Judge Dismisses Destin Public Vs. Private Beach Lawsuit

:popcorn: This is sure to get things stirred up again. Good call on the judge's part. Private beach, pffft

thats great. can't wait to slap some irriigant condo lifeguards who try to move me, so that ruling is saying 20 feet from the wet /dry sand which could ge 30-50 feet from he shore

Nice to hear some sanity coming from the legal system!

Whatcha do is stand right at the legal line in the sand in a loud, gaudy flowered hawaiian shirt with your beer in your hand and extend one foot with toes pointed out over the line, but NOT making contact with the sand, waving it back and forth, exclaiming out loud for all the uptight deluded people who think they actually own god's beach to hear, "I'm not touching your side of the line! My foot is actually in the ATMOSPHERE, which isn't part of your real estate. I'm not touching! I'm not touching!" Matter of fact, you should do the funky chicken and sing obnoxious limericks as they eyeball you with that Aunt Esther sneer. It's all perfectly legal.

The question is, where is that legal line? It can change daily, due to it being a 13 year average, so that is one of the problems -- without a daily boundary survey, one doesn't know where that legal line is located.

Thats the great part murray. If they want to enforce there true legal property line they must do a legal survey daily to account for the 1/10th of a millimeter that it changes daily.unfortunely 95% of tourists and home owners don't know the law and will move

Does this mean that the rental chair companies and anyone else must set up landward of the 20 ft. line on the "private property" of the home/condo owners? If anyone sets up in the "public" portion wouldn't they be blocking public access to walk the beach?

theres no way they could set up chairs in the a persons private beach as they'll need there approval to place there big boxes that hold the chairs to place it on there land. i don't think thats a problem as many exclusive condos want the chair person there for "service"

I think the question is "Does this not also hold true for public beaches... Meaning doesn't the umbrella and chair company have to follow the 20ft back rule to allow for a right to egress and regress along all points of the beach??

Is there any recourse for this behavior?? If so, who do I go to about it??

If there's a sign and it's planted in the 'public' area of the beach, then it's a free sign willingly donated for public taking.

The last one is the standard "pick up your damn crap already" sign that is posted on all the Sowal beaches - that isn't an Andante one.

I think the first sign needs some decorations - maybe a tacky thong or some additions so it reads "Andante thinks this is their private beach, owners only inviting lawsuits."

Yep, the last picture is the sign that I read as.... the Andante signs, beach chairs, and umbrellas all need to be removed at night. Its maybe 50 yards from their stuff.... ironic I thought. It's kinda hard to tell (pics taken with my phone), but that is water creeping up to the chairs and umbrellas.

From what I understand there has been a formal complaint filed against the chair company at Andante for not removing those chairs at the end of the business day. Documentation and photo's were sent to our county. That is the way our Beach Ordinance reads. At least it did but it has been modified over the years but rarely enforced. However, this year they made a good effort to enforce it but they had only one person covering our entire beach! The "chair guy" at Andante enforces those private property issues and he says that there is no such rule about leaving chairs out after dark. He knows better but thinks he is above the law and the beach ordinance. Just remember, that the recent ruling was for Okaloosa county and not Walton county. I walk by Andante several times a week all year round and I doubt very much that things will change there. This will certainly open up Pandora's Box with the trash, debris, beach toys, tents, chairs and set ups the public leaves behind on the beach that does have a negative impact on turtle nesting and hatching. I do agree with the ruling but it also has a flip side. We used to live on the beach and left because we had absolutely no privacy but kept a turtle friendly beach which was our priority. And yes, we did throw away stuff left behind and our sign at our boardwalk stated that. I even talked to one guy who ate his lunch on our beach daily (our deed read that we owned the beach down to the Gulf) and we had no problem with others enjoying the beach or even eating there but we did have a problem with the bags, foil and half finished food this guy left behind every day. Know what he said when I approached him nicely? "I don't give a f___, I'm on vacation." I told him I didn't give a f___ either and would call the sheriff because he was littering the beach and that was against the law. He just moved over to the next condo. and littered there daily!!! That is why people who live on the beach want their beach private and I can understand that. We never wanted it that way. We ONLY wanted people to leave it the way they found it but that doesn't happen. If our county would enforce the beach ordinance we wouldn't have these problems. And I mean enforce it every year and year round especially with those loose dogs that run unsupervised every afternoon and many without permits. Their owners don't clean up either. There is always another side to the story.

Irresponsible people always mess things up for the vast majority who are responsible and respectful of the rights of others. It is impossible to protect your rights if you refuse to respect the rights of others.

Maybe Greg Kisela is who to talk to? I do understand paying for, and wanting to use you own part of the beach. But, this goes beyond that. The message sent is a very strong.... "You are not welcome". And I do believe there must be a right to egress on regress along the beach... a legal right. Meaning, even if it is privately owned... along a designated point, access is granted. I also believe an ordinance applies to all who live a dwell within the county.... including Andante owners. If I am correct about this.... I want this enforced, and I will bug the hell out of everyone until it is. Right now, I need to understand where my rights as a Walton County taxpayer begins and ends with regard to this nuisance. And just the rights of all of us using and enjoying the beach for that matter. If anyone knows to whom I should directly speak on this matter, I'd really appreciate it.

Hummmmmmm, walked by Andante yesterday and chairs and umbrella's were NOT out and private property signs were not in the sand either. Makes me wonder if something is going on or if the chair contract is over with Andante due to the end of tourist season.
To answer the above question there is a boardwalk on both ends of the Andante property so access to that area of the beach is possible. There is a public access at Mistral Condo's. and there is a boardwalk at the other end of the Andante property that services the Cottages of Magnolia which is on the other side of 30-A. Andante has their own boardwalk with no easement rights (no legal right for egress and regress by others).

Yep, we have access to the beach... its just once we get down there, going West is a challenge because of the signs, beach chairs, etc.. I'll be continuing to monitor Andante and pursue keeping the signs and chairs from erecting next season.... in a manner that becomes a nuisance to others.