ONE SIZE FITS ALL? PERPETUAL EASEMENTS?

According to the Federal government, Atlantic Reaches known as the front beach and the Inlet Reach, the side beach, starting at the pavilion and ending at the entrance of Big Bay Creek will have a continuous sand wall with no access breaks with a height of 15 and 14-feet, respectively, above mean sea level.   It will be 30-40-feet wide at its base and around 15-feet wide at the top and will be vegetated.   This dune-wall will be constructed on a perpetual or permanent easement given by beach front property owners or taken by eminent domain by the town if they refuse to sign over.    

However, they are two vastly different beaches.  The elevations and distances of water to houses don't compareIn the January public meeting (Facebook video), it was asked: why can't we limit the project to just the Atlantic reaches (access 1 through 29)? The answer from the town was that it would take too long to get it re-worked and $22 million window would be closed by then.  Why was this not taken into account in the first place?   If this is about securing nourishment funds, are we nourishing the side beach also, which accretes, or grows, approximately an inch per year?

Non-perpetual walkover bridges, allowed by current town council,  with hand railing would add another 7-9 feet to the height.  Are we ready for approximately 200, 23-26' tall and 30-40' long structures lining our beach?  Imagine the ocean views then!  Yes, there are a handful oceanfront owners that are desperately facing close-range erosion (several of those owners are on our town, five member Beachfront Mgmt Committee, now seven members strong, which made the recommendation on February 14, 2019, to Council from a 4-1 vote, to proceed to the PPA), but they hardly represent all of our beachfront owners.  Those of us who have existed here for many years are well aware of the risks involved with living on the edge of the southern Atlantic coast.  We understand there's a high premium to pay for living in paradise, but a Federal project that takes over land and land locks owners from the beach forever is extremely offensive to owners and potentially catastrophic to the local economy. 

No plans, so far, exist for the waterfront on Big Bay Creek, where large amounts of the flooding water enters the island, as top officials have mentioned in the past.  Those folks on the north end of Lybrand St and the low elevation homes in Ocean Ridge can expect even higher floods with a side beach wall funneling more water to the creek. Can we even take this one-size-fits-all approach seriously for any of our beaches?     

There must be another option.  How about the vacationers?  If informed properly of our nourishment situation, they'd most likely have no problem paying a "beach preservation" fee or tax, in order to be able to keep returning to their favorite beach, as they have for many years now.  By the way, who's paying for the State Park Reach?  The town has stated that the State Park has recently reached out to them in regards to the annexation of the park.  So, if the town annexes the park , will we  Edisto tax payers be expected to pay for the State Park reach as well?  We sure hope not.

Why are we not calling this dune/berm a wall?  Are we allowed to climb over it?  That would constitute a federal offense.  What if it fails during a major storm?  All front beach homes will soon have a walled up courtyard instead of the one-in-a-million view that we all dream about. 

It's broad brushing at its federal finest, coming to a beach near you.  Why are we being treated like the other beach communities that have a beach wall now, such as Folly Beach? It's an apples to oranges comparison.  How does a non-traversable wall increase property values?