Just listen to your posts. Your own words! A family going to the beach encounters a sign "stay out, private property". Even Fox news explains that going to the beach is good for our health. Property owner yells at family. Family continues to enjoy the natural resource because it is good and honest and natural. Property owner continues to complain and calls for back up. Confrontation continues with county then the courts. All that time and money spent for what...a family enjoying the beach. I can only assume that you have let fear of losing something create irrational behavior. Yet what are you really losing please tell. Is it the frisbees mucking up the beach? Is it the laughter coming from the family? Or is it your ability to see "something" bigger than yourself? The family visiting the beach did not build a house on the beach sand dune creating all sorts of conflict with mother nature. Human beings are connected to each other. We are a social species. We need each other. You can't be happy without other human beings. You can survive maybe but you can't be happy. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness is all anyone wants. If you believe that Truth only pertains to yourself then you will find irrational behavior and it is not funny. Maybe learn to listen to yourself first before making assumptions about another person...
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DeSantis is signing the bill today. Press conference at Shunk.
Nothing changes until renourishment
Nothing changes until renourishment
I am not a cheerleader for dredge and fill on the beaches but it has to happen. There should be plenty of defense fund dollars from across the state!
I don’t think renourishment will be the panacea people think it will be. A vast majority of the sand that will be added will be landward of the MHWL and therefore will be privately owned and not public beach.
Any area covered with sand (hint: every square inch) becomes public.
That simply isn’t what is written in the amendment that was introduced and passed in the last day before the floor vote.
| Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation Tuesday morning returning authority to local governments to recognize customary use of beaches in Walton County, following a six-year dispute that has divided the community and affected local tourism. |
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| “Senate Bill 1622 will repeal the burdensome state mandates and return decision making power to local governments when it comes to recognizing recreational customary use of beaches,” DeSantis said during the signing ceremony. |
| The legislation repeals a 2018 law that prohibited local governments from affirming public recreational use of dry sand areas on private beaches without first going through a complex and costly judicial process. That law particularly affected Walton County, which had adopted a customary use ordinance in October 2016, just months after the state’s cutoff date. |
| “Back in 2018, when the state passed a law that blocked local governments from recognizing customary use of beaches, no one felt that impact more severely than Walton County,” said Senator Jay Trumbull, who sponsored the legislation. “Overnight, people who had walked the same stretch of beach for generations were being told that they were trespassing.” |
| The economic impact has been significant for the county. Representative Shane Abbott said the legislation addresses broader community needs. |
| “We didn’t run this bill just so Senator Trumbull and I’s families can enjoy the beach. We ran this bill for the thousands of locals and residents here that have spent time on those beaches and should enjoy those beaches and have enjoyed them for generations,” Abbott said. |
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| The legislation goes beyond simply repealing the 2018 law. It also makes it easier to restore eroded beaches in certain Gulf Coast counties by simplifying how the state sets erosion control lines and allowing the Department of Environmental Protection to move forward with beach restoration projects without securing public easements from private beachfront landowners. |
| “This will ensure the restoration projects can begin very quickly, and that every dollar we invest in rebuilding the beach goes towards actual sand and vegetation, not needless litigation,” DeSantis said. |
| Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert noted that of Walton County’s 26 miles of beach, nearly 19 miles are now considered critically eroded and in need of nourishment. |
| The bill includes provisions that protect private property rights while advancing public interest projects. DeSantis emphasized that “the state is not expanding its ownership claims beyond what is already constitutionally and legally recognized.” |
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| The legislation passed the Florida Senate 35-2 and unanimously in the House. It takes effect immediately upon signing. |
Senator Jay Trumbull and Ron DeSantis is using the same slogan as all beachgoer's have wanted to hear for a long time "FREE THE BEACH SIGNED INTO LAW". Senator Trumbull has texted messages to all voters in Walton County calling the bill "freedom-focused" and added that if beachgoers have any problems don't hesitate to reach out to 850-747-5454.
I wonder how those who supported private beaches with ropes, signs and chains are reacting to this. It does not take away anything from anyone. It gives hope and joy to many!
I wonder how those who supported private beaches with ropes, signs and chains are reacting to this. It does not take away anything from anyone. It gives hope and joy to many!
I don't know details of the settlement and don't have time to look into it, but much is being made about the case being settled with many beach front homeowners “WITH PREJUDICE”. "WITH PREJUDICE" just means the case was decided based on the relevant law at the time and cannot be revisited based on the same set of facts and law. If the law changes the issue can be revisited depending on the circumstances.
Not an attorney but given that the law changed and the shoreline is a right that goes back to English common law, the settlement could be reviewable. Since our county attorney is the one that worked on the settlement it would be prudent for an outside firm to review to see if the settlement could be overturned and CU could be reinstated. You'd have no problem at all funding a legal review.
Not an attorney but given that the law changed and the shoreline is a right that goes back to English common law, the settlement could be reviewable. Since our county attorney is the one that worked on the settlement it would be prudent for an outside firm to review to see if the settlement could be overturned and CU could be reinstated. You'd have no problem at all funding a legal review.