Ravaged Beaches Being Restored, Advocates Pitch to Spare Pine Trees

AVALON – Avalon Borough Council heard an encouraging report on efforts to replenish north-end beaches.
Borough Engineer Thomas Thornton addressed council April 27 and said the project to scrape sand from mid-borough beaches and truck it to the north-end was ahead of schedule.
The project was provoked by the damage to beaches in the north of the borough by severe winter storms.
With appropriate permits in hand, the Public Works Department has begun mechanically scraping sand from beaches in the area of 33rd to 38th streets and trucking it to areas in the north, most compromised by the storms.
William Macomber, public work’s director, told council that trucks already had begun transporting sand. Thornton said that the 300-foot expanse in the area being scraped would probably lose about 140 feet of beach but he added that wave action had already begun the natural replenishment of the impacted area.
Japanese Black Pines
Hoping to circumvent greater destruction from a pine tree boring beetle, the borough plans to remove Japanese black pine trees identified as infected from its dunes.
A group of residents spoke against the plan warning council that the last time that was tried it cost the borough a number of healthy trees.
Avalon has had an on-again off-again issue with a group of environmentally-minded residents for some time. Trees have been at the core of much of the debate.
The borough has been accused of allowing the destruction of numerous trees during demolition projects in violation of its own ordinances. The same group opposed the efforts to remove what the borough called invasive vines from trees in Armacost Park.
At issue now is the plan for addressing the unwelcome beetle invasion.
The borough administration points to reports from its environmental consultant, permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection, and expert advice that warns of a major spread of the beetle infestation if the problem is not addressed.
Residents agree that an infected tree must be removed, but they express concern that the borough has shown itself too zealous in such efforts in the past at the expense of losing trees that did not need to be removed.
Council promised to look into the matter before any program weeding out infected trees begins.
New Fourth Avenue Road
Council approved a resolution that allows a private developer, Ken’s Shore Thing, to construct, at the developer’s sole cost, an improved road on a portion of Fourth Avenue.  The access road is necessary to allow for the construction of two residential structures.
The developer will have to meet strict guidelines spelled out in the resolution as well as meet all ordinance requirements. Any effort by borough personnel is billed to the project. An escrow amount is replenished as needed by the developer to ensure that no taxpayer funds are impacted.
The borough will maintain ownership of the roadway once construction is completed.
Some residents of nearby areas on 24th Street used the public comment time to raise concerns about potential negative impacts on flooding in the low-lying area, parking, and potential disruption and noise during the summer season.
They were assured by the borough that existing ordinances did not allow demolition work in summer after July 1, and that the special resolution passed that evening prohibited road construction for much of the summer period as well.
The developer will also have to comply with existing requirements for on-lot parking spaces based on a structure’s number of bedrooms.
Council also heard from Thornton that an engineering assessment concluded that the proposed construction would not negatively impact flooding.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.