owner easements as beach-nourishment planning moves toward federal review
Summary
Pinellas County staff told the Tourist Development Council the county is collecting property easements for a beach‑nourishment design and permitting phase and has federal outreach planned; staff urged coastal property owners to review and sign easement documents to keep projects feasible.
Pinellas County staff provided an update on Feb. 19 about ongoing beach‑nourishment planning and a current easement-collection push tied to a federal permitting and funding process.
The county is finalizing design and permitting work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency and is pursuing federal attention in Washington, D.C. Staff said County commissioners and county representatives have scheduled outreach to the White House and that a letter has been sent in support of federal engagement on funding and permitting.
Why this matters: For a beach-nourishment project to move forward contiguous property easements are frequently required to establish construction access, dune management or other easement terms. Staff said insufficient contiguous easements in some municipalities threaten feasibility for parts of the project corridor.
What staff said
County staff (Mr. Lowe) said easement packets have been mailed to property owners within the project footprint and that owners have roughly 1½ to 2 weeks to review and respond. Staff urged property owners to visit the county website for document copies and to contact the county’s public‑works staff for questions.
Staff noted the project has enough signed easements in the Clearwater and Belleair Beach portions of the corridor but said south-of‑that communities — Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, North Redington Beach, Redington Shores and Redington Beach — do not yet have sufficient contiguous easements to make the project feasible in those reaches. Staff said public‑works personnel are holding community meetings and engaging homeowner associations to help secure the remaining signatures.
Board discussion
A board member asked whether the county and cities were coordinating on outreach and permitting; a staff speaker said the county’s public‑works director is working closely with cities and homeowners. A county commissioner attending the Florida Association of Counties/NACO events in Washington was noted as part of the federal outreach planned for the coming weeks.
Ending: Staff asked board members to notify property owners and stakeholders in their networks and said the county will report back to the council as easement activity and federal discussions progress.
