Judge Dismisses Destin Public Vs. Private Beach Lawsuit

[MrMentalFitness]

"“The public has a right … to go east, west, to sit, stand, fish … and we’ve been consistent in that for the last 10 or 12 years.”"

Judge Dismisses Crystal Dunes Lawsuit

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit a group of beachfront condominium owners filed last year against the city of Destin and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. U.S. District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers said the Crystal Dunes condo owners failed to prove claims that their 14th Amendment rights to due process and equal protection were violated, according to a ruling issued Friday.

• Read the judge's ruling.

The owners association claimed their rights were violated when Destin and the Sheriff’s Office allowed people to use the beach 20-feet landward of the line between wet and dry sand in front of their condominium complex on Scenic Highway 98. The owners argued the area was private property.
The plaintiffs said the city and Sheriff’s Office were not enforcing trespassing laws on that property and that their rights were violated because they were not provided notice or the right to be heard regarding the practice.


The lawsuit was filed in May 2010 against the city, City Manager Greg Kisela, Mayor Sam Seevers and the Sheriff’s Office.


Kisela is now the Walton County Administrator.


At the time the lawsuit was filed, Kisela said he had confidence in the city’s practices regarding the property.


“We’re extremely comfortable with the 20-foot policy that we’ve had, so we don’t think we have any vulnerability there,” he said. “The public has a right … to go east, west, to sit, stand, fish … and we’ve been consistent in that for the last 10 or 12 years.”

 

[John R]

This is sure to get things stirred up again. Good call on the judge's part. Private beach, pffft

 

[gmarc]

thats great. can't wait to slap some irriigant condo lifeguards who try to move me, so that ruling is saying 20 feet from the wet /dry sand which could ge 30-50 feet from he shore

 

[scooterbug44]

Nice to hear some sanity coming from the legal system!

 

[MrMentalFitness]

Whatcha do is stand right at the legal line in the sand in a loud, gaudy flowered hawaiian shirt with your beer in your hand and extend one foot with toes pointed out over the line, but NOT making contact with the sand, waving it back and forth, exclaiming out loud for all the uptight deluded people who think they actually own god's beach to hear, "I'm not touching your side of the line! My foot is actually in the ATMOSPHERE, which isn't part of your real estate. I'm not touching! I'm not touching!" Matter of fact, you should do the funky chicken and sing obnoxious limericks as they eyeball you with that Aunt Esther sneer. It's all perfectly legal.

 

[Em]

The question is, where is that legal line? It can change daily, due to it being a 13 year average, so that is one of the problems -- without a daily boundary survey, one doesn't know where that legal line is located.

 

[gmarc]

Thats the great part murray. If they want to enforce there true legal property line they must do a legal survey daily to account for the 1/10th of a millimeter that it changes daily.unfortunely 95% of tourists and home owners don't know the law and will move

 

[tsutcli]

Does this mean that the rental chair companies and anyone else must set up landward of the 20 ft. line on the "private property" of the home/condo owners? If anyone sets up in the "public" portion wouldn't they be blocking public access to walk the beach?

 

[gmarc]

theres no way they could set up chairs in the a persons private beach as they'll need there approval to place there big boxes that hold the chairs to place it on there land. i don't think thats a problem as many exclusive condos want the chair person there for "service"

 

[melscuba]

I think the question is "Does this not also hold true for public beaches... Meaning doesn't the umbrella and chair company have to follow the 20ft back rule to allow for a right to egress and regress along all points of the beach??