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Security on 30-A Beaches

PegGepBeach Comber
18,314 views
Just wanted to see if anyone else has had any experience with security people on 30-A beaches asking people to leave "private" beaches. I was on the beach in front of the Inn at Blue Mountain Beach and a security guard asked me to either sit in the "wet sand" or I would have to leave. There are signs on the beaches in front of The Retreat, The Inn at Blue Mountain Beach, The Village of White Cliffs and Adagio which announce that these are private beaches.
As a resident of Santa Rosa Beach it upsets me that gulf front property owners are now looking to enforce their ownership rights and the posting of signs along the beach is downright unsettling. Am I the only one that feels this way??

Replies

93
native avatar
nativeBeach Lover
#77
I just read the post from beach mouse about the "inappropriate urination" . Ohhhhhhh come on. That is sooooooooo weak. My dogs have a permit to pee anywhere on the beach they like. And i PROMISE you it has a much gentler impact on the environment than concrete, rebar and creosote soaked pilings. GIVE ME A BREAK! I agree with Bobby J. and will volunteer to the SOWAL Rosa Parks.

POMPASITY IS NOT A VIRTUE!
scooterbug44 avatar
scooterbug44SoWal Expert
#78
Diapers on the beach :puke:

That's one of the most deliberately inconsiderate examples of littering, though dog poo is up there as well!
Bobby J avatar
Bobby JBeach Fanatic
#79
I will keep you all posted when I decide to get arrested and I do hope you all will make sure I get freed!😀
Bobby J avatar
Bobby JBeach Fanatic
#80
Just doing some research:

According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, at least 60 percent of beaches in the state are private and offer little or no access to the public, enabling both developers and homeowners to claim those beaches as their own. But many contend that there is no such thing as a private beach: as in other states, the constitution of Florida recognizes that the beach is publicly owned up to the high-tide mark. In addition, Florida law requires the state to ensure "the public's right to reasonable access to beaches," and various court rulings have affirmed that principle.



The state constitution says all beaches below the ?mean high-water line,? or the wet sand, are public. Court cases have found that the public has the right to the dry sand parts of beaches in two instances:

  • One is if the public has established a ?prescriptive easement,? using a particular beach for the past 20 years without objection from private landowners.
  • The other is through ?customary use,? which is the ?ancient,? peaceful use of the beach by the public.
Just wanted to be sure I would not be in jail too long...😀
Smiling JOe avatar
Smiling JOeSoWal Expert
#81
Court cases have found that the public has the right to the dry sand parts of beaches in two instances:
  • One is if the public has established a ?prescriptive easement,? using a particular beach for the past 20 years without objection from private landowners.
  • The other is through ?customary use,? which is the ?ancient,? peaceful use of the beach by the public.
Just wanted to be sure I would not be in jail too long...😀

Bobby J, can you cite the names of these two cases? I can print a copy of the court's decisions and give to the Sheriff's Deputy who asks for my ID.
ATJoe avatar
ATJoeBeach Lover
#82
Not sure how many of you are actual homeowners in this area, but thought I would give just a little bit of insight from the ?other side?......

Great post, Seacliffes. Sadly, the most disturbing part of the entire message is that I'm not surprised in the least at the behavior you describe. :cry: Folks like that are most likely a huge reason that many locals probably cringe at the thought of another summer onslaught of tourists.

I just don't understand the thinking behind littering and the disrespect shown to those people who either live in or frequently visit these areas. What would be so difficult about exhibiting some common courtesy and simply picking up after yourself? When I'm fortunate to visit your beautiful beaches in the coming weeks, not only will I carry a trash bag with me for my own waste, but I'll be sure to pick up after anybody else in the vicinity who's too lazy to do it themselves.
ShallowsNole avatar
ShallowsNoleBeach Fanatic
#83
I just read the post from beach mouse about the "inappropriate urination" . Ohhhhhhh come on. That is sooooooooo weak. My dogs have a permit to pee anywhere on the beach they like. And i PROMISE you it has a much gentler impact on the environment than concrete, rebar and creosote soaked pilings. GIVE ME A BREAK! I agree with Bobby J. and will volunteer to the SOWAL Rosa Parks.

POMPASITY IS NOT A VIRTUE!

I have been peed on by a strange, unleashed large dog on the beach, so I have an issue with dogs eliminating or actually even being on the beach. HOWEVER, when Beachmouse mentioned inappropriate urination, I don't think she was referring to dogs...:shock:
JB avatar
JBBeach Fanatic
#84
Great post, Seacliffes. Sadly, the most disturbing part of the entire message is that I'm not surprised in the least at the behavior you describe. :cry: Folks like that are most likely a huge reason that many locals probably cringe at the thought of another summer onslaught of tourists.

I just don't understand the thinking behind littering and the disrespect shown to those people who either live in or frequently visit these areas. What would be so difficult about exhibiting some common courtesy and simply picking up after yourself? When I'm fortunate to visit your beautiful beaches in the coming weeks, not only will I carry a trash bag with me for my own waste, but I'll be sure to pick up after anybody else in the vicinity who's too lazy to do it themselves.

It's simple, really. People today just have no manners. Now, I realize there are a number of responsible tourists that visit the area. Unfortunately, there is a significant percentage who possess some strange, arrogant sense of entitlement. Due to the money they spend in the area, they somehow feel they have the right to litter beaches, shoot fireworks and generally act like banshees whenever they see fit. It is for this reason that I never visit the area between Memorial Day and Mid-August.
yippieBeach Fanatic
#85
I just read the post from beach mouse about the "inappropriate urination" . Ohhhhhhh come on. That is sooooooooo weak. My dogs have a permit to pee anywhere on the beach they like. And i PROMISE you it has a much gentler impact on the environment than concrete, rebar and creosote soaked pilings. GIVE ME A BREAK! I agree with Bobby J. and will volunteer to the SOWAL Rosa Parks.

POMPASITY IS NOT A VIRTUE!


Where is this post? I can't find it.
Rita avatar
Ritamargarita brocolia
#86
Where is this post? I can't find it.

Post # 13.
Beachmouse refers to the inappropriateness (she puts it mildly imo) of where some people choose to urinate. I believe Native may have read that post wrong.:idontno:

.
Bobby J avatar
Bobby JBeach Fanatic
#87
Bobby J, can you cite the names of these two cases? I can print a copy of the court's decisions and give to the Sheriff's Deputy who asks for my ID.

Here is a Link to the whole article.

http://www.surfrider.org/qa_access.aspx?stsel=FL

Like I said before the people hiring the rent a cops to kick people off the beach will have this thing back fire on them.
rafjr00Beach Comber
#88
I am not a local of SoWal or FL. for that matter, I am from New Orleans, I visit Destin 2-3 times a year. We tend to stay away from the beaches during "tourist hours" because of the shear lack of common sense and common courtesy. I was down this past weekend and grabbed several candy wrappers out of the gulf while I was swimming. I don't go to the French Quarter because of the tourist so I [SIZE=-1]sympathize on that end. I am very watchful of any postings on the beach...I would be rather upset if I got home and someone had setup in my backyard just because I left the gate open. Tourist in general, I have noticed, have become very abusive and need to realize and understand that only so much abuse will be taken by the locals and the local government.
[/SIZE]
beachmouse avatar
beachmouseBeach Fanatic
#89
Post # 13.
Beachmouse refers to the inappropriateness (she puts it mildly imo) of where some people choose to urinate. I believe Native may have read that post wrong.:idontno:

.

Have been following this thread off and on, and yes, I was referring to inappropriate human urination.

As far as dogs go, the issue isn't so much the urine as the poo, and there are a lot of violators out there. I can remember watching one of the Destiny golf cart crew letting their dog poo on the beach at Crab Trap park, and then just leaving the poo out there while they took cart and dog back home.

Rudeness and bad manners cut across all income levels and socio-economic groups these days. For all that we're a much safer country than we were in the 1970s, I feel like we're a much ruder country now as well. Not so much in terms of the language that we use, but in the deeds we do every day.
JB avatar
JBBeach Fanatic
#90
As far as dogs go, the issue isn't so much the urine as the poo, and there are a lot of violators out there. I can remember watching one of the Destiny golf cart crew letting their dog poo on the beach at Crab Trap park, and then just leaving the poo out there while they took cart and dog back home.

I can go you one better than that. 3-4 years ago, we were sitting on the beach in front of our regular rental house in Blue Mountain. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon. A girl came by walking her dog. All of a sudden, her dog took a big diarrhea dump in the water directly in front of our chairs. The chick never even batted an eye - just let her dog finish and was off down the beach.:pissed:

I was so stunned I couldn't even say anything. My mouth was literally hanging open I was so shocked. In retrospect, I should have grabbed the dog's owner by the hair and forced her face into the doo-doo water that kept my wife and I from swimming the rest of the day.

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