Customary Use and Our 30A Legacy
- Thread starter Reggie Gaskins
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Stone Cold J, great effort but not sure realistic in the current Walton CU social media, political, and legal environment. The Mean High Water Line-in-the-sand has been drawn by the elected Walton Commissioners declared all private property available to the public without due process. Then decided to litigate against all 1,200 private beachfront parcels and 4,600+ property owners. From Public Records Walton has already spent almost a MILLION dollars in legal fees and the legal proceedings (the expensive part) have not even begun. Encouraged by Walton Commissioners litigation (beside it is not the Commissioner’s personal money; it’s all Walton tax payer dollars) the anti-social media masses created not-credible misinformation based on social media personal beliefs and not the law for their war on private property rights and created all this ill will and beachfront owners, even the owners like me who have for decades shared their private beach with other, are angry and aren’t going to take it any more.
#1. Everyone can already walk all 825 miles of Florida’s “foreshore”, swim, fish, surface, collect shells, take pictures, etc and on all 26 miles of Walton tidal coastline between the MHWL and MLWL or foreshore. There are 59 Walton public beach accesses. Some accesses are for pedestrian easements only to the foreshore, Like at Dune Allen’s Vizcaya, and some are Government owned available to the public park and occupy the dry sand not allocated to commercial beach vendors by the Walton TDC. But at no time is crossing a private home’s property north to south to reach the beach legal or acceptable.
If you mean an ordinance for uninvited persons to traverse private property dry sand or occupy private property or not; Walton Commissioners already did that, without due process, with their April 1, 2017 CU ordinance. I'd guess would still have property Constitutional issues even if local elected officials would prohibit occupying private property, which is already the law unless invited by the owner. The Florida legislature super majority rebuked Walton's lack of due process and enacted FS163.035 to ensure no other FL county did what Walton did by declaring private property available to the public without due process in court as the Plaintiff FIRST.
#2. Agree but how about use the millions instead on CU litigation, that may lose, to expand infrastructure to meet the current and expected growth, despite the baseless Ghost Town without-CU predictions, in south Walton.
#3. TDC annual $20,000,000 tourist bed tax can only be spent on beach related projects by law. Not roads, restrooms, water treatment public work projects. The TDC has the second largest number of employees and I suggest cutting TDC bed tax by 1/4th so those tourist dollars are spent in the local economy; not inefficient or wasteful government spending. TDC should stop marketing private beaches and should educate the public about where public and private beaches are, acceptable behavior and increased beach enforcement. TDC tourist tax marketing benefits the beach side businesses; if those business think $20,000,000 is a good return on the money let the beach-side business fund the marketing.
Keep thinking but understand today’s realities as been described in this thread's 580+ posts.
Might ask what bob bob what has he contributed to the solution too. I didn’t find one credible post in the 11 posts on this thread.
What do you have to contribute to the solution, or do you like to be part of the problem?
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
"30A" people are greedy, entitled, spoiled... A different breed.
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
SoWal Rules!
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
Let's drop this stupid argument.
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
Why would they [beachfront owners] give a damn
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
Beach front owners will get tired of spending money and fighting and will move on or fight a dumb never ending battle against millions.
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
Take candy from a baby and you might get some sad babies.
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
orange clown [Donald Trump]
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
gotta lay down on the beach in the warm sun and relax.
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
Dumb argument.
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
So scary you are.
Customary Use Will Destroy Our 30A Legacy
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Bob, FS163.035 has noting to do with public CU activities on private property but private property due process rights.
IMO you have it backwards. The burden of proof is rightly on the Plaintiff for public customary use of private property, Walton County Commissioners. Commissioners should have thought about other solutions before litigation an archaic English doctrine of custom with 4,600 American beachfront owners. The Defendants, beachfront owners, have to prove nothing nor are obligated to offer any compromise of their Constitutional protected property rights.
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So your belief is it is Walton County's obligation to propose a compromise? I think Lakeview point has merit more so now. Can't be a compromise IMO unless it is going to come from those BFOs cause the State has given the County no other option. Of course I don't claim any specific legal knowledge so this is certainly my opinion.
Dave Rauchsholb is offering a compromise that is essential "let's work together to stop bad beach behavior (tourists, locals, BFO's vendors)" in exchange for BFO's withdrawing their legal objections to the continuity of customary use. This has been his position for many years now. He was advocating a robust Beach Ambassadors program that failed to get much backing from the BBC or TDC. (Dave, I hope I'm paraphrasing you properly - I'm not a member of any of these groups.)
No, why should BFO compromise their Constitutional rights? Unsure how else to put it. BFO are the defendants, and have nothing to prove or property rights they have had and have today, to compromise. Walton Commissioners did not have to litigate and cost Walton taxpayers MILLIONS but could have offered solutions acceptable to BFO; Commissioners did not. I'm comfortable with and have enough faith in the Constitution and rule of law to risk my own money protecting my property rights. Why should I compromise my property rights?
Again trading beach enforcement for private property rights is a compromise? Beach enforcement is the civil duty of the TDC and Commissioner regardless of property rights or public use of private property. You (not you personally) lost me at "Your Sand is My Sand" and not interested.
Ok. I guess the Courts will decide. I will even go a step further, if Walton was to seek a compromise as you feel they should, I feel it weakens their case, just my opinion. I would also venture to guess based on your comment, the BFOs would also be weakening their case and it is not in their best interest to compromise. That said 631 leaves the County no alternative but to go to court. All my opinion.
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And the Walton tax payer will pay millions .... and may get nothing but 650+ beachfront owner's legal fees.
I NEVER said Walton should offer compromise! Your guess is as good as mine if compromise would weaken either parties' case. Again Defendant beachfront owners do not have to do anything and do not have to make a case. The County as Plaintiff always has alternatives. Destin in 2002 had alternatives and made different choices. Withdrawing the case and entering into discussions with each property owner they are claiming public customary use of their property is an option.
It's easy to have opinions when you have no real-property skin in the game.
CUnCourt.
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It’s worth it.
Let me see if I got this right: The BFO's could save themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars each, and save the taxpayers of Walton County MILLIONS of dollars by simply withdrawing their countersuits, and letting the judicial system, that was established by HB631, run it's course. And all this waste of money is because of Bad Beach Behavior. And the most prominent proponents of continuing customary use have pledged to establish a robust system of preventing Bad Beach Behavior, but that ain't good enough for you. Sounds like this isn't about Bad Beach Behavior...
