Good luck with that one. On a dark night, hazards are not clearly visible. Many cases have been won by the victim, even when trespassing on property fenced off with warning signs. Damage in this case would come from negligence, and my attorneys would be showing your negligence in leaving hazards on the beach which the public has been using for a long time.
To get to the beach I MUST walk past at least 3 large signs telling me that I cannot leave items on the beach overnight. One is basic beach rules. One is all about turtles nesting. One is ONLY telling me that I can't leave items on the beach.
To leave the beach I MUST walk past 2 signs WHOSE ONLY PURPOSE is to tell me I cannot leave items on the beach or they will be discarded. One is mounted above a trash can.
This is at a relatively hidden neighborhood access w/ no parking, bathroom, etc. just a path, stairs, and signs (that keep multiplying due to lawyers and apparently epidemic stupidity).
At what point have myself and other beachgoers not been informed 1) that they cannot leave items on the beach overnight 2) the reason why?
I posit that anyone who does not know these 2 facts is so stupid that they couldn't find the beach, let alone their arse w/ both hands!
I've got your consistency right here:
Items left on the beach overnight will be discarded.
No exceptions, no tags, no warnings, no whining.
Any "private" landowner who does not comply is in violation of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Chapter 370.12 Florida Statutes "Marine Turtle Protection Act" and may be subject to prosecution and fines by both the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services with fines up to $10,000.
The signs are already up, the statutes/fines are already there, the jurisdictions and review process for any permanent structures in that zone already exist, and common sense in on our side.
All Walton County has to do is put on their big girl panties and enforce it.
Scoot, I think you are having trouble understanding this because you do in fact use a public access, albeit a relatively hidden one. The public access I use is also relatively hidden, but it is used mostly by locals. Right next to it, on both the east and west, are private walkovers built by the adjoining condo complexes. The majority of people on "my" beach (no, not claiming ownership, a figure of speech only!) are short term renters from the condos. They don't use the public walkover, they use the condo walkovers, and there are no signs of any kind on those walkovers. Nada, zilch. Nothing about the flags, nothing about rules, turtles, or anything else. If you wander the beach you will realize that the private walkovers, whether for single family or multi family properties, vastly outnumber the public walkovers, and most of them have no signs.This is at a relatively hidden neighborhood access w/ no parking, bathroom, etc. just a path, stairs, and signs (that keep multiplying due to lawyers and apparently epidemic stupidity).
I've got your consistency right here:
Chapter 370.12 Florida Statutes "Marine Turtle Protection Act"
The vacation rental market is going to have to step up and educate their guests, and that ain't happening.
[SIZE=-1]Which seems to say that the Sea Turtle people do not have to be anything special other than have a High School Marine Science class to move turtle nests. Sort of defeats the sole source provision of the $80K contract we are paying to the Turtle Watch volunteers. Now to get that contract from the TDC. Thanks.[/SIZE]
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