SEBASTIAN — Sebastian Highlands homeowner Blakemore Johnston is threatening legal action if the City places responsibility for rebuilding failing seawalls along Elkam Canal on property owners’ shoulders.
A number of Sebastian Highlands homes along the canal, including those on Joy Haven Drive where Johnston lives, are protected by seawalls dating back to General Development days.
These bulkheads are showing signs of damage and, according to City Engineer Frank Watanabe, at least three, so far, have been identified as being in potentially critical condition.
The solution will likely not be an easy one. For one thing, such projects are costly, with some early estimates on seawall replacement, whether concrete or corrugated metal, estimated at around $30,000 for each property.
Even more troublesome, is the difference of opinion on who’s responsible for replacing the failing seawalls.
A recent analysis by the City, which included a survey of one of the properties, led the City to conclude the seawalls are on private property, potentially making property owners responsible for the expensive repairs.
Johnston strongly disagrees.
He maintains his property and that of his neighbors ends well before the water’s edge.
A worst-case scenario – total seawall failure – could mean canal-facing yards, and possibly structures, sliding toward, or even into, the canal.
Watanabe explained how such serious damage might occur.
Heavy rains and wave action, such as have pounded the area frequently this season, place great “active pressure” on the seawalls.
Add to that the pressure of large, sloping lawns and the additional weight of heavy lawn maintenance equipment, which create a stress load on the aging bulkheads called “surcharging.”
Over time, this will undermine and erode the structures, until, like those along the Elkam Canal, they will begin to fail.
Early last month, Johnston discovered that his concrete seawall had broken in two, separating enough to allow the soil and grass at water’s edge to push against the broken structure with sufficient pressure to tip it forward from its upright, 90-degree position. “If this keeps up, Johnston says, “my pool could go.”
Johnston wasted no time. He hand-delivered a letter to City Hall explaining what had occurred, listing his concerns, and seeking whatever guidance the City could offer.
His concerns are three-fold: potential damage to the property; his probable inability, living on a fixed income, to afford the repairs; and the drop in property values resulting from the seawall failure.
A day after City Manager Joe Griffin received Johnston’s letter, he dispatched Stormwater Superintendent Tim Walker and Watanabe to Johnston’s residence to conduct an inspection.
The next day he checked it out himself and then instructed staff to investigate further.
Staff found that the survey on record, done when the house was built, shows Johnston’s “seawall/bulkhead is not on City property.”
Griffin requested an updated survey be conducted by a professional survey company, and that, too, “revealed that the bulkhead is on private property,“ according to a letter Griffin wrote to Johnston. The letter further states that the City is “precluded from making repairs on private property.”
Griffin went on to say it is the opinion of “the licensed professional City Engineer” (Watanabe) that the issue “has potential negative safety consequences” and recommends “that you pursue an immediate repair to the seawall/bulkhead and surrounding landscape. The City is prepared to help you, as the property owner, find a competent contractor.”
Griffin has proposed a Nov. 7 meeting with the affected homeowners “to discuss alternatives.”
Johnston said he’d wait to speak with his attorney before deciding whether to attend.
