Walton County BCC Unanimous Customary Use Vote

SUBMIT AFFIDAVIT & PHOTOS BY NOV 3

Walton County is requesting that members of the public submit a notarized affidavit and/or photos showing evidence of customary use of yourself, your family or others on South Walton beaches during previous visits (prior to July 1). Locals, second homeowners, visitors and everyone who has visited our beaches can participate in this important process. The deadline is November 3 when the Walton County Board of County Commissioners will have a public hearing to affirm customary use and draft an ordinance.

We need every affidavit, so if you've ever set foot on the Beaches of South Walton and are over 18, please submit your affidavit. Locations and instructions below. It only takes a few minutes to submit an affidavit, email photos, or both actions. Take a stand in the sand and help us regain our Customary Use of all beaches once and for all.

Walton County Website: homepage includes Customary Use affidavit instructions and info

Submit an Affidavit
View Affidavit Instructions
Download Affidavit Form
View Map of County Beach Areas
Download Full Packet

Visit these Walton County offices where you can pick up an affidavit, have it notarized for free, and submit. Bring your driver's license/ID:

• Walton County Planning Department, South Walton Courthouse Annex, 31 Coastal Centre Boulevard, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, 32459
• Walton County Attorney’s Office, 161 East Sloss Avenue, DeFuniak Springs, Florida, 32433

Many local businesses are also hosting affidavit events where you can fill out the paperwork, have it notarized and leave it for submission by the event organizers. Follow the conversation for the latest information and updates at SoWal Community Forums - Local Governement & Groups forum. Anyone can read posts but you must be registered and logged in to post in the forum.

Submit Your Photos
Include Name, Location and Date
Email to: BeachIssues@co.walton.fl.us or drop them off at

Out of Town?
If you live out of the area, please download the affidavit and have it completed according to instructions and mail in to Walton County. Mail to: 161 East Sloss Ave, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433. Email photos to BeachIssues@co.walton.fl.us. Your affidavit is important to attest that you have visited South Walton beaches especially those that are not currently public beach accesses.

Please help SAVE OUR BEACHES by submiting your affidavit today! If you have any questions regarding the Affidavit or submitting photos, please contact the Walton County Attorney’s Office at (850) 892-8110.

If you're a South Walton local, you can visit the following locations to pick up customary use affidavits with free notaries:
South Walton Annex, Planning Department on Mondays through Fridays from 8am-4:30pm
Walton County Attorney's Office in Defuniak Springs on Mondays through Thursdays from 8am-5pm and Fridays from 8am-3pm
30A Local Properties in Grayton Beach, Florida Monday through Friday
Daniel W. Uhlfelder, PA Law Office on Mondays through Friday from 8am-5pm
UPS Store Inlet Beach M-F 8am - 6:30pm

CUSTOMARY USE

A doctrine that describes the inalienable right of people to walk upon and lawfully and respectfully use ALL BEACHES for recreation as they have for thousands of years.

We've got 34 days to build on the affidavit evidence that we are collecting. If YOU HAVEN'T submitted yours PLEASE DO SO! We need everyone that we can get. Tell your friends, family and visitor friends to submit their affidavits today.

Customary Use TShirts! Order your #CustomaryUse tshirt to support Florida Beaches For All and wear to the Nov 3 public hearing



CU ROUND 2 Custom Ink Fundraising

Walton County Customary Use Public Hearing
Saturday Nov 3rd at 9am
South Walton High School

The Walton County Board of County Commissioners proposes to adopt a formal Notice of Intent to affirm the existence of recreational customary uses on beachfront property in Walton County, Florida.

You are hereby notified that a Public Hearing on the Notice of Intent will be held on Saturday, November 3, 2018, beginning at 9:00 a.m., or as soon as possible to that time, at the South Walton High School located at 645 Greenway Trail, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ADOPT A FORMAL NOTICE OF INTENT TO AFFIRM THE EXISTENCE OF RECREATIONAL CUSTOMARY USES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY
Saturday, November 3, 2018
The Walton County Board of County Commissioners proposes to adopt a formal Notice of Intent to affirm the existence of recreational customary uses on beachfront property in Walton County, Florida. You are hereby notified that a Public Hearing on the Notice of Intent will be held on Saturday, November 3, 2018, beginning at 9:00 a.m., or as soon as possible to that time, at the South Walton High School located at 645 Greenway Trail, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Please be governed accordingly. Walton County adheres to the American with Disabilities Act and will make reasonable modifications for access to the meetings upon request. Please call (850) 892-8110 to make a request. For hearing impaired, please call 1-800-955-8771 (TDD), 1-800-955-8770 (VOICE). Requests must be received at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting to allow time to provide the requested services. Last minute affidavit signing available. Live Stream: https://www.youtube.

Packed House.......

Unanimous vote to move forward with CU .... let the games begin...

The Walton County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on Nov. 3 to adopt a formal Notice of Intent to affirm the existence of recreational customary uses on beachfront property in Walton County, Florida.

The vote is to repeal H.B. 631, Possession of Real Property adopted in 2017, which prohibited beach goers to transverse or occupy dry sand areas along beachfront private homes. Customary Use Ordinances are local ordinances that recognize, regulate, and protect existing public beach access rights based on the legal doctrine of custom, or “customary use.” In Florida, as the Florida Supreme Court has recognized, customary use rights arise where the public’s use has been ancient, reasonable, without interruption, and free from dispute.

The Walton County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on Nov. 3 to adopt a formal Notice of Intent to affirm the existence of recreational customary uses on beachfront property in Walton County, Florida.

The vote is to repeal H.B. 631, Possession of Real Property adopted in 2017, which prohibited beach goers to transverse or occupy dry sand areas along beachfront private homes. Customary Use Ordinances are local ordinances that recognize, regulate, and protect existing public beach access rights based on the legal doctrine of custom, or “customary use.” In Florida, as the Florida Supreme Court has recognized, customary use rights arise where the public’s use has been ancient, reasonable, without interruption, and free from dispute.

"The vote is to repeal H.B. 631, Possession of Real Property adopted in 2017" Uh, no! The vote is to proceed with the process outlined in HB631 to have the court make a declaration of customary use.

"The vote is to repeal H.B. 631, Possession of Real Property adopted in 2017" Uh, no! The vote is to proceed with the process outlined in HB631 to have the court make a declaration of customary use.

I started to mention just that FOF but at the risk of being called out by elitist I ignored it. The vote was to repeal HB631

The BCC cannot repeal HR 631, that is a state law. The vote was to declare CU applies to 26 miles of beaches less the state parks and file suit in Circuit Court to ask for a declaratory judgement as outlined in HR 631. The vote was 5-0 to proceed to court.

The BCC cannot repeal HR 631, that is a state law. The vote was to declare CU applies to 26 miles of beaches less the state parks and file suit in Circuit Court to ask for a declaratory judgement as outlined in HR 631. The vote was 5-0 to proceed to court.

I know Danny but in listening to bits of phone videos I thought the vote was to try and repeal. The online video of the whole meeting is not available yet. Saw 4 or 5 different videos so I obviously misunderstood and was confused.

I know the BCC can't repeal as its a legislative act.

I know Danny but in listening to bits of phone videos I thought the vote was to try and repeal. The online video of the whole meeting is not available yet. Saw 4 or 5 different videos so I obviously misunderstood and was confused.

I know the BCC can't repeal as its a legislative act.

Not meaning to be argumentative, but Danny is correct. This was approval of: "a formal Notice of Intent to affirm the existence of recreational customary uses on beachfront property in Walton County, Florida."

This is one of the steps outlined in HB631 in order for the County to proceed with the lawsuit to seek a judgment by the court affirming CU on the private beaches of south Walton County. WC now has 60 days to file with the court.

REPOST:::::

Anonymous Original question:
This whole issue is some beach front owners claiming people haven't been using the beach? And therefore shouldn't be allowed to ever use it again?

Anonymous reply::

Nope. From what I can tell from research, and listening to this meeting, it’s the exact opposite! The state and county sold beachfront property that was sold at a huge premium and deeded as private property down to the water. Been that way since like 1920, whenever it started. The county didn’t keep up with tourist growth, by managing or buying enough public beach or roads or parking, etc., then they allowed some family members of Board with beach chair companies to dominate the public beach that was available. So as beach supply didn’t meet demand, got crowded, they tried to undo the private sale of property by taking back private property from the owners in 2016 with a CU ordinance to cover their butts. That was illegal because it violated state law. So the State overwhelmingly passed a law called 631 to make the Board and all FL counties, follow the State Constitution and sue all of the beachfront owners with a land grab called CU, and let the courts rule on it. They are misinforming the public by telling them CU has always been there. But apparently it never has. But they voted in this meeting to sue all Walton County beachfront owners to basically steal their property, instead of doing their jobs and properly managing budget, beach access, infrastructure. They’ve convinced the rest of residents of county that the beach is theirs, creating a mob mentality of entitlement. The taxpayers don’t know any better because they haven’t heard what we did in this video. It’s really ugly for the county.

Is the county going to proceed with the lawsuits and still allow for 50% of its public beaches to be used by commercial beach chair vendors? Does the county not think that the BFOs' attorneys will not hammer on this?

Clear the beaches that WC owns and make them 100% public before proceeding. It's time.