Belleair Shore renews beach boundary fight

BELLEAIR SHORE — Firing another legal salvo in its controversial effort to remove a beachfront property boundary, the town now argues that the state has canceled portions of erosion control lines elsewhere in Florida and can do so again in this instance.

Belleair Shore filed an amended petition Sept. 14 after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection dismissed its original administrative hearing petition Aug. 31 but gave it 15 days to correct deficiencies in the filing.

Town officials want to remove the portion of a 1997 erosion control line running through the tiny, exclusive enclave of 57 Gulf-front homes. The line marks where private beachfront property ends and state-owned land begins.

In its amended petition, the town cites a 2017 decision in Walton County in which the state canceled a portion of an erosion control line spanning three properties where sand had not been placed as part of a restoration project.

Walton County, in northwest Florida, has been embroiled in years of disputes over public beach access, with conflicts continuing into this summer. Much of the controversy centers on whether the public has the right to use privately owned stretches of dry sand.

The new filing also points to the state's original 1997 resolution for the Sand Key project, which provided for voiding one segment of an existing erosion control line while establishing or retaining others.

The town argues those decisions demonstrate that DEP can cancel its portion of the line without eliminating the entire 2.89-mile boundary.

Joseph Manzo, an attorney and former Belleair Beach mayor who opposes the town's effort, disputed its reliance on previous state decisions. “I don't think by saying you've done it for other people that changes what the statute says,” he said.

Manzo contends that the law provides for canceling an erosion control line established for a restoration project, not removing an individual municipality's portion. He also argues that the statute addresses projects that were not started or completed within the required period, whereas the Sand Key restoration project was completed.

DEP previously rejected the town's request, finding that supporters did not represent a majority of beachfront property along the entire line. Belleair Shore maintains that it needs only the support of owners along the portion it wants removed.

The town contends that its beachfront was excluded from the restoration project but mistakenly included in the erosion control line established the following year.

Included in the town's filing is a November 1996 fax from Pinellas County to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that states: “Please exclude the Town of Belleair Shore from the Sand Key Phase IV project.”

A 2002 Corps report also identifies the town's beachfront as an area that was not renourished, although it notes that sand from neighboring restoration projects was expected to migrate into the area.

The amended petition further questions why the original restoration project was described as covering 1.89 miles while the recorded erosion control line extends 2.89 miles. The town, which has about a mile of Gulf-front shoreline, wants a hearing to determine whether its exclusion from the project explains the difference.

Belleair Shore says property owners representing 3,866 of the 5,433 linear feet along its portion of the boundary — about 71% — support removing it. The town acknowledges that those owners do not represent a majority of the entire line but disputes DEP's interpretation that such support is required.

The town is asking DEP to void its portion of the boundary or refer the dispute to the state Division of Administrative Hearings for a formal hearing.

Asked about the town's new arguments, DEP declined to comment on the specifics. “Since the amended petition is under active legal review, DEP is limited in its ability to comment,” the agency's press office said in an email.

The town has retained Smolker Mathews, a Tampa law firm specializing in real estate and land-use matters, to pursue the challenge. Mayor Steve Blume told the Town Commission this month that its first monthly legal bill for the dispute was $11,500.

The City of Belleair Beach and Pinellas County have formally opposed Belleair Shore's effort to remove the erosion control line. Belleair Beach has sought to intervene in the case, arguing that removing the boundary could threaten its residents' beach-access rights and complicate future beach nourishment projects.

City residents have access to the beach through three lots in Belleair Shore under longstanding agreements between the two communities.

Manzo said removing the line would not eliminate residents' rights to use the lots but could substantially reduce the amount of public beach beyond them, particularly along the northern portion of Belleair Shore. He acknowledged that no survey has established how much public beach might be affected.

Belleair Beach has retained attorneys Elizabeth Neiberger and Noah Daiker of Bryant Miller Olive to represent it in the dispute.

The dispute has also drawn two Gulf-front property owners into the case. L. Kevin Cox and Elaine T. Cox, who purchased a Belleair Shore property for $5.27 million in 2025, have been granted permission to intervene on the town's side. They argue that the outcome could determine how far their property extends toward the Gulf.