Bob, you were around for the 2015 Walton BCC and Army Corps of Engineer (ACE) beach fortification fiasco. As I recall about 95% of beach front owners declined Walton’s 50 year easement and 3.8 million cubic yards of off-shore, less than white, shell ridden tax payer paid sand mostly because owners did not agree to an Erosion Control Line (ECL) that would separate their littoral property (by definition contacts the water) boundary from the Gulf waters making their property water view instead of water front that owners paid a premium for. Including me. The white quartz beaches have been here for tens of thousands of years, I’m told. Look at the Walton beach aerial photos from the 1940s and compare them to today. Not much difference where the shoreline is now. How many hurricanes has Walton experienced since the 1940s? I’ll take my chances with my money, land title, and the bundle of rights I have had and have today. If you, the public, or Walton BCC want it and I’m willing to sell it you’ll have to pay fair market value for it to use it. Or go to court as a Plaintiff with the burden of proof and prove it first BEFORE you can declare private property for customary public use.
And I hope you don’t quibble about government flood insurance giving the public rights to private property unless you are going to apply the same logic to the flood victims in middle America too. Besides most owners I know, including me, self insure their premises or purchase additional private flood insurance because the $250K property and $100K contents FEMA insurance is not sufficient.
Bob, you seem like an informed guy but you missed the mark with this comment. I and I think many other littoral beach front owners are willing to share our littoral property with those strolling on the beach, like we have in the past, but that does not mean we gave up the property rights we have had and have today. If the BCC want to take our property rights I am willing to fight and will not be so willing to share in the future. Would you if your property rights you pay taxes on were being taken by local government declaration? What if beach front property owners prevail in court? Then what is the BCC and public going to do? Declare martial law?
Beach front owners have made suggestions like Mike Huckabee’s 2016 “Beach Share”.
EDITORIAL: 'Beach Share' worth reviewing in South Walton
I did not see the Walton BCC even acknowledge Beach Share plan and Dave Rauschkolb dismissed it out of hand and has declared "This
sand is
your sand, this
sand is my sand!!" In Oct 25, 2016 Commissioner Comander declared her willingness to spend $40,000,000 or $50,000,000 of Walton tax payer dollars if we have to. Which means to me the BCC just want to take all private beach for inept unconstitutional reasons and a quick fix for the BCC's failure to manage growth.
Board of County Commissioners on 2016-10-25 9:00 AM - Regular Meeting - Oct 25th, 2016