Kevin Phillips/Pixabay
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – There’s nothing the city can do to restore a section of beach that has washed away during winter storms, Commissioner of Public Works Lance Landgraf told several residents last week. His comments brought back pre-dune memories of beachgoers sitting in the shade under the boardwalk.
During a public hearing on North Beach parking permits Thursday, Feb. 13, two residents said they were more concerned with the condition of the beach than they were about the lack of parking.
Resident Helene Metzger said the city needs to do something or it will “drive people away.”
Sand on a section of beach in the southern end of Ventnor has washed away and waves reach the toe of the sand dune at high tide. The most impacted streets are Buffalo and Richards avenues.
Landgraf said it’s normal for loose sand to migrate about 150 feet offshore during winter storms and that it usually returns with the spring tides, but it did not come back last year.
The NJ Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for beach replenishments on a three-year cycle. Ventnor is due for replenishment during fall 2020 and spring 2021, but the funding still needs to be authorized by Congress, he said.
“We can’t spend millions of dollars to replenish on the taxpayer’s dollar,” Landgraf said.
A typical beach replenishment project conducted by the DEP costs millions of dollars with the city incurring a portion of the cost. The federal government picks up 65 percent of the cost of re-nourishment, while the state and municipality split the rest.
The last beach replenishment was completed in 2017, and the city’s share of the cost was $440,917. The city used funding that remained in a previously approved bond ordinance for its share of the cost, but the city has been budgeting funds to pay for the next one, Landgraf said.
Director of Public Works Ed Stinson met with the DEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last month and asked for some action to be taken before the summer season to no avail.
“It will require thousands of cubic yards of sand to fix it,” Landgraf said. “We can’t just go out there with a bulldozer and move sand. It has to be pumped onto the beach from a dredge located off-shore.”
Residents who like to frequent the beach at the end of their block will have to migrate, like the sand, to other beaches north of the depleted area or south to Margate, he said.
Although some sand may return before Memorial Day, it may not be enough to allow beachgoers to enjoy that section of beach other than at low tide.
“We are hoping for stronger offshore winds to push some of it back,” he said.
Landgraf said the Public Works Department is authorized to rake the beach and clean the crossovers, which has been completed. The city also smoothed out the deep cliffs that developed.
To make the beach somewhat accessible in that neighborhood, the department will clean and grade areas behind the dune and under the boardwalk to provide some beach access for residents.
“We’ll dress up that area for residents this summer,” he said. “It’s not an ideal situation, but we will work on it for this summer.”
Landgraf reminded residents that members of the Beach Patrol will transport the elderly and handicapped to the beach of their choice. All they have to do is call Beach Patrol Headquarters to arrange to be picked up.
