Private Beaches on 30A
- Thread starter DanC78
- Start date
We were just in the Laguna Beach area, and there certainly aren't any restrictions on beach access there. The property owners (a highrise condo in this case) seemed to have pretty good control over the tents and canopies until you got close to the water, then it was a free-for-all.
He did...but I want to say it stops other counties from doing the same, doesn’t count towards Walton County.
Bet those landowners will be first in line for govt assistance next time there’s an oil spill or other expensive cleanup.
It commonly happens where they want beach renurishment and then want to claim the new beach as theirs.
This law should never have passed to begin with.
It's not all the beachfront properties and that's one of the major issues. Some lots established as US Patents as far back as the '20s established the southern property line as the high tide line. The next lot might be landward of the primary dune. Both tourist and locals have no idea which is which.
It comes down to customary use. Has all the sandy beaches been customarily open to use by the public? In Walton County, the answer is yes until about 5 years ago. The BCC is about to pass another Customary Use Ordinance hoping it will be compliant with the new law.
In the meantime, tourism suffers, locals are pissed and all of us are praying for a hurricane to come and wipe out those "private" beaches. When they can't cross public property to renourish their beach, their tune might change.
How does it not effect Walton County as well? We have friends that live and own businesses there. They are pissed that this is hurting tourism and the general beauty of people visiting the emerald coast beaches.
We're expecting a class action suit from those business and property owners who are being negatively affected financially. We'll see how deep those pockets are then.
Unbelievable. I need to follow up with our friends on this. Still don't understand why the governor signed this law in the first place.
There's always the power of the voting booth!
Repeal the law or we will repeal your status as our Representatives.
Shortly after the law went into affect, the private beach owners sent a cease and desist to the county. The cease and desist stated that they (the county) were no longer allowed access to their property for trash service or to patrol the beaches.
This caused major issues being the county can’t gain access to public areas of the beach to have trash picked up without driving behind the private beaches.
They also sent cease and desist saying that law enforcement cannot use their beaches when patrolling or, and I could be wrong, but cannot use for emergency vehicles to gain access when needed.
Unbelievable
This caused major issues being the county can’t gain access to public areas of the beach to have trash picked up without driving behind the private beaches.
They also sent cease and desist saying that law enforcement cannot use their beaches when patrolling or, and I could be wrong, but cannot use for emergency vehicles to gain access when needed.
Unbelievable
The local representatives all voted against the law so that won't necessarily help here.
I don't belong to a political party, but I probably am closer to Libertarian than any.
In such, I need a lot more information. I lean heavily to private property rights, and it would depend on where and what was purchased etc.
I'm not going to just go "Damn the rich people", but I am not going to support them if it wasn't their original land either.
I need more information.
In such, I need a lot more information. I lean heavily to private property rights, and it would depend on where and what was purchased etc.
I'm not going to just go "Damn the rich people", but I am not going to support them if it wasn't their original land either.
I need more information.
Didn’t realize this.
So this was all the doing of the governor?
And from reading in between the lines, he immediately regretted it by putting the executive order into effect?
Unbelievable is right. Our beaches is what draws me and every other person to the coast. So very sad these greedy bastards did this.
Well Florida's main source of revenue is tourism dollars. When that effects business owners, hotels, tourist towns one would think this was extremely short sited.
Greedy Bastards?
The "Prettiest Beaches " are owned by the government already.
From the article:
While many of Florida’s prettiest beaches are part of the state park system, and thus guaranteed to be open to the public, the state estimates about 60 percent of Florida’s beach property is privately owned. Private ownership extends down to where the sand gets wet, also known as the mean high water line, which is public.
The "Prettiest Beaches " are owned by the government already.
From the article:
While many of Florida’s prettiest beaches are part of the state park system, and thus guaranteed to be open to the public, the state estimates about 60 percent of Florida’s beach property is privately owned. Private ownership extends down to where the sand gets wet, also known as the mean high water line, which is public.
Seems like Supreme Court's earlier 'customary use' doctrine needs to be codified in the Constitution. This seems like an issue that could garner sufficient support. Devil is in the details of how you want this defined (where does the public beach end?).
My father owns beach front in PCB.
He signed a petition years ago that the state owned the current property from the mean high line (where water meets beach) to the new mean high line after the beach was renurished.
So, a measurement was made before the beach was renurished to mark where the water hit the beach. All the new dirt that was added by the state, was owned by the state. So roughly 30 yards back from where the water meets the sand of the PCB coast line is owned by the state. So this problem won’t exist there, at least not anytime soon.
As a few other posters have noted. Once a hurricane comes in and the private owners in Walton county have no more beach, it will get interesting.
Will they all chip in to renurish themselves? Or will they ask the state?
It cost PCB 12M the last time they renurished. So imo, these folks won’t be asking the state. 12M is a drop in the bucket for these rich folks collectively; hell, it’s a drop in the bucket for most all them individually.
He signed a petition years ago that the state owned the current property from the mean high line (where water meets beach) to the new mean high line after the beach was renurished.
So, a measurement was made before the beach was renurished to mark where the water hit the beach. All the new dirt that was added by the state, was owned by the state. So roughly 30 yards back from where the water meets the sand of the PCB coast line is owned by the state. So this problem won’t exist there, at least not anytime soon.
As a few other posters have noted. Once a hurricane comes in and the private owners in Walton county have no more beach, it will get interesting.
Will they all chip in to renurish themselves? Or will they ask the state?
It cost PCB 12M the last time they renurished. So imo, these folks won’t be asking the state. 12M is a drop in the bucket for these rich folks collectively; hell, it’s a drop in the bucket for most all them individually.
Public vs. Private is a very interesting debate when it comes to the beach. Some of the beach needs to be Public IMO, and at least Government agencies should have an easement to get onto the beach.
- If it is Private, who specifies what maintenance needs to be done? Obviously the homeowner is responsible for paying to get it done, but what exactly do they need to get done? This can range from trash removal to beach rebuilds after a storm.
- If it is Private, what liability does the homeowner have if something happens in the water of that area? If rescue officials cannot get to the emergency, is the homeowner responsible, and thus liable?
- If it is Private, the homeowners would be responsible for protecting wildlife on "their beach" correct?
I would think the bigger argument would be Public vs. Private beach access and not necessarily who owns the actual beach. Then again I am not a beachfront property owner, so what do I know.
- If it is Private, who specifies what maintenance needs to be done? Obviously the homeowner is responsible for paying to get it done, but what exactly do they need to get done? This can range from trash removal to beach rebuilds after a storm.
- If it is Private, what liability does the homeowner have if something happens in the water of that area? If rescue officials cannot get to the emergency, is the homeowner responsible, and thus liable?
- If it is Private, the homeowners would be responsible for protecting wildlife on "their beach" correct?
I would think the bigger argument would be Public vs. Private beach access and not necessarily who owns the actual beach. Then again I am not a beachfront property owner, so what do I know.
I like the Hawaii model:
Hawaii's beaches belong to the people. All beaches, even those in front of exclusive resorts, are public property, and you are welcome to visit. Hawaii state law requires all resorts and hotels to offer publicright-of-way access to the beach, along with public parking.
Hawaii's beaches belong to the people. All beaches, even those in front of exclusive resorts, are public property, and you are welcome to visit. Hawaii state law requires all resorts and hotels to offer publicright-of-way access to the beach, along with public parking.
All of these things go into my original statement about needing more information.
Like all things it's not black and white offense of the moment
Thanks for adding details
There is a beautification ordinance they are held liable to uphold, which is basically keep the trash off the beach. If a hurricane washes the beach away, it’s up to them to renurish. I’m curious as to how they get the sand. I’m sure the state will not be open to giving them their dirt that is in the Gulf. There are sand pits that sell the white sand, but that can’t be cheap.
It’s all very interesting.
There are only a few local representatives so their votes aren't enough to swing anything.
Rick Scott is currently running for the US Senate. You draw your reference from that. I know what the locals think.
You can bet there were some huge contributions to his campaign....
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