SC Staff Report
Sanibel City Council will convene a special meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, to discuss the erosion threatening portions of Sanibel Captiva Road south of Blind Pass. The agenda includes a resolution declaring a state of local emergency.
There will be a presentation on the Sanibel Captiva Road emergency erosion protection project and recommendation for emergency measures prepared by Natural Resources Director James Evans and Director of Community Services Keith Williams.
Successive cold fronts and storms over the past year have resulted in significant sand loss in the area. The erosion has reached within eight feet of the guardrail along that portion of road, which is an evacuation route for Captiva Island and the north end of Sanibel.
The city has filed for a Coastal Construction Control Line permit for a shore protection project to safeguard the vulnerable section of the road and plans to construct the project prior to the 2020 sea turtle nesting season. However, the city can declare a state of local emergency to take crucial protection measures until the project can begin.
The Council better move expeditiously as this is the only emergency route off and on Captiva, besides boats, and we are in a hurricane zone. We have been living with beach erosion signs at that area for years and it ‘s about time someone in the government woke up !