HACKED BY CYBER-ATTACK - ALPERENBTN

[Johnny French]

John Kelley sicced Channel Six's Andreas Araiza on me. Nearly missed my opportunity to speak while he button-holed me outside the council chambers, but Mayor Garrett was kind enough to let me address the council later. I'd already submitted written comments earlier, anyway (see below). I won't know what I missed until I see the replay on the gov't channel tomorrow, but I got the impression somehow that a new beach closure ordinance isn't likely to surface this month. However, the high (or low) point of the meeting came when the guy who spoke after me bad-mouthed the council so unceasingly over their actions regarding the beach closure that he was quite appropriately escorted from the building. Boy, I'm glad our speaking order wasn't reversed, or I'd have had a tough act to follow!

City Engineer Angel Escobar had made me large copies of the tract maps showing which GLO properties are leased to the City, thus confirming that the tract of beachfront between Whitecap Blvd. and Access Road #4 is part of the leased area. At Dr. Watson's emailed request, I asked him about the need to complete the north jetty before finishing the dredging of Packery Channel. Escobar said he'd talked to Watson that morning, and confirmed that the jetty construction won't likely be done until mid-March, so the dredging won't be done until about 45 days after that. Looks like the seawall to jetty beaches will remain closed for construction until well after Spring Break. I passed this info along to the council when I spoke.

The following is much longer than the thumbnail summary I was able to squeeze into 3 minutes at the podium. At least I didn't get the hook like the next guy.

Mayor and City Council, City of Corpus Christi:



The Townhall Meeting held at Kaffie Middle School during the evening of January 9, 2006 demonstrated the need for you to consider the problems inherent in attempting to facilitate a resort development by subleasing parts of the lands leased from the State of Texas for the Packery Channel Project and closing nearby beaches to vehicular traffic. These problems include, but are not limited to, the following:



1. Mustang-Padre Island Area Development Plan (ADP) – Both the development of beachfront property and beach closures are covered by the ADP. Under Section 61.015 of the Texas Natural Resource Code, Subpart E (for convenience, the Texas Open Beaches Act, or TOBA), the City of Corpus Christi (City) was required to have the ADP approved by the Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office (GLO). The City must certify to the Commissioner that beachfront development proposals and beach closures are consistent with the ADP.



Regarding the little the Corpus Christi Caller-Times has revealed about the proposal by Paul Shexnailder for a resort, there are a number of inconsistencies between the proposal and the ADP which I won’t go into now because I want to concentrate on the beach closures. However, you are strongly urged to read the whole ADP to get a better sense of the context for the following excerpts, and to understand the extent of revisions required should you decide to make the ADP consistent with the resort, rather than vice-versa.



BEACH ACCESS



PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The purpose of this section is to preserve and enhance the public’s right to use and have access to and from the public beach and to support standards certifying construction on land adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico is consistent with such public rights.



The geographic scope of the City’s jurisdiction for beach access includes all areas within the City’s corporate limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction on Padre and Mustang Island located between the Gulf beach and the closest paralleling public roadway or 1,000 feet, whichever is greater…..



Shoreline areas experiencing erosion are of particular concern, as any structures located adjacent to these areas will be at the highest risk of damage in the shortest time period. Under rules established by the General Land Office, which are applicable to both beach access and dune protection review procedures, construction in the eroding areas must be responsive to the risk of erosion in the future. An erosion area boundary has been identified through utilizing erosion data provided by the Bureau of Economic Geology. This boundary projects potential erosion 50 years into the future. Additional construction standards will apply in this area. These standards are included within the Dune Protection and Beach Access Regulations.



EXISTING BEACH ACCESS

Approximately 24.7 miles of public gulf beach is [sic] within the city limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City. Currently, seven vehicular roads provide public access to the 14.7 miles of public beach within the Corpus Christi’s [sic] area of control with 3 additional beach access roads located within State and National parks. An additional 10 miles of beach are in either the exempted areas of the Mustang Island State Park or the Padre Island National Seashore…..



A barricaded parking and day-use area exists on a portion of the public beach between Padre Balli Park entrance road and Bob Hall Pier. Vehicular traffic is routed immediately landward of both of these areas.



Currently, most of the public beach within the City’s jurisdiction is fully accessible to vehicular traffic and public parking on the beach. The only restriction on vehicular traffic and public on-beach parking exist [sic] along the Seawall. Public parking is prohibited and vehicular traffic is restricted because the public beach has eroded to the point that the remaining narrow beach area will not permit safe two-way traffic or parking.



POLICY STATEMENT C.12

The City of Corpus Christi will continue to protect the public’s right of access to Gulf Beaches through the Beachfront Construction Certificate process. The purpose of the Beachfront Construction Certificate is to protect public access to gulf beaches as development occurs adjacent to the Gulf Beach.



POLICY STATEMENT C.13

Numerous natural and man-made processes have caused significant erosion of the public beaches along the Gulf Coast, including Mustang and Padre Islands. If these processes continue, as they are projected to, the public beach may become so narrow that continued vehicular use of the beach might be physically impossible or pose a threat to public safety. Future opportunities for providing public access to the beach may be seriously diminished as development of private property landward of the public beach occurs. Also, the increased use of public beaches will create conflicts with vehicular and pedestrian movement.



The City must achieve, at a minimum, the following policies and objectives:

…..

B) The City will regulate pedestrian and vehicular beach access, traffic, and parking on the beach only in a manner that preserves or enhances public right [sic] to use and to have access to and from the beach.

C) Except in front of the seawall, the City will not pursue closure of any portion of the public beach to vehicular traffic without an overwhelming public safety concern. However, protected pedestrian and beach user areas may be provided on the beach, only as considered necessary for public safety. The purpose of the protected areas is to separate vehicular traffic from pedestrian and beach user areas while also providing through movement of traffic.



The last section clearly indicates the City may not close the beaches to vehicular traffic north or south of the seawall to facilitate resort development as Shexnailder has proposed, and it may not even separate lanes of vehicles from pedestrians and beach users with bollard barricades, such as in Padre Balli Park, “without an overwhelming public safety concern.” In fact, the gist of the ADP is that beaches and the right to use them are to be protected from development and especially from construction-related erosion.



2. City-GLO Lease - Coastal Lease No. CL20020005 granted the City the right to construct a park and dredged channel on the 648.5 acres it leases from the State for the Packery Channel Project. While the City may sublease the land, the lease clearly states “Lessee shall not use the Premises for any other purpose without prior written consent from the State, which consent may be granted or withheld in the State’s sole discretion.” Thus, before subleasing the State’s beachfront properties north and south of the seawall and along the south side of Packery Channel itself for Shexnailder’s resort, the City would have to renegotiate the lease.



A more pressing concern is that the lease also requires the City to submit a written plan for commercial development for GLO’s approval “not later than the completion of the Channel dredging.” When I asked last night at the Townhall meeting when that completion might be, I was told it would be in approximately 45 days. From what I gathered, the City has not prepared a written plan for the commercial development of the park facilities outlined in the lease, much less for those portions of Shexnailder’s resort proposed on State lands. If the City possesses either plan, I invoke the Public Information Act in requesting copies. I assume the City will at minimum have to renegotiate the time-frame for submitting whichever plan it means to apply.



3. Dune Protection Act – According to the Caller-Times, Shexnailder’s resort calls for developing in the existing dunes south of the seawall and in the combination of natural and restored dunes on the beachfront north of the seawall and parallel to the south side of the channel. This raises the issues of getting approvals for these developments from both the GLO and from Nueces County. Even if they were likely to be granted, it appears premature to pass another beach closure ordinance before approval has even been requested.



4. National Environmental Policy Act - The Corps of Engineers prepared and published an Environmental Impact Statement based upon substantial information which would have to change significantly to facilitate Shexnailder’s resort. For example, beach closures were not an element of the Packery Channel Project, nor was converting dunes freshly restored as part of the project into commercial developments of any sort. The beaches themselves were to be restored, as County Commissioner Joe McComb quoted in his comments on the EIS, so that driving on the beach could also be restored. The EIS also did not take into consideration that Shexnailder’s resort and the related beach closures would have such significant cumulative impacts as the loss of a park south of the seawall and the diversion of vehicles and beachgoers to the designated piping plover Critical Habitat north of the channel. If the City makes the resort a reasonably foreseeable activity by passing additional beach closure ordinances to promote it, the Corps will almost certainly have to prepare a Supplemental EIS, and reinitiate Endangered Species Act formal consultation as part of that preparation. The City may expect lengthy delays at best, and at the worst find itself paying not just the local cost-share for the project, but the full tab.



These are just the most immediate problems with trying to pass a new beach closure ordinance. Please consider long and carefully before doing so.



Respectfully,



Johnny French



January 10, 2006

[paulj4400]

It seems strange that the Council and Mayor need you to supply information. Don't they have staff? Thanks Johnny. I think you are doing a great service to the community

[rabbit]

Nice Johnny, thanks. Maybe they thought that by closing the beaches first that they could then be a shoo-in for getting the state to approve the land lease. When they may not have been able to get the lease with the beach open. A little bass ackwards but a possibility. Most likely they thought people werent smart enough to figure out what was happening untill too late.
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Fishing and Kayaking its a rough life but somebody has to do it.

[Johnny French]

paulj4400, hadn't the time to add to my letter of advice this item from the credits page in the preface to the Mustang-Padre Island Area Development Plan:

"Significant contributions to development of this Plan were also made by: Paul Shexnailder, President, Asset Development Corporation..."

[rabbit]

That would smart
_________________
Fishing and Kayaking its a rough life but somebody has to do it.

[Johnny French]

Watched the replay of the Council meeting this evening and confirmed the impression. The mayor said the next beach closure ordinance won't be on the agenda before the first part of February.