Pinellas County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday, Aug. 11, to spend $54.5 million rebuilding beaches and dunes along Sand Key, the barrier island chain that stretches from Clearwater Beach to Redington Shores and serves as a primary Gulf beach destination for Palm Harbor and Dunedin residents. Pinellas County's beaches support an $11 billion tourism industry, according to county officials.

The state-county agreement, reported by the St. Pete Catalyst, splits the cost evenly: $27.3 million from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and $27.3 million from the county's Tourist Development Tax, the hotel-bed tax paid by visitors.

No property tax dollars are involved.

The vote advances the Pinellas County Shore Protection Project and follows a May 29 breakthrough in which the county and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed an amended agreement ending an 11-year standoff over beach nourishment funding. That deal restored the Army Corps to covering roughly 65% of nourishment costs going forward.

"The real unlock here was recognition that because of the unique laws in Florida and the unique ordinances here in Pinellas County, we can consider this a public facility, and therefore we have access to it into perpetuity," Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle said at the May 29 signing ceremony, according to Spectrum Bay News 9.

What the money pays for

The $54.5 million funds the sixth Sand Key nourishment cycle under the Shore Protection Project. Beach nourishment replaces sand lost to erosion, widening the shoreline and creating a buffer between Gulf waters and the homes, businesses and infrastructure behind the dunes.

Florida has appropriated a total of $43.3 million for Sand Key, according to county documents. State law requires FDEP to withhold 25% of its fiscal year 2026-27 appropriation until the fourth quarter; the department expects to amend the agreement around April 2027 to add another $16 million in state funding.

The agreement runs through Dec. 31, 2029. The project is also included in the county's proposed fiscal year 2027-32 Capital Improvement Plan, with additional funding expected from a Florida Division of Emergency Management grant.

Easement hurdle remains

Despite the May breakthrough, construction easements are still required from every beachfront property in the nourishment area before sand can be placed. As of May, about 70% of Sand Key properties had signed compliant easements, leaving roughly 30% outstanding.

Pinellas County Public Works Director Kelli Levy said at the May 29 ceremony that the new easements are temporary, active only during construction, and carry no public access requirement. She said the new framework will save Pinellas County hundreds of millions of dollars over the next couple of decades.

Portions of the shoreline could be skipped if the county cannot secure the remaining agreements, potentially leaving those stretches more vulnerable to storm surge.

Background

The standoff with the Army Corps forced the county to fund a $125.7 million emergency nourishment project in June 2025 entirely without federal dollars. That project placed more than 2.5 million cubic yards of sand on Sand Key, Treasure Island and Upham Beach and was completed by Feb. 11, 2026.