Customary Use Will Happen On Sowal Beaches

Amen! We (society) have somehow forgot how to be respectful of others no matter what opinion they may have if it is different than our own. We (humans) have the ability to have sensitivity and empathy (yes even men) if we practice both respect and civility every day. I also understand both sides of this issue with beach access. There are more people coming to our beaches and even more on the way in the coming years. We have to have a workable solution for both property owners and beachgoers. Unfortunately not all humans are civil or respectful so there has to be rules. This is usually where politics enters the picture and creates polarization. In my opinion we need to check our selfish agenda's at the door of truth, fairness and justice. Wealthy people who own beachfront property should be willing to share. Beachgoers who want to use the beach should be willing to follow rules that the property owners can live with. Politics tend to not help these conflicts because it pits property rights versus human rights and then the conflict becomes about power and being right. The two sided nature of our political system creates division which leads to anger and frustration. Maybe it is useless to point these things out but it seems to me we need to get back to a sense of community rather than all this division. Whoa Nellie. That would mean that the rich and not so rich would have to hang out together or liberals and conservatives or democrats and republicans! Why do we resist this idea of respect and civility and community? I do understand that human nature can be mean spirited but if we can just be aware of this and try a more civil approach it can be much more rewarding.

I don't want kiosks on the beach any more than I want signs.

How about we paint the sand red or green so people know where they are allowed?

How about no vending on public beaches? If a renter wants an umbrella & chairs, the vendors can drop them off at the rental house and the renters can tote them out to the beach, set them up, and bring them back like the rest of us.

Other Beach towns have vendor rules and regulations in place to keep beaches free from clutter and vendor takeover. Why can't we do this too?

Other Beach towns have vendor rules and regulations in place to keep beaches free from clutter and vendors. Why can't we do this too?

One word: Politics. Or two words: Special Interests. Three words: Money, Money, Money Four words: Lack of Intestinal Fortitude.

I don't want kiosks on the beach any more than I want signs.

How about we paint the sand red or green so people know where they are allowed?

I appreciate your sense of humor! Do you have any suggestions for making chairs and umbrellas available to tourists without having them set up with no one there to sit in them? Serious question. We need to make suggestions if we want change.

How is this currently structured? Does the county take a percentage of what the vendors bring in on rentals on public beaches and audit those books?

How is this currently structured? Does the county take a percentage of what the vendors bring in on rentals on public beaches and audit those books?

No. The only thing vendors pay to the county is a permit fee.

That is rediculous! What is the upside for the county/public? IF they are going to give up publically held space, monetize it. Put it up for bid. Highest return wins.I'm pretty sure that's how it would work in the private sector.

Good info. Thanks for posting.

I believe Walton County did the best thing for our community by making all beaches open to the public, resolving a local problem that was only getting worse with signs, ropes and calls to the law. We needed resolution. But here we are again. Back to the battle of the beaches.

[I believe Walton County commissioners have failed the private property owners and public by declaring all private property public use, not resolving a local problem, but blaming private property owners for the public's bad beach behavior on private property, claiming it is the private property owner's actions that caused the BCC declaration of custom on private property. When it is the public's bad behavior on private property not the private property owner's fault for protecting their property rights, as provided by the Walton Sheriff and Assistant State Attorney approve standard operating procedure (SOP) to mark their property boundaries with a survey ($$$) and signs to protect their property rights. How soon we forget those facts, but if you are not a beachfront owner you probably would not understand.]

I understand Beach front owners concerns. [Do you really? Based on your opinions you are not beachfront owner or pay taxes on beachfront property, you have not walk a mile in a beachfront owner's shoes or had to follow the Sheriff previous SOP, and you do not understand beachfront owners property right concerns or you would not state the following.] But I can't support signs and fences on the beach keeping people from using the beach. [I and most owners I know do not want to mark our property boundaries to protect our property rights. Then stop the public from urinating on our property, letting dogs poop and run wild, encroaching on our constitutional right to enjoy the property we paid for and pay taxes on, etc. Or purchase the property and the private enjoyment rights, pay the property taxes and dedicate those rights to the County and public yourself.] We didn't grow with restricted access to certain beaches with a few exceptions. Yes crowds do bring problems for some beach homeowners. Why can't we address those problems with rules and enforcement? [There are rules today but the TDC tells the myth all beaches are public and Code unEnforcement and Sheriff don't enforce the rules we have now.] Surely there are common sense solutions found in other Beach towns [Which Beach Towns?]. And certainly not all beach front homeowners want to declare their beaches private [No, but in 2016 95% of the beachfront owners declined Walton's beach fortification easement that would have established an artificial ECL boundary on their private property. Surprisingly (not) the BCC shortly thereafter proposed declaring customary use ordinance for public use of private property]. Even though they may wish for better management of vendors and enforcement.

I remember when dogs were banned from the beaches. [Still are on private property. Customary Use Ordinance 2017-10. Valid until July 1, 2018. 5. The following are specifically prohibited for members of the public on the dry sand areas of the beach that are owned by private entities: use of tobacco; possession of animals; erection or use of tents. Not enforced and expect it never will be just like most of the ordinances historically have not.] And we thought that was the worst thing ever to happen. Massive crowds at the BCC meetings. We got past that and it turned out to be a good thing (we didn't think so then) [Disagree. I'm tired of cleaning up after your unleashed dogs. Keep your dogs at home or below the MHWL and off my property which is a property owner's right. No one takes better care of the property than the one who pays for it and owns it with all the rights any other Walton property owner has.] We just need to keep trying to make the beach experience better for all of us. And protect them from all harm whatever that may take. Our [remember 75% of our beaches are privately owned to the MHWL that the owners pay taxes on for that right] beaches are truly beautiful and worth the effort regardless of where you may stand on these issues. Love this beach town from its beaches to its Bay shores. A special place to live, work and play. [Agree. Respect personal private property rights, like you want your property to be respected, and enforce the public law and property rights and all will be better, except for the bad public actors who only want what they want, how they want it, when they want it, have someone else pay for it, and to heck with the private enjoyment of the owner's property rights.]

[Stop blaming and vilifying the private property owners and place the blame for the BCC declaration of customary use of private property where it belongs; the bad public behavior on private property, although bad public behavior won't change with customary use even if it succeeds. And blame the inept Walton BCC for their failure to manage growth on the public and private beaches. What if private property owners prevail? Then what? I and many owners will not be so gracious to permit public use of our private property and will enforce our property rights to the fullest extent of the law from now on. Maybe the BCC should find another way other than the courts (as the Plaintiff with the high burden of proof to show private property owners right of private enjoyment protected by the US Constitution is inferior to public use of private property based on a narrow legal doctrine of custom with multiple elements of evidence) because it’s many millions of all Walton tax payer’s dollars at risk that could be spent better on infrastructure.]

I think a return to good ole fashioned manners and respect would resolve a lot of the world's problems, including the beach.

Agree. People should not follow Dave Rauschkolb's example by posting names to the 30Ahole Facebook page either.

Agree. People should not follow Dave Rauschkolb's example by posting names to the 30Ahole Facebook page either.
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I don't think anyone approves of many of the words and actions of the man in the video, but a site with the whole purpose of publicly demeaning others is low on my list of good ideas and, once again, I'm disappointed that the poster has become the ringleader and Pied Piper of conflict and discontent instead of the uniting POSITIVE force he once was.