THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 7, 1994 TAG: 9406070013
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Medium
DATELINE: 940607 LENGTH:
The beach at Sandbridge, a relatively high-income residential and resort community, has been steadily eroding for some time now as the best means to deal with it has been debated. The Army Corps of Engineers wants to try dumping sand over the next five decades in an effort to replenish the beach.
{REST} The restoration proposals brought before council won't require a tax hike, except in Sandbridge itself. The Army Corps of Engineers will pick up $6 million of the initial $9 million tab for replenishment and 65 percent of the recurring costs. A state rebate to the city of $2.8 million of the purchase price of land at Camp Pendleton covers the city's share of that initial tab.
The city then must meet its 35 percent share of the recurring cost of replenishment. That's approximately $1.8 million per replenishment (every two or three years). Here's one way to meet it:
The city, which owns 25 percent of Sandbridge land, would kick in revenues from city-owned operations there, and kick back to Sandbridge its contributions from the Tourist Growth and Investment Fund. Keeping sand and therefore tourists on this beach should qualify for TGIF.
But the bulk of the recurring cost would, and should, come from Sandbridge homeowners, through surcharges they've agreed to pay on their real-estate and lodging taxes. Depending on the frequency of replenishment, the property-tax surcharge would range from 6 percent to 12 percent, the lodging-tax surplus from 2.5 percent to 4 percent. That's a big chunk, but it is their houses, and they have an interest in protecting this barrier island and the waterways and lands that lie behind it. When one builds in an ecologically unstable area, one should assume the risks involved.
And, as part of the deal, the landowners and the city have agreed that the Sandbridge beach becomes public, not private.
Sand replenishment, plus the installation of sewers (which council has already approved) may well spur more development in Sandbridge. That prospect thrills some landowners. It chills others, who fear spoiling Sandbridge to save it. The least council can do is make certain that if there is more development, the people building there should be aware they will bear most of the risks and costs of that development decision.
The oceanfront is one of Virginia Beach's finest assets, and it is in the interest of the city and the region as a whole to preserve it. If the general taxpayer is going to pick up part of the tab, it is only fair that the beach be made accessible to the general public, as it apparently will be. At the same time, if the City Council sees a way to save constituents' homes and its own considerable investment in Sandbridge without tapping taxpayers citywide, it should seize it.
by CNB