In today's paper
In today's NW Florida Daily News. Wonder who is suppose to decide what is in the way of turtles and beach patrol vehicles. What IS the problem with the way it is not and WHO is behind this mess?
No day at the beach
Proposed law in Walton pits cleanliness, sea turtle nesting against property rights
By ANDY MEINEN
andym@nwfdailynews.com
SANTA ROSA BEACH ? Leave no trace or leave it be?
That?s the question many people in South Walton County are wrestling with when it comes to leaving beach chairs, umbrellas, volleyball nets and other items on the beach overnight.
The county?s Leave No Trace ordinance regulates what can be left on the beach and what will be picked up and thrown away.
County officials say the clutter hurts the economy and interferes with sea turtle nesting. Beachfront property owners say their rights are being restricted.
Walton commissioners addressed the reworded ordinance at its first public hearing Tuesday.
Commissioner Cindy Meadows said items left on the beach overnight will accumulate until it looks like a gypsy camp. That will deter tourists and home buyers from investing in South Walton, she said.
?People come here and buy property because of the clean, pristine beaches,? she said.
The new ordinance is a reworking of the original law enacted last summer. The new wording gives some leeway to leave gear on the beach overnight, but a permit is needed.
Meadows said people can get permits from the county?s planning department. However, items left on the beach overnight can?t block sea turtles or emergency vehicles? paths, Meadows said.
?This is an ordinance we?ve got to have,? she said. ?It will be tweaked but it?s not perfect, and it?s a first attempt to keep the beaches as nice as we possibly can.?
A second public hearing on the ordinance will be July 8.
Some beachfront homeowners are leery of the law. Emmett Hildreth, who owns a beachfront home in Blue Mountain Beach, said the county is overstepping its authority.
He said Walton has no problem accepting his property taxes every year. But now the county wants to put a public easement on it, in effect, and tell him what he can and can?t do on his land, he added.
?We want to live on our piece of property without government interference,? he said. ?This is like taxation without representation. The county does not have the authority to take property without paying for it.?
Some residents at Tuesday?s hearing said the beach should have never been titled to homeowners. They argued that cus- tomary use ? the expected right to have access to the beach ? trumps any deed and title.
But Hildreth said that there has been no customary use proven to exist in Blue Mountain Beach.
Suzanne Harris, president of the board of directors of Edgewater Beach Condominiums in Miramar Beach, said that she is for clean, safe beaches. However, she sued the county when officials said the complex?s volleyball net had to come down.
Harris said the volleyball net has been up for about 25 years and its poles are cemented 10 feet into the ground, so moving it would be difficult. She added that the net has never caused a problem and that she objects to the county telling private property owners what to do.
?Each owner should be responsible for their property,? she said.
Harris said people who don?t take care of their property should be fined. The Leave No Trace ordinance includes a $100 fine for the first offense and a $200 fine for a second offense.
The issue could be solved in court. The Florida Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit brought by Save Our Beaches against Walton County over beach restoration. The group claims restoration was an illegal taking of their property. The county countered that the beaches belong to the public.
The Supreme Court?s ruling could end to the private versus pubic beach issue for good.
In the meantime, the Leave No Trace law looks to fill the gap. Meadows said the county isn?t trying to put anything over on beachfront homeowners.
?We are not taking their land,? she said. ?Walton County is very property rights oriented. We?ve got to work together.?