THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996 TAG: 9608070414
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB AND PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 55 lines
Hoping to finally remove damaged Sandbridge bulkheads, the City Council Tuesday revised a city law that a judge had declared unconstitutional.
The city has tried since 1989 to require 22 Sandbridge property owners to remove bulkheads from their properties. City officials say they worry that the leaning bulkheads could collapse on sunbathers or injure swimmers who brush against rusted bolts and jagged edges.
Property owners have long argued that the bulkheads should be removed or fixed at the contractor's expense. Both sides have been trying to negotiate a settlement.
Tuesday, the council changed the city law covering ``hazardous marine structures'' to give property owners accused of having dangerous bulkheads an appeals process.
On June 11, Circuit Court Judge A. Bonwill Shockley declared the old ordinance unconstitutional because of the absence of such a process. She enjoined the city from removing the flattened steel bulkhead belonging to Dr. William A. Webb, a veterinarian, who went to court to stop the removal.
Shockley's order contradicted a February ruling by Circuit Court Judge Edward Hanson, who said the city did have the right to take action in the case of six other Sandbridge residents with damaged bulkheads.
Rather than appealing the dispute to the state Supreme Court, city officials decided to modify the city code to address Shockley's concerns, Coastal Engineer Phillip J. Roehrs said Tuesday.
Under the original law, the city's director of public works had the power to declare a wharf, pier, piling or bulkhead a public hazard. The property owner then had 30 days to repair the structure, or the city would make the repairs and send the owner a bill.
Under the amended code, a property owner who disagreed with the hazardous designation could complain to the city manager in writing within 15 business days. The city manager would then have 10 days to hear the property owner's appeal.
Bulkheads are the last line of defense for about 70 percent of Sandbridge oceanfront homeowners as the ocean eats away at the beach. There is no longer any beach in front of many bulkheads, even at low tide.
Of the 243 oceanfront properties at Sandbridge, 170 have bulkheads. Forty-eight bulkheads have been wrecked by storms.
Most have been or will be repaired. Six that have not been repaired are among the 22 at the center of the dispute.
In other business Tuesday, the City Council accepted a $516,000 federal grant to help fund a hike and bike trail that would run from Dam Neck Road to the Virginia Beach Municipal Center along a Virginia Power right-of-way just north of Princess Anne Road. The city is considering adding a horse trail next to the bike path.
The trail is part of the Virginia Beach Outdoors Plan, a long-range plan to expand recreational facilities across the city.
KEYWORDS: SANDBRIDGE BULKHEAD EROSION by CNB