County approves two shoreline-alteration permits for private seawalls on Lake Down and Lake Willis

Orange County commissioners unanimously approved two shoreline alteration, dredge-and-fill (SADF) permits on June 3 to allow replacement seawalls and associated riprap and plantings on Lake Down and Lake Willis.

EPD Environmental Programs Administrator Tim Holt presented both applications. He told the commission that property owners had installed unpermitted wooden seawalls roughly 20 years ago and that EPD could not confirm whether the walls predated the applicable county regulations. The applicants proposed replacing the remaining wooden seawalls with vinyl walls set directly in front of the older walls and adding riprap and native plantings in front of the new wall faces to reduce erosion.

Holt said staff reviewed the projects under the applicable Orange County code chapters (A1 item reviewed under county code chapter 33, article 4; A2 item reviewed under chapter 15, article 6) and found both applications consistent with the permitting standards. He said notices were mailed within 500 feet and that EPD received no written objections.

Commissioner Wilson moved to accept staff recommendations and approve permit SADF2501003 for Christiana de Albuquerque Ferez and Marco Antonio Ferez Junior (5030 Downpoint Lane, Lake Down). Commissioner Gomez Cattaro seconded; the motion passed unanimously. Immediately afterward, commissioners approved permit SADF2401004 for Jeffrey Deacon (7318 Lake Willis Drive, Lake Willis) by the same unanimous vote.

Practical details the applicants supplied at the hearing: the Lake Down proposal called for an approximately 18-foot vinyl seawall with 8-foot returns and riprap/native plantings in front of the wall. The Lake Willis proposal called for approximately 43 feet of replacement vinyl seawall with a 30-foot return to the west and a 7-foot return to the east, also with riprap and native plantings. Staff noted neighboring properties near these addresses do not all have seawalls but said other seawalls are present on the lakes.

The commission’s decisions accepted EPD’s recommended conditions of approval, which tie construction to the submitted site plans and require compliance with other applicable state and federal permits listed in the staff reports. The permits are subject to the conditions listed in the EPD staff reports.

Why it matters: shoreline stabilization on private parcels affects lake habitat, erosion patterns and downstream stormwater management. The conditions approved by the county require native plantings and riprap intended to reduce erosion and protect water quality. Residents with adjacent shoreline were notified; no written objections were recorded in the staff files presented to the commission.