Deep appreciation to Commissioner Tony Anderson for proposing a letter of support to the County Commissioners in support of the repeal bill HB6063 and Senate Bill1680 that will reinstate Customary Use to our beaches. This resolution passed in the County Commission at last nights hearing unanimously. Thank you to all the Commissioners who voted in favor of this and maintain their commitment to restoring our beaches to their rightful order. Below is my statement read to the Commissioners last night.
Commissioners, I come to you as a beachfront property owner, a 34 year beachfront business owner, the chairman of the nonprofit, Florida beaches for all created to restore customary use to our beaches and as a father of two young girls, three and 10. Two young girls who have much fewer beaches to tickle their toes in without threat of arrest on our own Walton county beaches.
HOUSE bill 631 was written by some of the very lawyers who are representing Beach front owners and has empowered them to exclude and eject good Walton county citizens and visitors from our beaches. The BILL and subsequent Florida statute was written to be difficult, cumbersome, complicated and expensive for any county to pursue the affirmation of customary use on their beaches. The hundreds of thousands of dollars that the county has already spent and will continue to spend in this endeavor is unknown. This legislation and law appears to be a project that by design is a project to never end and every day that passes is an endangerment to our economy, our quality of life and a community that is civil and welcoming as a place to live, visit and raise children.
Commissioners, I very much appreciate this resolution you are to vote on and I very much would like to encourage you to include in your resolution the engaging of two County paid lobbyists to do everything they can do to work on the county’s behalf to support the passage of HB6063 in the Florida house by Representative Evan Jenne of Broward County and SB1680 in the Senate by Senator Lori Berman of Palm Beach County to repeal Fl Statute: 103.035 that effectively places no trespassing signs and gives the right to exclude non beachfront owners from large portions of 26 miles of our Walton County beaches.
The bill Representative Jenne has filed is a full repeal of the statute and his offices have confirmed that he is dedicated to making whatever modifications and amendments are necessary to guarantee full and free access to the sandy parts and the wet parts of all of our beaches for the Public's Customary Use. This, effectively reinstating the rightfully passed County Ordinance that guarantees Customary Use of our beaches.
I also ask that you enlist the support of House representative Brad Drake and Senate Representative George Gainer in this process. I really can’t imagine either of them not supporting this repeal legislation and they will need your support and help.
(I find it odd that it takes A South Florida Legislator to take the initiative to draft and file a bill to save our Walton County beaches when we would expect our own House Representative to do so.)
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In any case passing this letter of support resolution should be all the encouragement House Representative Drake and Senator Gainer should need to passionately embrace and do the determined and diligent work to restore our beaches to Customary Use. Thank You.
Dave Rauschkolb Chairman Florida Beaches For All