THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 15, 1995 TAG: 9512150490
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Six Sandbridge homeowners must comply with a city mandate to repair their damaged bulkheads or the city may take unprecedented action to remove them, leaving the oceanfront homes even more vulnerable to the advancing surf.
The city contends the collapsed bulkheads, with protruding rusted bolts, pose a public safety hazard that must be eliminated. The city is prepared to contract to remove the bulkheads and bill the homeowners.
The property owners, however, are all too familiar with the flaws in the bulkheads; they are embroiled in a lawsuit with the builder claiming the seawalls were improperly constructed.
But the matter is still winding its way through the courts, so the homeowners are not willing to make repairs until the legal action has concluded.
``If the city removes that bulkheading, those houses are history,'' said John S. Norris Jr., an attorney representing the homeowners.
Bulkheads are the last line of defense for about 70 percent of Sandbridge oceanfront homeowners as the ocean gnaws away at the diminishing beach. The ocean has gobbled up so much sand that there's no beach in front of many bulkheads even at low tide.
A $10 million sand replenishment project is being designed by the city and Army Corps of Engineers. If funded by Congress, construction would begin in 1997.
City representatives will meet with lawyers for the homeowners today to try to resolve the issue, which has been brewing since July.
``Hopefully, we can reach an amicable, reasonable solution to the problem that benefits everybody . . . before they do something drastic and irreversible,'' Norris said.
Phillip J. Roehrs, the city's coastal engineer, called it a ``terribly touchy situation.'' He acknowledges that by removing the bulkheads, the city ``would cause an awful lot of hardship on property owners.''
But he said the homeowners have a responsibility to keep their bulkheads in a condition that is not a threat to public safety.
The city fears that the leaning bulkheads could collapse on sunbathers. Or that tides could wash swimmers against bulkheads where rusted bolts protrude. The bent steel walls are also a temptation for youngsters to climb and explore.
``All summer long there are mothers with children in their lawn chairs in front of these bulkheads,'' Roehrs said. ``It's horrible to think of what could happen.''
Roehrs said the city does not want to be exposed to these risks again next summer.
``As cold-hearted as it sounds, we're not in the business of maintaining their property for them,'' Roehrs said. ``We absolutely prefer they take care of their own business, and if they don't, there are provisions in law for us to take care of it for them.''
Of the 243 oceanfront properties at Sandbridge, 170 have bulkheads. These six bulkheads in the northern end of the community are among 48 that have been toppled in storms.
Those six were damaged in a northeaster on Halloween 1991. The rest failed during a November 1994 northeaster.
The city sent letters last summer to the bulkhead owners, stating that they posed a safety hazard and must be removed or repaired. If no action is taken, the city said it would come onto private property and remove the bulkheads, billing the homeowners or placing a lien on the property to recoup the fees.
Some of those bulkheads were fashioned of timber and presented their own set of hazards. Wooden bulkhead planks knocked loose were becoming battering rams in the surf. The nail-studded planks also could be found scattered on the beach.
All but 18 homeowners provided documentation that they are taking care of the problem. A second letter went out to those 18 in November.
Now all but the owners of the six in question - all steel bulkheads - have said that work would be done. One other property owner, who has three homes with failed bulkheads, has indicated he would repair his bulkheads, but the city has yet to get a firm commitment.
Norris said his clients also want the bulkheads fixed but that they don't have the financial means to do it until they settle their claim with the builder.
Plus, Norris fears that taking on the repairs themselves could hinder their lawsuit and the warranties in their contract with the builder.
``I'm not trying to paint the city with a black hat, I know they're trying to protect the public at large,'' he said.
``But this situation has been apparent to the city for a long time. It's not like the homeowners are sitting on their hands doing nothing.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
JIM WALKER/The Virginian-Pilot
Virginia Beach officials say damaged bulkheads pose a threat to
public safety. But property owners contend that the bulkhead
builders should pay for repairs.
by CNB