Hotels & other large buildings
As mentioned previously in module 7 (hotel siting), a very common problem is the encroachment
of resorts on beaches. It is of paramount importance that hotels be sited with generous
setbacks from the high-tide line. If resort structures are too close to the water’s edge, they can
be severely damaged or destroyed by large storm waves. For concrete or high-rise style resorts,
the structures cannot be moved or removed, and resort owners are often forced to install
seawalls and revetments to prevent structural damage, or offshore breakwaters and groins to
help trap new beach sand. In turn these structures invariably prevent natural replenishment of
beaches during favorable weather, and cause beach erosion of down-current beaches.
The net effect is an vicious cycle of beach erosion and increase in coastal fortifications, degraded
aesthetics, increased costs for protection and artificial beach replenishment, and loss of
nearshore marine life (plants, juvenile fish, crustaceans, etc.) as their habitats are slowly
destroyed. New sources of sand then must be obtained elsewhere to place on the eroded
beaches, which expands impacts to the other beaches where the new sand is taken from, well