The last of the remaining natural Intracoastal shoreline in Palm Coast will be destroyed by this project! Just to the north, continuous docks are already under construction. Across the waterway lies Bobby Ginn's infamous
Yacht Harbor Village. Stop these docks now!

The latest assault on the Intracoastal Waterway along the public walkway in Palm Coast has begun.

The builder of "Canopy Walk", a complex with 14 condo buildings four and three stories high, has filed

with the Army Corps of Engineers plans for a solid dock structure along that project's entire Intracoastal frontage.

It would be 1,500 feet long, accommodate 91 boats, cover the entire tidal shoreline, take habitat essential for fish, mollusks and manatee. It would obliterate the shoreline now supporting egrets, herons, cormorant, anhinga and ibis.
The bordering trees provide perches and nests for osprey and occasionally red shoulder and red tail hawk. The warm, shallow tidal waters are a nursery for small fish and provide nutrient and base for aquatic plants on which all
the other life depends.

The 91 docks will be served, according to the plans submitted, with individual water and electricity. No sewer service is proposed, nor are on shore toilets provided, although plans anticipate boats 35 feet or greater. The
presumption is that boaters and guests could keep their air conditioners, refrigerators, icemakers and pumps going with dockside electricity but would need to go up to their condo units for personal comfort.

The structure would leave no sandy shoreline at high or low tide. The structure is continuous with no gaps. The docks would extend from a point a few feet north of St. Joe canal and walkway northward to the recently completed condo building, just short of a third of a mile.

All boats would be stored on water. The project anticipates dredging four feet under the planned boat docks. Those familiar with the ICW know that tides and currents and storms and wakes readily move the sand about and it seems inevitable that the dredged areas would readily fill in with shifting sand. At that point, there would not be enough water to float other than the lightest boat at low tide. And with the massive construction in place, renewed dredging would be costly, difficult and, likely, ineffective. There is no plan or commitment for removal of the structure if, as seems likely, it becomes unusable and derelict because boats could not be safely kept there.

None of this mentions the effect on other boaters, fishermen, people in small craft who need to navigate outside the main channel. It has been suggested that in the interest of accuracy the name of Palm Coast might have to be changed to Palm Dock.

WHAT TO DO:

1. WRITE PALM COAST CITY COUNCIL, P.O BOX, 354610, PALM COAST, FL 32135-4610.

WARN MEMBERS THAT THIS PROPOSAL WILL BE COMING THEIR WAY FROM THE ARMY
CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND ASK THEIR HELP IN PRESERVING AT LEAST SOME OF OUR
SHORELINE.

2. CALL MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL

3. WRITE MS. ANN MOORE, GOVERNING BOARD, ST. JOHN'S RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT
DISTRICT, P.O. BOX 1429, PALATKA, FL 32178-1429. THE APPLICANT HAS PENDING
WITH THE DISTRICT A WATER QUALIFICATION PERMIT # 4-035-0048.

4. AND, WITH SOME URGENCY AS THERE IS A JUNE 20 DEADLINE, WRITE:

MS. MARIE L. HUBER, REGULATORY DIVISION, JACKSONVILLE CORPS OF ENGINEERS,
P.O. BOX 4970, JACKSONVILLE, FL. 32232-0919 AND CITE PERMIT APPLICATION #
200203535 (IP-MLH0). Make it a formal, detailed response to an official government
document.

You might mention any of the points I've made and you might wish to note that although the