Support Customary Use - Your Input Needed

Hello locals, visitors and beach lovers near and far! Walton County has received only about 100 affidavits and/photo submissions so far. Please send in your photos of your family relaxing and playing along our beaches or complete an affidavit and have it notarized and mail in. Or go to the South Walton County annex on Hwy 331 South where they will notarize for you.

Please see post above for more details!

If you have customarily used any of the beaches of South Walton in the past for normal recreational uses and activities such as walking, sitting, playing games, fishing, throwing a frisbee, family gatherings, playing with children etc... Walton county is collecting affidavits documenting customary use in it's case to reinstate customary use in Walton County.

Locals and visitors can submit their statements regarding their experience on South Walton Beaches.

An alternative location to receive an affidavit and have it notarized and submitted to Walton County is Bud & Alley's Restaurant in Seaside!

Bud & Alley's Restaurant will have a notary public available on the Bud & Alley's Roofdeck from the hours of 4:30 to 6:00 daily beginning Wednesday the 22nd of August every day until September 8th. They will have the affidavits available for filling out to be notarized. Both residents and tourists may fill out the forms.

The Notary will be there to notarize Customary Use Affidavits for those people wishing to declare their use of the beaches in the past. The notarized affidavits will be delivered to the County Courthouse.

I just printed that out and have tons of pictures of us going back to the 60's using SRB and Draper Lake. I couldn't find any info on how to get the affidavit to the correct place from out of state. Is there a mailing address or email address for us to use?

The email address to send photos to is: beachissues@co.walton.fl.us
The physical address to send photos and affidavits is: 161 E Sloss Ave, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433
The county attorney is spearheading most of this effort: Sidney Noyes: 850-892-8110

Apathy is what has gotten us to the place we are. Nobody has gotten out and voted in the last decade of county commission elections, and this is what we have to show for it. You don't have to leave the comfort of your computer desk to send photos and an affidavit. If we can't get over 150 affidavits, we deserve to lose this beach...

Letter from Ed Berry of For The Health of It in Blue Mountain Beach

As many of you know, one of the missions of my business For The Health Of It over the years has been the Health of the Community. We have proudly taken stands on numerous issues in our 24 years of operation.

As a Community that thrives off of our long standing Customary Use of the Beach we are now taking a stand to fight the insanity of privitizing the beaches.

Starting tomorrow, Monday, August 20, at 10:00 am we will have a Notary on site to stamp and witness the Customary Use Affidavits free of charge for all individuals wanting to protect our beach rights.

Other Locations to have your affidavit notarized free of charge include my good friend Bobby Johnson and his 30A Local Real Estate Company in Grayton Beach.

Bud & Alley's Roofdeck starting Wednesday August 22 thru Wednesday September 8

Daniel Uhfelders Law Office on 30A

Please help make a Stand in the Sand and sign an affidavit to protect all of our rights to enjoy our Beach.

Thank you
Ed Berry

A negotiation needs to take place. Beachfront owners need to allow passage and use of their beach up to about 25 - 30 ft. from the waterline. This ensures people are not arrested for trespassing by simply walking across the beach. However the issue arises when "the public" leave their debris, (chairs, coolers, beer cans, canopies) or throw a frat party on the private beaches in peoples backyards. The counties and state have "public beaches" purchased with public money. Has anybody asked why? Why do we need "public" beaches and parks if all beaches are technically "public" as you guys suggest. I would expect to be able to build a house slap dab in the middle of a public park since obviously the line between public land and private land is being seriously blurred by the conniving forces at work here.

Private property rights are not a new thing as they have been around for 1000's of years. The government has public parks all over America for a reason, to ensure public use of those spaces. The public parks are maintained and purchased by the tax payers. The same taxpayers that are currently plotting to STEAL away private property from hundreds of 1,000's of people in Florida. The last time we saw this behavior was when the white man took the Native Americans land and I think its safe to say that is now looked upon as a stain on our American past yet we are lobbying to repeat the process all over again. You people will never learn from history.

If you want to allow public customary use of peoples private beaches (AKA their backyard) then you must also allow customary use of all land in the State of Florida or at the very least all waterfront land. Ill gladly camp in the backyards your homes.

If you want to lobby, b**ch and picket go ask your government to purchase more public land paid for by the public and cleaned up with public tax money.

Guess there is no beach front in Newnan, GA?

You win today’s geography sticker.

TODAY! Wednesday Aug 22

Stop by For The Health of It in Blue Mountain Beach today to sign your Customary Beach Use Affidavit today. Starting at 10:00 this morning we will have a Notary on site to witness and stamp this incredibly important document.

If you have ever used our beautiful beaches in Walton County or plan on visiting our area, please take the time to help protect all of our rights to enjoy the beaches as we always have.

A negotiation needs to take place. Beachfront owners need to allow passage and use of their beach up to about 25 - 30 ft. from the waterline. This ensures people are not arrested for trespassing by simply walking across the beach. However the issue arises when "the public" leave their debris, (chairs, coolers, beer cans, canopies) or throw a frat party on the private beaches in peoples backyards. The counties and state have "public beaches" purchased with public money. Has anybody asked why? Why do we need "public" beaches and parks if all beaches are technically "public" as you guys suggest. I would expect to be able to build a house slap dab in the middle of a public park since obviously the line between public land and private land is being seriously blurred by the conniving forces at work here.

Private property rights are not a new thing as they have been around for 1000's of years. The government has public parks all over America for a reason, to ensure public use of those spaces. The public parks are maintained and purchased by the tax payers. The same taxpayers that are currently plotting to STEAL away private property from hundreds of 1,000's of people in Florida. The last time we saw this behavior was when the white man took the Native Americans land and I think its safe to say that is now looked upon as a stain on our American past yet we are lobbying to repeat the process all over again. You people will never learn from history.

If you want to allow public customary use of peoples private beaches (AKA their backyard) then you must also allow customary use of all land in the State of Florida or at the very least all waterfront land. Ill gladly camp in the backyards your homes.

If you want to lobby, b**ch and picket go ask your government to purchase more public land paid for by the public and cleaned up with public tax money.

That is a great diatribe. So when a hurricane or tropical storm comes in wipes out your backyard, you fix it.

When tourism reduces by half because of poor information and communication in ATL, Nashville, Houston, Dallas etc..which it already has and will continue and your home value falls by half, enjoy it.

Tourism slows ala BP Oil Spill, restaurants close, building stops, jobs are lost and then you can enjoy your backyard in peace.

Walton Co couldn't have ever planned for the growth here, so public beaches were fine in 98 but in 18 they are such a minute fraction of the overall geography that at peak they cannot accommodate tourists and locals.

And let's not even bring the beach vendor terrorists into the conversation.

Be careful what you wish for. Home values are what they are because of tourists.

Beachfront property owners also need to remember that they DO NOT PAY PROPERTY TAX on the sandy beach in their legal description. So that argument is null and void. That clause is in the deed to ensure that they will always have an unobstructed view of the sights, smells, and sounds of the Gulf and access to the beach. It was never intended to exclude other beachgoers - and beachfront owners in years past understood that. If you are lucky enough to live at the beach, you are lucky enough.

On the other hand, when/if we win customary use, it is our responsibility to always be respectful, not obnoxious, not loud, not trashy, and always ALWAYS leave the beach the way we found it, or better. Take a picture of the fantastic hole you dug or the beautiful sandcastle you built, then fill it in or take it down. All we want is the opportunity to enjoy what we've always been able to enjoy - a peaceful day on the beach.

Update on where to get an affidavit and have it notarized and submitted. Dead linn Sept 8. Anyone who lives or visits SoWal is eligible to participate.

On the other hand, when/if we win customary use, it is our responsibility to always be respectful, not obnoxious, not loud, not trashy, and always ALWAYS leave the beach the way we found it, or better. Take a picture of the fantastic hole you dug or the beautiful sandcastle you built, then fill it in or take it down. All we want is the opportunity to enjoy what we've always been able to enjoy - a peaceful day on the beach.[/QUOTE]

Wouldn't it be great if everyone thought like you about the use of the beach?

On the other hand, when/if we win customary use, it is our responsibility to always be respectful, not obnoxious, not loud, not trashy, and always ALWAYS leave the beach the way we found it, or better. Take a picture of the fantastic hole you dug or the beautiful sandcastle you built, then fill it in or take it down. All we want is the opportunity to enjoy what we've always been able to enjoy - a peaceful day on the beach.

Wouldn't it be great if everyone thought like you about the use of the beach?[/QUOTE]

Yes it would.

All of this info needs to be posted on the 30A, 30 Television, and Sowal Facebook pages, too. There is nothing on those pages that I can find. The 30A page, alone, has 1.1 million "likes". That's an enormous audience...

All of this info needs to be posted on the 30A, 30 Television, and Sowal Facebook pages, too. There is nothing on those pages that I can find. The 30A page, alone, has 1.1 million "likes". That's an enormous audience...

Hi Will! Thanks for your input, We just posted a Customary Use Meeting story link from our Events Calendar to SoWal Facebook about 3 or 4 days ago. And have several upcoming posts pertaining to affidavit and BCC public hearing, linking to content we've created here in the forum as well as on our Events Calendar. It's such an important community-wide issue for all of us. Keep in mind that this forum and the SoWal website is our primary audience where all of our content originates. You and many others have participated in local issues here in SoWal Community Forum for many years. We have a great community filled with locals and second homeowners and visitors who are vocal and eager to get involved in South Walton community issues. Proud to be part of all of it.

SoWal Facebook is a lighthearted business page. It doesn't function like a group or forum. We can and do post about everything happening here on SoWal.com's online community.

All of this info needs to be posted on the 30A, 30 Television, and Sowal Facebook pages, too. There is nothing on those pages that I can find. The 30A page, alone, has 1.1 million "likes". That's an enormous audience...

See updated dates and places where you can go, in addition to South Walton Annex, to fill out an affidavit and have it notarized and submitted.

Pizza by the Sea at WaterColor Crossings had a Customary Use / Affidavit party last night! - another one coming up (see below). This list is not complete but it's awesome. Visit offices of Daniel Uhfelder Law Office and 30A local Realty in Grayton Beach Monday through Friday. Fun spots to host CU / Affidavit coming up:

Bud and Alley's Roofdeck 4:30-6pm Aug 22 through Sep 8
Johnny McTighe's Irish Pub Friday Aug 24 6-8pm
Shunk Gulley Oyster Bar Friday Aug 24 6-8pm
Seagrove Village Market Friday Aug 24 11am - 1:30pm
Sundog Books Aug 25 9am - 2pm
UPS Store Inlet Beach M-F 8am - 6:30pm
The Red Bar Aug 26 12-3pm
For the Health of It Aug 26 10am til...
Ed Walline Beach Access Aug 25 10am - 2pm
Elmore's Landing Aug 26 12-3pm
Pizza by the Sea WaterColor Crossings Aug 26 10am - 6pm
Los Racheros Restaurant | Aug 27: Democratic Women's Club of Walton County is hosting a Pre-Primary Taco Party 6 pm - 8 pm
30A Songwriters Coffee & Music Aug 27 & 28 6-9pm

See other locations below: Freeport, DeFuniak Springs, Destin

Thank you local businesses and all of you wonderful notaries!!!

All of this info needs to be posted on the 30A, 30 Television, and Sowal Facebook pages, too. There is nothing on those pages that I can find. The 30A page, alone, has 1.1 million "likes". That's an enormous audience...

I Don't think all those people in Jaipur and Djibouti care about customary use.

A great turnout all weekend at several locations around town! Thanks to all who are donating their time to protect Customary Use of our beaches....

Updated places and dates below:

Just because you disagree with people having private property doesn’t make it right to steal it.

Don’t forget to post this too on the 30a Facebook and 30a tv too!

View attachment 72286
Just because you disagree with people having private property doesn’t make it right to steal it.

Don’t forget to post this too on the 30a Facebook and 30a tv too!

Who are you talking to?

For those in our community who are passionate in preserving Customary Use of South Walton Beaches:
We hope to see you at the Customary Use Affidavit BLITZ this Labor Day weekend throughout South Walton such as restaurants, shops, bars, several beach accesses, farmers market and too many places to name here. But we've listed them in the Events Forum - the list is updated hourly. We also hope you'll join and donate to Florida Beaches For All - the local group organizing events and coordinating with Walton County on all of these issues.
Home

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Tim:
When you buy a piece of property, you purchase a bundle of rights. Just because you assume you have the right of exclusion, doesn't mean you have that right. The doctrine of customary use of beachfront has been a common right established a thousand years ago, in English law, well before any of this land was ever platted, and reinforced in Florida law in 1974 with the Daytona vs. Tona-Rama case. Some verbiage from that decision: "There is probably no custom more universal, more natural or more ancient, on the sea-coasts, not only of the United States, but of the world, than that of bathing in the salt waters of the ocean and the enjoyment of the wholesome recreation incident thereto. The lure of the ocean is universal; to battle with its refreshing breakers a delight. Many are they who have felt the lifegiving touch of its healing waters and its clear dustfree air. Appearing constantly to change, it remains ever essentially the same. It is our view that the sporadic exercise of authority and dominion by the owners over the parcel in question was not sufficient to preserve their rights as against the prescriptive rights which accrued to the benefit of the public by its use of the beach area." City of Daytona Beach v. Tona-Rama, Inc., 271 So. 2d 765, p. 767. The land grab, that is being perpetrated by a mob of big money BFO's, is an illegal taking of almost everyone's land values, not to mention a crushing of the collective soul of our community.