Any truth to the rumor?

[ASH]

Wish I could attend that meeting as well.
The letter I already submitted to the commissioners parrots what you said.
If they want my money going elsewhere, it can... and will.
The beaches are a huge reason Sowal is what Sowal is to me.

 

[NotDeadYet]

I spent a chunk of time Saturday on the internet. Besides Beach Highlands, Blue Mountain and Seagrove, beachfront owners have also gotten title to parcels in Seacrest. There are very few lots left between Stallworth and Inlet Beach that don't now go to the Mean High Water, and all but a few of the remaining ones appear to me to be at risk, based on what I saw in the public records. It appears that very soon we will end up with only the regional beach parks and the state parks. This has huge implications for tourism and property values. People who could not afford beachfront and invested here a few tiers or blocks back are going to be surprised when they or their guests discover they are no longer welcome on beaches they have used for years.

 

[ASH]

How does one get to Topsail Hill Preserve State Park from the East except to walk the beach at Stallworth?
Are private land owners blocking access to a state park?
Isn't the mean high water somewhere up in the dry sand for the most part?
If I'm walking the beach down near or at the surf line, isn't this beyond the mean high line with few exceptions such as a tropical storm?

 

[Jimmy T]

My understanding of the situation:
Beaches move and so does the mean-high-water line. It's a
real problem that the legal description of beachfront properties
doesn't seem to change with respect to the mean high-water line,
so beachfront property owners can claim trespassing and it
would be up to the person who is accused of trespassing to have
a mean-high-water survey and prove that they were not trespassing.
This seems wrong. I believe that we should all have free passage
along the entire beach. Some states have adopted a customary use
statute for all of their beaches. Would this be the right direction
for Florida to go?

 

[steel1man]

My wife and I are planning on attending this meeting.

Repost from an email that I received this morning:

"In case you haven't heard, beachfront homeowners at Stallworth have gone to court to get "quiet title" to beaches on 30A. This means we have no longer have legal right to relax, fish or walk on the beach. I read that this type of legal action has recently occurred at Blue Mountain & Seagrove too. Yesterday, I'm told, a full time resident was walking on the water's edge at Stallworth and 2 WCSO officers were summoned to ask her to leave. When will that happen to you, your family or friends? This legal action taken by a few may result in negative economic impact for Walton County too. Once other beachfront homeowners do this up & down 30A, area guests will have very limited beach access -- so why visit here? And that would affect your businesses, personal incomes, property values and county tax revenues long term. And you thought BP Tar Balls were bad for our economy... All of this is happening NOW on 30A.

Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Walton County Commissioners will meet at the courthouse in Defuniak Springs where they have "beach issues" on the agenda. It is anticipated this situation on 30A will be discussed. If you are concerned, here's what you can do: * EMAIL OR CALL ALL COMMISSIONERS TODAY; * ATTEND THE MEETING; & * SHARE. William "Bill" Chapman (R), District 1 Commissioner District Office: 9446 Rock Hill Road Ponce de Leon, FL 32455 Office (850) 835-4860 Fax (850) 835-4836 chabill@co.walton.fl.us Jeff Skipper Commissioner's Aide skijeff@co.walton.fl.us Cecilia Jones (R), District 2 Commissioner, Vice-Chair District Office: 552 Walton Road DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433 Office (850) 892-4020 joncecilia@co.walton.fl.us Evelyn Strickland Executive Assistant strevelyn@co.walton.fl.us Bill Imfeld (R), District 3 Commissioner District Office: 6570 US Hwy 90 West DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433 Office (850) 892-8474 Fax (850) 892-4204 imfbill@co.walton.fl.us Evelyn Smith Commissioner's Aide smievelyn@co.walton.fl.us Sara Comander (R), District 4 Commissioner, Chair District Office: 263 Chaffin Avenue DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433 Office (850) 835-4834 Fax (850) 951-0868 comsara@co.walton.fl.us Melinda Wickham Commissioner's Aide wicmelinda@co.walton.fl.us Cindy Meadows (R), District 5 Commissioner District Office: 70 Logan Lane Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 Office (850) 231-2978 Fax (850) 231-3872 meacindy@co.walton.fl.us Susan MacDonald Commissioner's Aide macsusan@co.walton.fl.us"

"o. Yesterday, I'm told, a full time resident was walking on the water's edge at Stallworth and 2 WCSO officers were summoned to ask her to leave." Either this resident is walking at turtle speed or lot is large..if you call WCSO to come out and hour later she is still walking...something isn't right...

 

[John G]

Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson has created a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that outlines for beach front owners with Private Property on the beach, exactly how to compile a large packet of information that costs a few thousand dollars.

Unless you have this packet and have submitted it to WCSO, they will not enforce trespassing laws on your property.

I hope they initiate the same policy in rural areas in the north end of the county too.

Your private property is being stolen from you each minute. Walton County Beaches (those that are private) is only the first step.

That's why responsible property owners are taking steps to prevent this including Quiet Title.

The County has failed miserably in securing beach property for all to us. Their attempt at "re-nourishment" failed and thus they need a new angle to fix their mess.

Blame falls to the sins of the past BCC and that darn TDC... Failures each of them.

 

[jodiFL]

My understanding of the situation:
Beaches move and so does the mean-high-water line. It's a
real problem that the legal description of beachfront properties
doesn't seem to change with respect to the mean high-water line,
so beachfront property owners can claim trespassing and it
would be up to the person who is accused of trespassing to have
a mean-high-water survey and prove that they were not trespassing.
This seems wrong. I believe that we should all have free passage
along the entire beach. Some states have adopted a customary use
statute for all of their beaches. Would this be the right direction
for Florida to go?

From what I understand it is the PROPERTY OWNER that has to prove the MHWL with a CURRENT topographical survey.

 

[BeachArkie]

"o. Yesterday, I'm told, a full time resident was walking on the water's edge at Stallworth and 2 WCSO officers were summoned to ask her to leave." Either this resident is walking at turtle speed or lot is large..if you call WCSO to come out and hour later she is still walking...something isn't right...

It was an older lady and she walked past and then back. Po-po were there on the way back. She was on wet sand the entire time, and the officer was rather annoyed to be summoned for such a stupid thing as she was obviously doing nothing wrong and a danger to noone.

 

[jkmason]

It appears to me that the default action by the WCSO is to assume the adjacent property owner complainant is correct in their trespass allegation. In my opinion There was no reason to confront the beach walker, but there may have been a very good reason to confront the land owner for making a false accusation of trespass. That is my prejudiced opinion as a retired police officer.

 

[FactorFiction]

My understanding is that traversing the "wet sand" area is not something for which WCSO will enforce trespass. Something doesn't add up.