Salve Playa Almendros, Rincón Puerto Rico
Save beach access for humans and marine animals in Puerto Rico
See the Latest News page for updates - currently Sol Y Playa project is stopped and the people are removing the concrete wall little by little.
What are the issues?
Playa Almendros is a beach in Rincon used by fishermen, endangered species (sea turtles) and the entire community, for recreation.
A condo set back from this beach, Sol Y Playa, has (legally questionable) permits to build a new swimming pool, patio and concrete wall to replace one that Hurricane Maria destroyed.
The problem is, the beach is much narrower than it was before, so building the exact same structure in the exact same place means there is no beach left for the community to use (see photo below from July 2- the beach they are leaving outside their fence is...nothing), and sea turtles cannot nest where they always have (photo above is one that got stuck after laying her eggs in the construction site). So we are working to stop this construction and ask the condo board to build further back on the beach outside of the ZMT. There have been work stop order and legal fights.
If you want to help, read on.
¿Cuáles son los problemas?
Playa Almendros es una playa en Rincón utilizada por pescadores, especies en peligro de extinción (tortugas marinas) y toda la comunidad, para la recreación.
Un condominio alejado de esta playa, Sol Y Playa, tiene permisos (legalmente cuestionables) para construir una nueva piscina, patio y muro de concreto para reemplazar uno que destruyó el huracán María.
El problema es que la playa es mucho más estrecha de lo que era antes, por lo que construir exactamente la misma estructura en el mismo lugar exacto significa que no queda playa para que la comunidad la use (vea la foto a continuación del 2 de julio a la playa que dejan afuera su cerca es ... nada), y las tortugas marinas no pueden anidar donde siempre lo han hecho (la foto de arriba es una que se atascó después de poner sus huevos en el sitio de construcción). Así que estamos trabajando para detener esta construcción y pedirle a la junta de condominios que construya más atrás en la playa fuera del ZMT. Ha habido orden de suspensión del trabajo y peleas legales.
Si quieres ayudar, sigue leyendo.
Photo is 2015 before Hurricane Maria. Rough measure of distance between the seashore and the building was 169 feet (2x as much as today). (credit to Josephina Arce)
When doing the same analysis in 2018, after passing Hurricane Maria, that distance was shortened to 70 feet (less than half of the distance) as the sea has entered inland, as expected to continue to pass with rising sea and coastal erosion.
So the pool being built today is much closer to the seashore even though it's being built more or less where it was in 2015. (credit to Josephina Arce)
The yellow arrow points to the current construction fence line marking where the new concrete wall will be built. At high tide, there is no dry sand outside the fence.
Playa Almendros, then and now, showing beach erosion.
A sea turtle nest just outside the wall being built.
The old Sol Y Playa pool and wall just after Hurricane Maria.
The construction company building the wall and pool.
This condo 1/4 mile up the coast from Playa Almendros was destroyed in Maria and has been abandoned, leaving NO beach and a giant mess that has not been cleaned up by the owners or anyone else.
On July 2 2021, the sea came right to the construction fence. In winter when the seas are rougher, we expect it to completely cover the sand outside the fence.
Overlay of proposed rec area over pre-Maria rec area. It is not the same.
State police guarding the construction site. Your tax dollars at work.
Measurements from building to shoreline.
The red line is legal distance of property from shore, yellow arrow points to wall that is being built to take over the public beach.
Sept 2022: Just After Hurricane Fiona/Justo después del huracán Fiona
These photos taken today, September 19 2022, as Hurricane Fiona has just passed (though it is still raining). The pool complex was to be built closer to the sea than the small palm tree toppled over in the top photo, in the bottom you can see the sea has breached their partially built wall. So clearly the pool would have been IN the sea. The concrete squares you can see are the footers for the pool deck area that were ordered to be removed by Sol Y Playa, but they have not yet complied. Photo credit: Calida Marea
Estas fotos tomadas hoy, 19 de septiembre de 2022, cuando acaba de pasar el huracán Fiona (aunque todavía está lloviendo). El complejo de piscinas se iba a construir más cerca del mar que la pequeña palmera que se derrumbó en la foto superior, en la parte inferior se puede ver que el mar ha atravesado su muro parcialmente construido.. Claramente, la piscina habría estado EN el mar. Los cuadrados de concreto que puede ver son los pies de página del área de la cubierta de la piscina que Sol Y Playa ordenó que se quitaran, pero aún no han cumplido. Crédito de la foto: Cálida Marea