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Rita

margarita brocolia
Dec 1, 2004
5,209
1,634
Dune Allen Beach
Today at 3:00pm - this will be on agenda at South Walton Annex.

Walton County Board of County Commissioners 3 P.M. ON MONDAY, SEPT. 12 at South Walton Annex. Among items on the agenda are review of due diligence reports on purchase of beachfront property on CR-30A in Dune Allen
 

m1a1mg

Beach Fanatic
Mar 16, 2014
914
285
Lost in the world
I'm for building jails, but I don't want one next to me! If I'm the home owner next to this site and had a property worth north of $7M last week and now maybe $4M..someone is getting SUED especially if I've owned this property for decades. This new site will see excess of 50-70 families per day in season....

Et tu steel1man?
 

FactorFiction

Beach Fanatic
Feb 18, 2016
494
409
BCC voted unanimously to proceed with the closing of the Dune Allen beach parcels at 5999 W. C-30A. They voted for the Chair (Sara Comander) to sign the documents. Closing date is set for September 15.
 

ASH

Beach Fanatic
Feb 4, 2008
2,156
443
Roosevelt, MN
Dang! Just lost one of my favorite fishin' spots if that turns into a public access. I lived 3 blocks up the hill from that spot. Not sure how I feel yet about having a public access right there, but not my call. That's only about two blocks from the Dune Allen access. What I'm glad I'm not is one of the 14 homes and a condo tucked (jammed) between these two accesses. It's going get a bit busier than it ever has been. I don't recall there being much room there for parking, even if they bought up the home and the empty lot with just an old garage on it. Both of those lots combined are the same width as the scrub brush Stinky's parks in front of across 30A.

What I do find a bit humorous is dead center of these two accesses would be the homeowner who's nearly famous for all the photos posted of their signage and chain right down into the water..
 

sunny850

Beach Lover
Jul 16, 2012
59
47
I live on 30-A very near this proposed beach access and I am THRILLED at the prospect of having more public parking. Currently, cars park along the side of the road, especially locals on Saturday and Sunday, and it is nearly impossible to pull out of the driveway because cars are lined up blocking our view. I don't and never would complain, because prior to owning my home, I did the same exact thing to take my children to the beach. I also hope people who go to stinkys at night park there- it will be much safer than the cars piled up on the sides of the road. I do not think this will decrease property values and it is a great thing for Dune Allen. I think a lot of the complainers on this forum are just mad they didnt make money selling their lot to the county!
 

Truman

Beach Fanatic
Apr 3, 2009
650
270
http://defuniakherald.com/purchases-consideration-beach-access-parking/

By DOTTY NIST
Of 54 properties available for county purchase for beach access and parking, officials have narrowed down to six potential purchases moving forward.

This was the outcome of the Dec. 13 Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) special meeting at the South Walton Annex, at which Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) Executive Director Jay Tusa presented his recommendations to the BCC.

Tusa had been tasked with bringing forward for consideration properties available for purchase with TDC funds for public parking and use by beachgoers.

A surprising number of property owners had offered parcels for purchase to the county, with the value of available properties totaling $115 million.

Tusa said the six purchases recommended would total roughly $20 million.

Among properties eliminated from consideration were possible offsite beachgoer parking parcels located adjacent to Gulf Place, in Blue Mountain Beach, and on CR-395, along with bayfront parcels. Tusa said this was due to BCC direction to prioritize beachfront over nonbeachfront property and due to covenants and restrictions that might pose problems with intended uses.

He did not recommend a Little Redfish Lake parcel, nor one of two offered on San Roy Road due to ingress/egress issues, nor one close to the Santa Clara Beach Access due to a desire to “space out” beach access. Also not recommended were parcels offered on Fort Panic Road due to an abundance of beach access opportunities already in place in that area, including recently-acquired property near Stinky’s Fish Camp restaurant.

Parcels previously offered to the county in the Seacrest area were withdrawn due to a change of mind by the property owner, who wanted to build on them.

Properties recommended for purchase were mostly beachfront, with the first of those located in Miramar Beach about 1.35 miles east of the existing Miramar Beach Regional Access. Tusa commented that 20 to 30 90-degree parking spaces would be possible plus 15 parallel parking spaces.

Also recommended was property at the Oyster Lake outfall, where both upland and beachfront parcels were available.

Tusa recommended keeping the Highland House Bed and Breakfast property near Gulf Place under consideration, where a restroom and approximately 15 parking spaces would be possible to provide relief for Ed Walline Regional Beach Access, one of the counties busiest beach accesses. He called for a title search on the property and evaluation to ensure that property ownership was such that people would be able to get to the beach from the bed and breakfast property.

Also recommended were three parcels of beachfront property across from Cafe 30-A, located about half a mile from the Santa Clara Beach Access, where Tusa said 36 to 40 parking spaces would be possible. He did not recommend Hinton Drive property associated with this offering.

Recommended as well was some Eastern Lake property about four-tenths mile from the Santa Clara Beach Access that Tusa noted would be suitable for about 12 parking spaces and a dune walkover and restroom.

The final recommended purchase was adjacent to the 2.5-acre county-owned beachfront property in the Walton Dunes area, off the east side of Beachfront Trail. Tusa noted that it could potentially help with parking in connection with a possible decision to construct a beach access on that property, with about 15-20 parking spaces possible.

There was discussion that $6 million in TDC funds was currently available toward these purchases. Tusa also said that conversations with legal counsel and a Walton County Finance had indicated that a total of $18 million to $20 million could be made available for the property purchases from bed tax funds.

Tusa suggested as the next step moving forward with title searches on the recommended properties. This was agreed to, with resulting information to be brought before the BCC at its Jan. 10 regular meeting.
 

Abby Prentiss

Beach Fanatic
May 17, 2007
577
123
Over the past year, Walton County Commissioners and the Tourist Development Council have been working together to purchase beach front properties for public beach accesses.

Now, Commissioners have approved purchase of another piece of property to buy, located at 907 Scenic Gulf Drive in Santa Rosa Beach. For approximately $1.5 million, the Commissioners approved the request and signed a contract with Jeffi LLC for the purchase. Walton County Tourist Development Representative, David Demarest said this property will expand the public beach access that they already have right next to it.

The Walton County Tourist Development Council has around $5 million left in their budget. TDC officials said they anticipate their next purchase to be in Seacrest.
 

SoWal Staff

Serving the Community!
Staff member
Apr 14, 2006
3,835
511
South Walon, FL
SoWal.com
On Tuesday evening, July 11, The Walton County Board of County Commissioners approved the purchase by Visit South Walton of a beachfront parcel for $1,537,500. The property, at 907 Scenic Gulf Drive, is directly adjacent to a property purchased by Visit South Walton earlier this year. The additional parcel expands the total frontage of the to-be-constructed new regional beach access to 410 feet.

Included with the newly purchased parcel is a structure, allowing Visit South Walton to build a bathhouse facility without limiting the existing Gulf views from Scenic Gulf Drive. The agreed on price for the property is $50,000 below the average appraised value for the property.

“This property adds beachfront to South Walton’s planned regional beach accesses,” says Visit South Walton Executive Director Jay Tusa. “Our goal is to ensure continued ease of beach access in South Walton so both locals and visitors can experience our beautiful beaches.”

Since August 2016 Visit South Walton has purchased seven beachfront parcels for a total of 747 feet of beachfront to be used as three new regional access points, along with a 7.35-acre inland property that currently serves as additional parking in the Rosemary Beach area. The total spend for these properties is $25.6 million. When the newly purchased beachfront properties open as regional beach accesses, the total number of regional beach access points in South Walton will rise from seven to 10. Each regional beach access point includes parking, bathroom facilities, and a lifeguard station. The three new regional beach access points will be located in Miramar Beach, Seagrove Beach, and Dune Allen Beach.

The properties were purchased and will be maintained using bed tax dollars, a 4 percent tax collected on short term rentals. The bed taxes for May of 2017 are up 7 percent over the same time period in 2016, with the year to date total up 11 percent. Bed taxes provide a good indication of visitor demand, as they are influenced both by number of visitors and the average daily rates of short term rentals.
 

Beach days

Beach Lover
Jul 2, 2017
117
16
54
Freeport
The last parking lot worked out great. Bud and alleys red bar and the watercolors employes all park there. Maybe the business should help pay some of it. They fill it up by 8 am. Great 7 million dollar purchase
 

Jenksy

Beach Fanatic
Oct 25, 2012
799
617
The last parking lot worked out great. Bud and alleys red bar and the watercolors employes all park there. Maybe the business should help pay some of it. They fill it up by 8 am. Great 7 million dollar purchase
That one never made sense. Don't compare that one with beach accesses.
 
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