South Coast Engineers developed a beach and bluff management plan based on sound coastal science and engineering and provided recommendations for restoring and maintaining Fairhope’s two most popular sandy, bayshore beaches. These beaches are frequented recreationally by visitors and residents alike, and they provide valuable habitat to wildlife and storm protection to City infrastructure. Erosion of the City’s beaches has been an ongoing concern for some time, threatening some of the City’s infrastructure at the north end of Magnolia Beach Park. SCE has assisted the City in nourishing the beach as needed in lieu of building a bulkhead to maintain that beach.
The management plan report recommended the adoption of a formal beach management plan, a formal beach monitoring program, and a beach nourishment maintenance program based on designed beach profile templates. The report also recommended a shoreline stabilization project on the most problematic beach and the planting of new vegetation to help stabilize existing, erosional bluffs.