Commission discusses dune restoration, GLO grants and easement hurdles for beachfront work

Commissioners and planning staff discussed dune restoration work tied to upcoming beach nourishment projects and the role of HOAs and POAs in securing easements and grant funding.

City staff said the city will begin beach nourishment in September and will work with homeowners' associations on dune protection measures such as sand fencing and plantings after nourishment. "We're gonna be talking to a lot of HOAs out there about, you know, ... getting some type of other protection out there in front of their homes," a planning staff member said.

Staff and commissioners detailed procedural hurdles: GLO grants typically require proof of easements across private property, and some front‑row property owners may not be easily located or may not realize they still hold title. Staff said the city can provide technical assistance but expects HOAs to lead easement acquisition to access GLO funds. "When an HOA submits an application to do this work, we're gonna work with them upfront...but the majority of that is handled by the HOA," staff said.

Commissioners asked about legal mechanisms such as prescriptive easements and about what happens when nourishment changes the shoreline reference lines; staff noted mean high‑tide/low‑tide lines are reestablished on a periodic survey cycle and that property and title questions can become legally complex. The commission and staff agreed larger dune conservation and beach nourishment efforts would continue and that the city will coordinate outreach and technical support to HOAs, while acknowledging limited city staff capacity to perform title work and easement acquisition on behalf of associations.

The discussion did not produce a vote; staff said further coordination and public notices will follow as nourishment work is scheduled.