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By AMY WIMMER
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 31, 2001
CLEARWATER -- About 80 property owners and government officials from the beaches turned out for a Department of Environmental Protection hearing Tuesday afternoon, hoping to convince the state agency not to impose a new layer of building rules on the waterfront.
One by one, people questioned the DEP's science, the rationale -- even the motives -- behind a new Coastal Construction Control Line that would affect as much as $2.8-million in Pinellas beachfront property.
Properties built west of the control line must adhere to stringent state permitting guidelines. The current control line generally runs along the west side of nearly every waterfront structure in Pinellas, affecting few of them, but 20 years ago, the Florida Legislature directed the DEP to reconsider the lines for every county.
Pinellas is the last line to be studied, and it could bring with it the biggest control line battle the state has seen. Already, a coalition of beach officials is talking about hiring lawyers and lobbyists.
The DEP had planned to put the new control line in place a year ago, but the same local committee that forced the Federal Emergency Management Agency to rethink its new regulations has caused several delays in the DEP's plans. The DEP then set Feb. 28 as its deadline, but on Tuesday, Al Devereaux, director of the DEP's Office of Beaches and Coastal Systems, said the agency could wait and formalize the line July 1, when the new Florida Building Code takes effect.
Tuesday's meeting was promoted as residents' final opportunity to speak out about the line, though DEP will continue to accept written input. Also, the hearing officer, DEP Deputy Secretary Kirby Green, could opt to hold more public hearings.