Palm Beach Island Comprehensive Coastal Management Plan

In March, 1997, the Town Council of the Town of Palm Beach, with additional participation from the Palm Beach Civic Association, authorized Applied Technology and Management, Inc. (ATM) to prepare a comprehensive coastal management plan to encompass the entire 15.7 mile long Atlantic Ocean shoreline of Palm Beach Island. The purpose of the Comprehensive Coastal Management Plan (CCMP) Update which further served to update a similar plan prepared for the Town of Palm Beach by Cubit Engineering, Ltd. in 1986 was to identify the necessity, sequencing and requisite actions by the Town of Palm Beach and the neighboring municipalities to effectively manage the shoreline of Palm Beach Island. Proper sand management practices at the inlets that separate Palm Beach island from the adjacent coastal communities are critical to ensure that the Island's beaches are afforded the proper level of storm protection. In addition, identification and proper siting of suitable sand resources to conduct beach restoration and renourishment activities on the Island are essential to the long-term success of the comprehensive program. The Comprehensive Coastal Management Plan Update was structured to provide a clear indication of the extent of shoreline erosional stress currently being realized by the beaches of Palm Beach island. Further, identification of shoreline erosion control solutions and the probable storm protection benefits, establishment of an estimate of implementation costs, and presentation of an optimal schedule to accomplish the responsible restoration and maintenance of the shoreline for the next ten years were undertaken. The Plan has been finalized at this writing, and the Mayor and Town Council of the Town of Palm Beach are currently considering adoption and implementation elements. Town staff is preparing public workshops, with three such events tentatively scheduled to occur in March and April 1999.