Sand Bypass And Save Our Homes Under Attack

For over 90 years the dredging of Port Everglades and continued expansion stopped the natural flow of sand to Hollywood Dania Beach and Hallandale Beach. The shoal located just north of the port benefitted from too much sand while the southern beach has been starved for sand.

Residents who live north of the port have been pushed back for years; any changes would impact them adversely. The jetty also exacerbated wave action south that created many hot spots. These are created when current swings back into the shoreline and pulls sand out to sea.

Over the past years the Army Corps, Broward County and cities have been paying for beach renourishment projects. While these are vital, they have become more expensive. It has also been challenging to acquire the right sand. In the past the funding in percentage would include 70% federal, 20% county and 10% localities and those numbers have flipped to 70% to the localities.

Our most recent beach renourishment project was just completed. We had to perform the project while trucking in the sand. We can no longer borrow from the ocean bed. For years, I, along with my colleagues, have been asking for relief. We are unable to place barriers like jetties along the coast. We cannot continue to do the same thing over and over. The bypass is a welcomed relief.

The project creates a 7-acre, 50 foot deep trap that will be created from blasting above the jetty. The trap will collect the sand. The sand will then be pumped out through a hydraulic bypass pump system across the inlet. This is not the first bypass system in our state. Palm Beach has had a bypass system.

After extensive research, the project was approved in 2020 only to be delayed. During surveying, the engineers found Queen Conch. Recently, they were added to the list of endangered species. The County was notified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that reinitiation of formal consultation for queen conch was necessary before the project could begin. After nearly 12 months of coordination, County staff shared last week the agencies involved approved a working plan. The project is moving forward in October with the construction project.

Save our Homes Caps Assessments is working to protect your investment. There are real savings available; Florida voters approved Save Our Homes to protect residents from unpredictable property tax bills. It limits yearly increases on homesteaded properties to 3% or inflation rates, whichever is lower. Even as prices rise, tax bills remain stable. Meanwhile, home insurance premiums have more than doubled since 2019. This buffer between market value and taxable value protects full-time Floridian Homeowners. It’s a form of “Homefield Advantage” for year-round Florida property taxpayers. In 2024, Florida homeowners saved over $312 billion thanks to Save Our Homes.

As always, I am available anytime for your questions, concerns, and ideas to make our City a better place on my Phone/Text at: (954) 632-5700. Or you can email me at: jcooper@cohb.org. Please visit me on my Facebook page at: Mayor Joy Cooper. Like! Follow! And share!