By Doug Miller
The Long Beach City Council voted 5-0 to reject the controversial Army Corps of Engineers' $100 million Storm Damage Reduction Program at a special meeting Thursday night.
The meeting, which ran from 8 p.m. to almost 10, featured speakers on both sides of the issue making last-ditch pleas to a council that in the past three months has been able to focus on little else.
The three-pronged proposal would have repaired or rebuilt 18 groins from Nevada Avenue in Long Beach's West End down to Point Lookout, would have included a 10-foot high dune built under the city's boardwalk - and included that structure's entire replacement - and would have involved 6.6 million cubic-yards of sand poured onto the beach to raise its elevation. The city's initial cost would be about $6 million, plus annual maintenance.
While the city's need for the plan was debatable, the deterioration of Point Lookout's beaches made that community's residents vocal supporters of anything that would get the Army Corps to start work on the barrier island's east end. While federal officials have refused to admit it, there have been hints that the Army Corps has a scaled down plan B that would only fix Point Lookout in case the city bowed out.
It was this beach fill part of the project that was the deal-breaker. The corps readily acknowledged that the new sand, which would be dredged from off shore, would lack the fine grain and bright color of the existing Long Beach sand.
Another consideration was that the increased slope of the beach would negatively affect surfing conditions and create unsafe swimming. This position was championed by the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental group that has fought the project in its various iterations for years.
The project's proponents seized upon the fact that many of the Surfrider members who have lobbied against the project are from communities other than Long Beach, claiming it as evidence that their view did not represent the average local homeowner. In fact, more than a few cars parked outside of City Hall Thursday night bore New Jersey license plates, including a red BMW with a surfboard strapped to its roof.
Immediately after the third and deciding no vote was cast, the leader of Surfrider's Long Beach committee released a gleeful statement. "[The Council] has preserved what makes Long Beach so special as well as paved the way for replenishing Point Lookout, and preparing our city for a storm on our own terms."
There was never a movement among the project's supporters that could match the energy of its detractors. And certainly the Army Corps did little to promote its own cause.
In fact, nearly every member of the Council stated before their votes that among the deciding factors was their mistrust of the federal government's engineers, whose take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum was seen as arrogant and counterproductive.
"The Army Corps failed to convince me that this is the project to protect the city," said Republican Councilman James Hennessy. And since the corps did not, in his opinion, give the city any viable alternatives, he said, "If the city gets wiped out in a storm, it will be fault of the Army Corps, not this City Council."
He added that with the vote, the council's real job begins, namely creating a homegrown viable alternative to the Army Corps plan.
It was a sentiment that was shared across the aisle.
"I prefer that whatever gets done next gets done locally," said Democrat Denise Tangney. "We should explore how to get state and federal dollars for a project without using the Army Corps. They're like the middle men."
But she stressed that while the council is debating what to do next, individual citizens must take responsibility for their own safety.
"Each of us needs to be prepared now in case of an event," she said. "You should know what you're going to do, and look after your neighbors."
Most of the public comment Thursday evening was skewed against the project, as has most of the discourse about the various Army Corps projects. While the meeting was well attended, nearly filling the sixth-floor meeting room, it didn't compare to the March 28 meeting that was standing-room-only, by some estimates drawing more than 600 people and more than 70 speakers.
While the crowd was smaller Thursday, it was no less vocal.
"I'm angry to be spending another night here in City Hall telling you what you already know, which is that you don't want the Army Corps of Engineers," said Richard Young, a resident of Farrell Street in the Canals.
But the sentiment was not quite unanimous.
"I'm a veteran of World War II and I'm on a limited income," said Donald Lerner. "I can't afford to lose my house or my life."
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
