Sand Drift Frustrates Bay Avenue Residents as Town Eyes Dune Plan

Cape Charles, Va. — Along the breezy shoreline of Bay Avenue, a growing nuisance is finding its way from the beach into living rooms, porches, and daily routines.

Residents say windblown sand has become more than an occasional inconvenience—it’s now a persistent problem. Fine grains sweep off the beachfront and pile up on residential properties, coating decks, clogging entryways, and, in some cases, making their way inside homes.

“It’s not just a little sand anymore,” one resident told the Mirror. “You wake up and it’s on your porch, in your door tracks, even inside the house.”

The issue appears to be tied to a combination of coastal winds and shifting dune conditions along the beachfront. Without sufficient natural or maintained barriers, sand, especially sand that is not ‘beach quality’, can move freely inland, especially during periods of strong onshore winds.

Town officials acknowledge the concern and say a broader solution is needed.

The next step, according to the Town Manager, is for Council to formally approve the Beachfront Master Plan—a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving shoreline resilience and managing public access, erosion, and dune systems.

Supposedly, central to that plan is a dubious Dune Maintenance Plan, which would establish guidelines for stabilizing and maintaining dunes along Bay Avenue and other vulnerable stretches of shoreline. Over the years, our managed dunes have served as natural barriers, helping to trap sand and reduce inland drift while also protecting against storm surge.

Mirror Note: Didn’t the Dune and Wetlands Board, under the leadership of Anne Hayward Walker, already create a dense, comprehensive dune maintenance plan? Actually, if you want to read it, here it is: https://www.capecharles.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif16306/files/media/wetlands-coastal-dune-board/file/21/cape_charles_public_beach_and_dune_management_plan.pdf

So, the Town is saying that until (unless) the moronic, lazy, pathetic, stupid, and apropos of nothing Beach Master Plan is approved, the Town will not begin implementing targeted dune improvements designed to address exactly the kind of issues Bay Avenue residents are experiencing.

In the meantime, homeowners continue to contend with the daily cleanup. This is part of living by the water—isn’t it? There’s usually sand. I hate to tell you, but there are over a thousand places that would kill for those dunes. The Dune and Wetlands Board’s document adopts a softer, more holistic approach to dune management — it seeks to strike a balance between property and a healthy dune system. However, like in baseball, where the tie goes to the runner, in this case, it goes to the dunes.

As Cape Charles continues to balance its obsession with the Golden Calf of tourism with small-town rural coastal living, the outcome of the Beachfront Master Plan could shape not just the look of the shoreline, but the quality of life for those who call it home.

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Wayne Creed

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