• Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
New posts

30ABandMan

Beach Fanatic
Apr 1, 2007
731
77
SGB
There were at least 6 tent frames left last night near eastern lake and a dang kayak. I watched two families pack everything up and make the long walk. My wife and I thanked them very much for removing their stuff and offered to help.

Maybe a neighborhood watch kind of deal would work. When you see someone leaving their junk, remind them that it is supposed to go with them.
 

sassysmob

Beach Comber
May 10, 2007
22
13
Cincinnati area
I just got back to Ohio from my long awaited trip to 30A, and I must say I was never so disappointed in my whole life at the state of the beach! I hadn't been down since 07, and was flabbergasted at how much worse it has gotten in 2 years! What the HE@# is wrong with people??????? Is acting all white-trashy the new way to be these days?? I will absolutely be writing your county commissioners to voice my concerns as a PAYING visitor and hopefully someday a tax paying resident of the area! MOVE IT OR LOSE IT I say!! I wish I'd had a machete or some big ol wire cutters with me! I had to make do with with a plastic bag. Not the way I had planned on spending my vacation at the beach, picking up other people's droppings!
 

hinkhall

Beach Comber
May 19, 2009
18
2
I have read most of the above posts and am thoroughly confused. Aside from any person's particular view on this issue, what is the actual law, rule, or regulation regarding personal property left on the beach overnight? If these items are legally considered abandoned, then why are people concerned about legal repurcussions for taking or destroying them? It seems to me that if the county does not have the resources to enforce these rules, then a simple finders keepers would take care of the problem. Anyway, as I stated, I am not sure what the actual rule is. Anyone? Thanks.
 

30A Skunkape

Skunky
Jan 18, 2006
10,286
2,312
53
Backatown Seagrove
I just got back to Ohio from my long awaited trip to 30A, and I must say I was never so disappointed in my whole life at the state of the beach! I hadn't been down since 07, and was flabbergasted at how much worse it has gotten in 2 years! What the HE@# is wrong with people??????? Is acting all white-trashy the new way to be these days?? I will absolutely be writing your county commissioners to voice my concerns as a PAYING visitor and hopefully someday a tax paying resident of the area! MOVE IT OR LOSE IT I say!! I wish I'd had a machete or some big ol wire cutters with me! I had to make do with with a plastic bag. Not the way I had planned on spending my vacation at the beach, picking up other people's droppings!

Thank you. Feedback from people like you is going to play a huge role in hastening the institution of a removal policy. Be sure to let the Walton County TDC know what you think.

EMAIL- jcox@beachesofsouthwalton.com
PHONE-(800) 822-6877

I suggest you use the buzzwords 'crap on the beach' and 'bed tax hike' in your TDC correspondence.
 

Jdarg

SoWal Expert
Feb 15, 2005
18,068
1,973
Thanks, Gidget! I love the beaches and appreciate how the locals are invested in preserving them. I have been to many beaches in this country including the Jersey Shore and sowal are among my favorites. The picture of the NJ beach in this thread is from Point Pleasant which is near Atlantic City but there is a another beach area called Long Beach Island where there are no high rises, the water is clear and the community is actively involved in preserving the quality of life there.

Sounds like a good role model for those of us concerned with the quality of our beaches and community here.

Trashed out beaches will drive away tourists, including the ones doing the trashing, who will have to find new "undiscovered" places to leave their crap and sent up their tent condo cities. Fewer tourists + less spending in our businesses and less tax revenue. Well, I guess our beaches will certainly be clean again if nobody visits here.:sosad:

As Lynnie mentioned on another thread, the Lorax teaches a lesson- good summer reading.;-)
 

SHELLY

SoWal Insider
Jun 13, 2005
5,770
802
....the eyesore of the infamous "Big Blue Signs" pales in comparison to what our beaches have become--is one more acceptable than the other?

Are the officials afraid of pizzing off the paying "tent people" customers to the point of driving away paying "responsible" customers?

.
 
Last edited:
There are only five houses in our neighborhood whose residents can use our private walkover and the beach in front of our neighborhood, and there is no public walkover nearby. One of the houses doesn't rent, and the other one has full-time residents. So if I see stuff on the beach that isn't used for a couple of days, I assume it's from a previous renter and remove it from the beach. If I see items in use that are left on the beach overnight, it has to be from one of the other two houses that rent. So I introduce myself as an owner and nicely inform them of the rules regarding not leaving stuff on the beach overnight. They are cordial and cooperative in response.
 

ASH

Beach Fanatic
Feb 4, 2008
2,156
443
Roosevelt, MN
Rules on the beach

I have read most of the above posts and am thoroughly confused. Aside from any person's particular view on this issue, what is the actual law, rule, or regulation regarding personal property left on the beach overnight? If these items are legally considered abandoned, then why are people concerned about legal repurcussions for taking or destroying them? It seems to me that if the county does not have the resources to enforce these rules, then a simple finders keepers would take care of the problem. Anyway, as I stated, I am not sure what the actual rule is. Anyone? Thanks.

The answer to your questions are buried in all the replies on this thread. The TDC was picking up stuff left out overnight and discarding it. A local condominium sued the county about the specific verbage that allows the TDC to pick things up. The county suspended picking up abandoned items while legal councel makes certain the language of the law doesn't have loopholes that allows folks to sue. Once this is sorted out, hopefully the TDC will be able to resume assisting everyone else on this board and beyond in keeping the beaches beautiful once again.
 

BeachSiO2

Beach Fanatic
Jun 16, 2006
3,294
737
You could also try this group since they actively monitor County tax expenditures and would likely want to know about any possible revenue loss from upset visitors since the majority of tax revenues in Walton County are derived from the tourism industry.

WCTA Home Page

They have set up a free hotline 1-888-794-WCTA. It's for reporting waste, fraud or abuse of tax dollars, but this sounds like it could lead to lost tax dollars. Either way, This may mean less money in the coffers and they may want to take a position on it.

WRobert, Do you think it's possible that WCTA may take a stand on this issue since it could affect taxes via tourism declines. This could then snowball into lost sales and TDC taxes, loss of jobs that are supported by visitors, drops in property values that could lead to increases in millage rates to support existing programs, on and on affecting all taxpayers of Walton County of which I am one.

I know the WCTA took the position to support the 1/2 cent increase in bed taxes to try and get a low cost airline into the region to increase business, etc. This looks like an opportunity for the WCTA to be a player in preserving business and a viable tax base that's completely different than the "turtle argument" or aesthetics. As we all know, when a visitor comes to the beach, they don't know if "stuff" left on a beach is a "privately-owned beach" or a "publically-owned" beach. All they know is that it looks bad and they don't like it. This could be a huge problem since the visitor return rate is over 70% and one of the ways any destination is chosen is via word of mouth from friends and family. Bad word of mouth spreads even faster. Since the WCTA has a different platform to speak from then the environmental or aesthetics one, I think it could be a very positive move for the community, and with your clout it could be a very helpful one. Thoughts? :dunno:
 
Last edited:
New posts


Sign Up for SoWal Newsletter