Town, State Officials Taking Steps To Expedite Seawall Repair

As homeowners along the shoreline work to repair their homes, racing to protect them before another storm hits, town and state officials are doing what they can to expedite the approval process for seawall reconstruction.

Seawalls all along the Madison shoreline, including the streets off of Neck Road, along Holly Park Road, Parker Avenue and Surf Club Road, along Middle Beach and Middle Beach West, and other areas, sustained significant damage, leaving homes susceptible to additional and possibly catastrophic damage should another storm hit.

Joe Lynch of Riverbend Builders was one of several contractors working Monday to shore up seawalls and repair homes along Holly Park Road. Lynch said several homeowners had banded together and were working in concert, trying to get the work done quickly. "It's a step-by-step process," he said. "We need to re-stabilize the area and make it safe."

"It's almost overwhelming"

Lynch was working Monday with Jonathan Bein, who was supervising repairs being done to a home owned by his wife's family. "It's almost overwhelming," Bein said. "There's the physical work that needs to be done, but it can be emotionally overwhelming." He said parts of the house ended up on the 10th green of the Madison Country Club, located across the street behind the home. He was among the first family members to visit after the storm, charged with delivering the news to those who could not bring themselves to view the damage.

Bein said homeowners, in addition to struggling with repairs, are also having to deal with insurance adjusters. "It's upsetting that we've been paying for insurance since Gloria, just to find we're not covered."

Lynch and Bein agreed that whatever the town could do to help expedite the process would be welcome.

Homes damaged, uninhabitable, septic systems destroyed

Town officials say Bein's family has plenty of company. Approximately 84 homes were damaged, including 14 that are currently uninhabitable, and five that have been deemed unsafe. More than a dozen septic systems along the shoreline have been significantly damaged, along with at least 25 to 50 seawalls, town officials say.

The town's goal is to help simplify the rebuilding of those seawalls, said First Selectman Fillmore McPherson.

"That is our primary concern," he said Monday. "Nor'easter season is coming."

DEEP, OLISP agree to expedited process

McPherson said he called Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Daniel C. Esty and asked for an expedited process for Madison homeowners. Esty immediately referred him to Brian Thompson, the director of DEEP’s Office of Long Island Sound Programs (OLISP). OLISP is charged with enforcement of the state’s coastal management and coastal permit laws and regulations.

McPherson said Thompson told him that homeowners who are doing repairs or who are replacing an existing authorized seawall do not have to go through the entire Coastal Site Plan Review process _if_ the seawall is the same size and _if_ it is in the same location. "It cannot be higher or further seaward," McPherson said. "But as long as it is the same size and in the same place, we can deal with it administratively here at the town's building office."

If not for this special exception, homeowners would have to submit the Coastal Site Plan Review to the town's Planning and Zoning Commission, which then submits it to OLISP, a process that can take five weeks or longer. Instead, the application can be handled at town hall and McPherson said it is the intention of those at town hall to handle applications quickly.

Improved materials, engineering techniques encouraged

McPherson emphasized, however, that the new seawalls do not have to be made of the same materials to be included in this expedited process. "That's very important. It does not have to be built in the same way. Building materials and engineering processes have been improved over the decades. If your granddaddy built it out of railroad ties in 1937, that doesn't mean you have to build it out of railroad ties in 2011. You can use updated materials and updated processes."

In fact, McPherson encouraged homeowners to build the seawalls to the highest standards they can afford. "We don't want to be doing this again next year," he said.

If a homeowner wants to build a bigger seawall, or one that is in a different location, they do have to submit the Coastal Site Plan Review to the town's Planning & Zoning Commission, but McPherson said that process will be expedited as well. He said the town planning and zoning commissioners are willing to meet more frequently if needed, and that OSLIP is committed to doing the review in a week's time, rather than five weeks.

Temporary barriers allowed as well

McPherson said homeowners also are allowed to construct temporary protection, if they feel it is needed. "Temporary barriers of, for example, sheet steel, are allowed, if a home is in real danger," he said. "The whole objective is to get these homes protected waterfront." 

The town hopes to take additional measures as well to help homeowners still struggling with Irene repairs, he said, but the town also wants to make sure repairs are done according to code.

"People will still have to take out building permits," he said. "We can't allow for sub-standard or unsafe re-building."

Flood zone requirements kick in if reconstruction costs are 50 percent of home's value or more

McPherson also reminded homeowners that if reconstruction costs are 50 percent or more of the dwelling's value, that the repairs must be done in accordance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood zone requirements, which mandate certain elevations and other specific measures. "There are height requirements and restrictions on things like basements," McPherson said.

Those requirements, while making construction more costly, can ultimately save homeowners additional problems if another storm hits, McPherson said. "The goal is to get the water flowing underneath the home rather than in to it," he said.