DATE: Wednesday, July 2, 1997               TAG: 9707020523

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   44 lines

BEACH TELLS 7 PROPERTY OWNERS: FIX BULKHEADS OR TAKE THEM OUT

Determined not to let another season pass with twisted, rusty bulkheads lining the Sandbridge waterfront, the city said Tuesday it has informed seven property owners that they must fix or remove them.

If the job isn't done by Aug. 1, the city said, it will have the bulkheads dug up and taken away.

While similar demands were made two years ago, the issue was put on hold while the courts dealt with legal challenges. The city amended its code last summer by adding an appeals process, which a judge ruled was needed if the city wanted to carry out its orders.

City officials are confident that they now can enforce their latest deadline.

Tuesday's action was another move to clear up Sandbridge problems before spending $8.1 million to mine sand offshore and pump it on the Oceanfront next spring.

The bulkheads - which, for many, were a last line of defense against the advancing ocean - failed in a Halloween 1991 storm. After several earlier notices and long negotiations with the builder, all but seven of the 43 that collapsed have been repaired.

Those that remain jutting out of the sand pose a threat to public safety, and they have reduced public access to the beach, the city said.

``Yet another season is upon us, and the public beach access near the failed bulkheads remains closed,'' the city said.

``The final notification is one last attempt to obtain property owner compliance before the city is compelled to contract for the removal of the failed bulkheads.''

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will perform the beach rebuilding for the city, won't do the job until the hazards are removed, the city said.

Recently, the City Council approved a get-tough ordinance that may remove another thorn in the city's side - lack of cooperation by some homeowners in guaranteeing public access to their beachfronts.

Fifteen of the 240 property owners had declined to sign recreation easements to ensure that the public can use the beach.

The ordinance says the city can take the easements, if necessary, through its power of condemnation. KEYWORDS: SANDBRIDGE BULKHEAD

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