Experts advised Royal Palms seawall be 22m further back

| 29/10/2024 | 96 Comments
Royal Palms on 25 September

(CNS): Engineers who examined a coastal works application submitted around two years ago by Dart, which owns the derelict Royal Palms site, advised the developer that any replacement seawall should be as much as 22 metres further away from the beach behind the original bar building. As Dart now faces an order to remove the derelict property, which has crumbled into the sea, this report has been released.

The review, conducted by Olsen Associates, a Florida-based coastal engineering company, said this site was an “ideal contemporary example along south Seven Mile Beach” to restore sand in the wake of a managed retreat and allow the beach to recover. The report was based on an application that was made as the erosion began to get serious in September 2022, when Tropical Storm Ian caused damage along the south coast.

Despite the vanishing beach and the impact on the seawall, which the engineers pointed out had actually been a landscape wall when it was originally built, Dart wanted to erect a replacement wall in the exact spot. Kevin Bodge, who wrote the report, did not recommend reinforcing and establishing a seawall at the same location, explaining that it would only make matters worse.

“The inner wall is a landscape wall that shall require substantial structural improvements to serve as the front line against the sea – thus becoming a seawall located only about 2± meters landward of the existing seawall,” he said in the report. “This will result in continuing the existing recent eroded beach conditions, by which there is frequently minimal dry sand beach along the wall.”

Bodge said the the wall should move back “at least 14+ to 16+ meters landward of the existing inner wall” to the middle of the large recreation building that is west of where the Royal Palms pool was located. “This would better ensure a reliable recreational beach along the entirety of the shorefront. Given the anticipated capacity and beach area requirements of the new future development – the greater the setback distance, the better.”

Dart’s plans for the old beach-bar has not been revealed, but the idea of a hotel as long been on the cards.

As Dart now goes through the work to remove the old bar structure, which is now in the sea, the report indicates that any new development on this site should be built much further back and well away from the beach. Bodge said that in his experience working on sites in this region, if this is to be a hotel or resort, a minimum distance of 19-22 metres is preferable for a reliable dry sand beach with ample high tide recreational area for a mid to medium-large resort size.

“The Royal Palms site presents an excellent opportunity — probably the most ideal contemporary example along south Seven Mile Beach — to restore reliable sand beach at a developed property through a landward relocation of a seawall, hardscape. The site presents ample upland space to slightly retreat from the sea.”

Bodge pointed out that because Royal Palms was closed (as it still is) there is no disruption to service for the relocation. Such factors “rarely co-align to allow for re-thinking the shorefront of an existing/future development in order to mitigate a chronic beach erosion problem — where the existence of a reliable and suitably wide dry sand beach is of central economic value to the development.”

He said that over the last 20 years the company had worked on dozens of high-end resorts and residential estates throughout the Caribbean, and moving walls well beyond the sand has eliminated chronic beach erosion issues in many locations. He said trading upland terrace areas for a greater amount of more valuable dry sand beach had been critical to the economic vitality of the upland properties he has worked on.

“It is, in my professional coastal engineering opinion and experience, an opportunity that should not be foregone, particularly because it appears potentially feasible and will result in significant beach improvement along this property irrespective of any yet uncertain plan for longer term management or renourishment of the SMB shoreline,” the engineer stated more than two years ago.


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Category: development, Local News, Marine Environment, Science & Nature

Comments (96)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Experts eg my dear gone great grandparents!!
    Can I collect their check?
    also.. Blind Barthemus who told them the same thing.

  2. Anonymous says:

    From the looks of the photo provided, that property is very close to the shore.

    • Anonymous says:

      Thumbs down…are you saying the property isn’t very close to the shore? I guess that’s the new standard of beach front on 7M….

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  3. Anonymous says:

    I thought this was well known what’s going to happen to all that land, tunnel, and across the street. Going to be a big Hotel and other fun stuff. Seawall, LOL, yea right they’ll spend all that money for a bar…

  4. Anonymous says:

    Don’t be surprised if the Royal Palms site becomes the new Cruise Port. They will find a way to sell it as the savior of the beach but this has been planned for decades just look at what is built around it.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    So wasn’t the original seawall back at least 72 ft? My guess it was more than that, I guess it will buy another 15 years, so what the heck, go for it.

  6. BIG FAN of Royal Palms says:

    SERIOUSLY the brand name recognition of Royal Palms is huge for Seven Mile and the Cayman Islands.

    After reading this article as much as it would be incredibly sad if they tore down Royal Palms … that’s ok but only if they move it back (lots of space because of the big parking lot) and build a replica Royal Palms. keep the name Royal Palms.
    A piece of genuine Cayman culture and history dies if Dart just wipes Royal Palms off the map!
    Royal Palms was a hybrid mix of locals and expats filled with joy smiles good times living the Cayman paradise dream watching the Seven Mile sunset. Especially on Sunday after brunch sunset happy crowd 👌🏾
    Only bar close to the historical heritage of Royal Palms is Calicoes.
    #KeepRoyalPalms

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  7. Anonymous says:

    but under water…

  8. Anonymous says:

    govt should not have allowed them to build on beach….look at copacabana in rio de janiero…nobody allowed to build on beach….they have no problems? as usual..politicians for sale! lol…ZZZZZZZ

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  9. Anonymous says:

    technically, alot of properties are now on crown land. As more and more of this island falls into the ocean and the beach gets shorter and shorter, the line of crown land also moves therefore planning as more than the right to clamp down on anything that falls within the crown land. But alas, we have fools around and people that just like to talk about the issues and not DO anything until its far too laet and i fear, in this case, we are close to that.

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    • Anonymous says:

      EXACTLYYYYY LIKE its NOT HARD!! if you say you care abou the environment and the betterment of the place you would be taking hard action and making tough decisions but nope just talk aboout it until we are only 15miles long because we dropped into the water smh

  10. Anonymous says:

    Mr Dart’s team will disregard this advise and do what they feel is correct. Best part is our government will help them and probably have our tax dollars do it for them!

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Caymanians ruining Cayman. Nothing new here.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    So just to be clear, the DOE is recommending that a seawall be installed to replace the one which collapsed and was removed in 2022 even though the pending planning application for the site does not include one?

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Dart was allowed to rebuild calicos without having to move that back at all.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    This statement below should be a dire reminder to our CI Gov’t (Past and Present) and its Planning Department.

    No more excuses, no more BS and no more sucking up to these giant developers because of creed. Get off the path of the continuous destruction of our islands and instead start focusing on persevering our islands for our future generations.

    ” . . .People should be listening to this engineer, and not realtors, developers and multi-term politicians who between them have utterly destroyed SMB.”

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  15. Anonymous says:

    So no recommendations to remove Darts wall and cabana?

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    • Anonymous says:

      DART could never be at fault in our Govt’s eyes even when slapped in the face with expert reports.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Would be kind of unusual for a report on a proposal on property X to recommend changes to property V (not even property W). You may have noticed that it talked about what property X needs to do – in the absence of a sand replacement plan for the area. So two years ago they recognized that Govt wasn’t going to sort this out (remove multiple seawalls and place sand to widen the beach as well) and were just giving advice to a single property. Even if the owner owns multiple adjoining properties that clearly wasn’t the review requested.

  16. Anonymous says:

    Don’t stop with cleaning up the Royal Palms site. Work your way north and remove the sheet piles that extend past Coral Beach, The West Indian Club, and the Yellow Bungalow.
    Now is the time to properly give back to the Cayman Islands after 3 decades of taking and wining.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Pipe dreams are fun, but ultimately still a dream.

    • Anonymous says:

      All properties you mentioned are dart owned. They cannot build a hotel as planned (remember their charabanc 90’s presentations). Lots less beach/land now. Oh well they can always put it on their bridges.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Be very interesting if someone could draw a line 22m inshore from that wall, but run it from The Wharf all the way up to the Turtle Farm.

    People should be listening to this engineer, and not realtors, developers and multi-term politicians who between them have utterly destroyed SMB and so much more

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  18. Anonymous says:

    Wow, so even the DOEs paid consultants think that we should build more seawalls!

    The DOE article writer might want to be more careful as to which cats they let out of the bag next time.

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  19. Anonymous says:

    I pray the recommendations are adopted allowing the beach to be naturally replenished. To build 70ft or so back should make too much of a difference, if it means getting our beach back, make the necessary adjustments to the plans. I hope Planning Dept reads this article as well.

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  20. Anonymous says:

    People in Grand Cayman sitting back and allowing this BS to happen with the blessings of development concessions (literally handing over MILLIONS to foreigners) yet unna up in arms over a little airport upgrade for the Brac on another article.

    Unna “Caymanians” over here in Grand make me ashamed to share that title sometimes.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Unna is not a word

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      • Anonymous says:

        Kiss ma back teet

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      • Anonymous says:

        Obviously you are not Caymanian

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      • Anonymous says:

        Says who?

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      • Anonymous says:

        “unna” can go back to wherever you came from if you don’t like the Caymanian accent or dialect, disrespectfully.

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      • Anonymous says:

        it is called dialect, you moron.

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        • Anonymous says:

          It’s called slang not dialect. Speaking slang makes one sound like an uneducated idiot but you do you if it makes you feel good.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Truth! Defending a slang/dialect that most educated folks don’t understand – and most of the third world also – is not a good strategy to show your intellect. Come into the educated first world as you aspire to. (Yes, I expect some will defend their right to speak/write in third world ‘dialects’.) However, this does not change how you are viewed: uneducated, not able to compete for technical jobs. Real world reality: If I interviewed a job candidate that requires interaction with the public and would represent my business… saying ‘Unna’ would be a short trip back to the unemployment line. I want my employees to represent first world skills, not third world ‘dialect’. I don’t expect these comments will be viewed positively, but then I don’t cater to standards below what I view as first world – and Cayman has a long, long way to go.

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            • Anonymous says:

              I am an 11th generational Caymanian and I say this to you with the utmost respect: if that is how your “educated” self truly feels, please, leave these islands and never return.

              If you hate the word “unna” that bad I cannot and won’t even try to entertain the thought of how you view the native people here who have granted us the privilege to share their home…

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              • Anonymous says:

                Considering a ‘generation’ is typically defined as 20-30 years, your family must be one of the oldest to settle Cayman. So HOW MUCH of their property did they SELL OUT to hasten todays problems??? As to your critique of my business (41 years now) – MY business; MY standards; MY reputation. I won’t apologize for holding my employees and myself as something to respect. Including self-respect. And my customers appreciate our professionalism. You want to defend speaking like a third world individual – have at it, that is how you will be viewed!

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      • Anonymous says:

        29@7:08pm – “Unna” or “unu” is indeed a recognized word in the dialect of many Caribbean and US East Coastal Gullah cultures. It originated from a West-African Igbo word “unu” meaning the plural “you” in that particular language.

        Are you saying “Casa” or “Adieu” or “Nein” aren’t words because they’re a different language?

        Morons shouldn’t call attention to themselves! Just saying.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Unna see mi dish, unna see mi dish, unana see mi, unaa see mi, satellite, d-d-dish?

      • Anonymous says:

        “Unna is not a word” – Absolutely correct old bean.
        It is spelt una. Everyone at the club knows that.
        🙂

    • Anonymous says:

      “development concessions (literally handing over MILLIONS to foreigners”. Arguably ‘effectively’ maybe but not ‘literally’.

    • Anonymous says:

      On a somewhat overly optimistic time constraint to get her up and running.
      “ should be open by February “ 😅😎

  21. Anonymous says:

    Interesting. What do they say about Dart’s residence fortification their pool, and the corrupt stilt gazebo? What about Bush’s Coral Beach Club (and how exactly was that acquired)? We can’t just tear down one wall and think we’re done. Surely all these structures need to go.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Coral Beach also owned by Dart so 50% of the problems with sea walls are Dart and then Berksoy with his home and he controls most of Regal Beach.

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      • Anonymous says:

        The issues are Marnie Turner’s wall and the Treasure Island groynes but don’t let the facts get in the way of a little hate filled rant. .

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        • Anonymous says:

          Those may have very well been the *original* issues, but they are not the only issues currently. They all need to be removed, otherwise this beach will never recover.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Do not leave the Marriott pool deck out of contention!

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        • Anonymous says:

          The couch scientist garbage emerges yet again like clockwork.

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          • Anonymous says:

            The TI bot has entered the chat.

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            • Anonymous says:

              Again, like clockwork

            • Anonymous says:

              Sorry to disappoint you: An original Grandview owner, so I have seen the impact of the TI groynes for 38+ years, you are an idi.ot! Please read some science, the TI rocks are a very, very far 3’rd impact on the sand degradation (they are a negative variable, but far less than other structures that you fail to mention – conflict of interest…..?). But then it is obvious you have a bone to pick and are blinded on how to place the variables. But hey, elect Mac again, support incompetent Ministers, ignore science, and continue to complain about everything you could change. This is Cayman, this is the way.

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              • Anonymous says:

                Sorry to disappoint you but you are the only idiot in this thread with a conflict of interest, which you have admitted.

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  22. Anonymous says:

    He sounds like a sensible, independent, honest professional. What’s he doing advising anyone in Cayman on SMB?!?! I wonder what he’d say to the Sovereign and Marriott folk, etc.

    Dart must rue the day anyone asked him for his advice, which is 100% spot on.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    “As Dart now faces an order to remove the derelict property, which has crumbled into the sea, this report has been released.”

    What a load of complete tosh.

    The DOEs very own website “released” this memo on November 28th 2022

    https://doe.ky/royal-palms-seawall-cleanup-nov-28-2022/

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  24. Anonymous says:

    Mr. Whittaker is the deputy chairman of planning and got the lease for Royal Palms, which is owned by DART. Nothing to see here, move on.

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  25. Anonymous says:

    The DOE rhetoric knows no bounds. Bodge actully recommended installing a new seawall.

    “Instead, I recommend that a new seawall (and limit of upland hardscape) be constructed on
    the order of at least 14+ to 16+ meters landward of the existing inner wall, more or less. Physically,
    this would correspond to about the middle of the large recreation building that is west of the pool,
    broadly speaking; that is, on the order of about 14 m seaward of the pool”.

    https://doe.ky/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Olsen-Royal-Palms-Memo_15-Oct-2022.pdf

    Perhaps Dart and the others property owners in the area should take note of Dr. Bodge’s recommendation and get started on those seawall applications?

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  26. Anonymous says:

    Might want to read that report (which has been on the DOE website for years) again. Properly this time.

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    • Anonymous says:

      No, this is the “Grand Cayman Islands”. Who pay upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars for reports, to then ignore furnished report recommendations .
      Classic of getting a report that you don’t like the sound of , we’ll just hide that one
      While we wait for a report that we like the sound of.

  27. Anonymous says:

    so behind wb road then!?

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    • Anonymous says:

      No. On top of the “overpass” – which seems to have been pre engineered to support a multi story hotel and resort. The beauty of it all. The potential ability to build on land you do not even own.

      Remember the beach access points that were blocked as part of its construction?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Bingo. Now check when the registered land law was conveniently amended to clear the air space above it. A lot of people aren’t connecting dots. Glad to see you are.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You dumbass…22m is only 66 feet it’s about 30 steps for an average height person. Ffs

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