Sand trap by the sea

As erosion threatens 18th hole, Plymouth condo owners tee off in court

The green of the 18th hole at White Cliffs. The picturesque hole has lost 25 feet to beach erosion in the last decade and could cost $1 million to repair. (Globe Staff Photo / Matthew J. Lee)

Some members of the White Cliffs Country Club in Plymouth have renamed the 18th hole the $1 million hole. Because that's how much it would cost to save it.

Set atop a nearly 200-foot bluff that overlooks the Atlantic, the 18th hole has been slowly crumbling to the beach below, with about 25 feet lost to erosion in the last decade. A sign near the bluff's edge - not far from where golfers tee off - warns not to get too close. As it is, a bad swing often sends a ball spinning over the bluff.

But not everyone believes shoring up the bluff to save the 18th hole is worth the hefty price. Some condo owners, including avid golfers, believe it is a lost cause, and a few are contesting the project in court, even though they love bragging rights to one of the most spectacular golf views in New England.

"It's just energizing stepping up to that tee and taking it all in before your shot, but Mother Nature is taking a toll on the bluff," said Tom Gorman, a condo owner and freelance golf writer. "The board of governors is trying to save a cliff that is clearly deterio rating by weather and will continue to deteriorate over the next 10 years. Why spend a million dollars?"

The dispute highlights growing tensions among South Shore homeowners over the best ways to deal with ever-shrinking beachfronts due to erosion. Much of the shoreline is privately owned, with some homeowners willing to shell out big bucks on a stone wall or other anti-erosion measures, and others not.

Such opposing views often come to a head when a remedy requires the support of multiple homeowners, such as those in a beach association or even an exclusive golf community, where pursuit of the sport is a lifestyle and any change to a course could be considered an act of treason.

At White Cliffs, a gated golf and condominium community built in 1986, the board of governors contends that if the bluff deteriorates further, the 18th hole will have to be shortened, probably by several dozen yards.

"This was designed as a nice and expansive golf course," said Henry Goodman, an attorney for the board of governors, who later added, "If you don't stop erosion now, when are you going to stop it?"

Goodman says the board has a duty to maintain the property, and that includes shoring up the bluff to save the 18th hole. The board also said in court documents that erosion could eventually jeopardize the clubhouse and another common building. Residents of a condominium building near the bluff are worried about their property and have threatened legal action against the board if the bluff isn't fixed.

White Cliffs is situated in Plymouth's Cedarville/Nameloc area, not far from the Bourne bridge, where the high sandy bluffs lose at least foot a year on average. Generally, the losses come in one big swoop during or after a major storm, occasionally putting some houses ever closer to the edge.

Many of the area's homeowners this winter are shoring up the bluffs with a variety of stone walls, which can be very expensive here since material sometimes has to be brought in by boat.

But such measures could be undertaken in vain.

"We see these walls and [other measures] as temporary structures," said Lee Hartmann, Plymouth's planning director. "They are only as good as the next big storm, and one will happen; and the debate about rising sea level may exacerbate the erosion problem."

The town encourages relocating houses and other threatened structures, including golf holes, farther back on a property when possible, but critics argue that such a move only delays the inevitable. Erosion, caused by the natural ebb and flow of the tide, will eventually bring the bluff's edge closer again.

The White Cliffs board of governors is pursuing an elaborate plan to shore up its bluff. The board has proposed and received necessary state and federal environmental permits to build a rock structure known as a groin, which in this case would be a pile of rocks situated near the base of the bluff that would extend into the ocean. The groin would catch sand from the ocean, allowing it to accumulate on the shore, and buttress the bluff above.

White Cliffs already has two groins on the beach, which the board contends are preventing erosion of the part of the bluff near those rocks, enabling vegetation to grow on the bluff.

"According to the experts - absent a catastrophe - this new groin will stabilize the bluff," Goodman said. "Those that say a simple storm will destroy everything are wrong."

Controversy broke out after the board approved the groin project last June 7 and then notified members about the more than $1 million price tag.

It would require a one-time payment of about $2,000 per condo owner along with possible future payments for upkeep and the planting of vegetation where the bluff has been eroding. Construction was supposed to start by last fall.

In a case filed in Plymouth Superior Court, some condo owners contend that only planting vegetation is necessary and that the erosion isn't as severe as the board portrays it, going as far as blaming excess watering of the golf course for the erosion. They are seeking a court order to allow condo owners to vote on the groin construction, which is something the board has resisted. Critics say that more than half the owners have signed a letter in opposition of the project.

"The top of the bluff is where the real problem is," said Conrad Bletzer Jr., an attorney representing lead plaintiff James Byron and his supporters, who include Bletzer's father, adding, "All our clients are asking for is if you spend that amount of money on a capital improvement, you take a vote."

The board, however, said its bylaws state that a membership vote is not required and the board does not want to set a precedent. Both sides are preparing for trial.

"Some kind of action needs to be taken to address the erosion," said Bob Laverty, one of the condo owners who oppose the board's plan, although he doesn't want the layout of the golf course to change. "Whether the board's proposal is correct, only time will tell."

James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com.