Jumeirah - a beach that was (?)

Does anyone know what's going on at Jumeirah Beach? Where previously white sands led the way down to the sea, now ALL of the stretch from Jumeirah 1 to Jumeirah 3 has been cut off from public, and villas are being constructed on it.
has anyone been there recently? what's this about? is this the only solution to the acute housing shortage in Dubai (building sea-front villas that will sell for over AED 30M each)?
i want my beaches back! last year, any turn you took towards the sea (on beach road) led you right to the sands, and you could drive next to the sea. this is so disappointing. were these developments ever announced?