Customary Use and Our 30A Legacy

[Emerald Drifter]

If the BFOs are such a philanthropic, easy to get along with group, why do they seem to band together and immediately purchase any properties that are even rumored to be purchased by the county to provide more access for the those of us wanting a hassle free day at the beach?

 

[Teresa]

A local person acted on behalf of a young couple who had been told to move. This is what we all need to do for our visitors. Help them. What I saw yesterday was a sincere concern for our visitors and a very positive outcome. The poster provided straightforward and useful documentation for the incident. More of this please. We deserve to know what is happening and where.

Posting on social media helps us to see what's happening and where. I am seeing documentation on social media from lots of people. I appreciate the stories and information. This helps our community become more informed.

Being an activist for Customary Use is not a bad thing at all. I truly appreciate anyone willing to stand up for our community. Keep going. Our values as a community are as important as ever before. Our beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world and people come here to enjoy them. People move here to raise their families. We are worth the effort to keep our beaches open for everyone who lives, works, invests and visits here.

Will the fight be worth it? If you love it here then absolutely it will be worth it. Don't be silent.

 

[steel1man]

This is the most ridiculous comment. No one ever spoke of our beaches being private until a few years ago when this nonsense started. Growth will always come to any popular, special area. The loudest voices against CU come from beachfront owners who bought near a county beach access. Not from interior beachfront owners. You buy next to a cow pasture, get used to the cows. The beaches have always been shared and should be regardless of growth; anywhere, any beach and any community. Respect has and always is critical. There are laws that regulate behavior on our beaches and characterizing the beach behavior as all bad is a common tactic used by private property rights beach advocates. I recommended the Beach Ambassador program to help address the beachfront owners concerns. Most beachgoers are respectful regardless of the numbers.

Beach Vendor Mafia is the only cause for lack of Public Beach access free space. Mafia sets up and People must and WILL spread out with their own beach chairs and umbrellas...

 

[Emerald Drifter]

Jodi, Help us understand. How are beach front owners treating locals like "doormats"? In my neighborhood, we find that the beach front owners we know are indeed part of the community. They get involved with local charities. They look after the beaches, visitors, and turtle nests. They're the first ones to help vacationers with local information. They band together to buy properties that would be public beach access as soon as they hear that the county is interested. We never have conflicts with them as long as we're respectful of their property, and for the record, DIDrespectful means quietly sitting on the beach on a towel or chair. Most of them are the first ones to step up in time of need. And they're always keeping a low profile about that local philanthropy. They are just as upset about this county and local activist action against them as the rest of us. Remember, they didn't pick this fight. They didn't behave badly. Until people started deliberately coming onto their property and demanding it for themselves. How would you feel if it were your yard?

Fixed it for ya...

 

[jodiFL]

@Emerald Drifter ..and how about the ones in Seagrove that got all up in arms when the county announced they would be making improvements (parking,bathrooms etc) on property they ALREADY own?? Seems a bit hypocritical to deny a "property owner" the right to do what they want on their property

 

[Reggie Gaskins]

A local person acted on behalf of a young couple who had been told to move. This is what we all need to do for our visitors. Help them. What I saw yesterday was a sincere concern for our visitors and a very positive outcome. The poster provided straightforward and useful documentation for the incident. More of this please. We deserve to know what is happening and where.

Posting on social media helps us to see what's happening and where. I am seeing documentation on social media from lots of people. I appreciate the stories and information. This helps our community become more informed.

Being an activist for Customary Use is not a bad thing at all. I truly appreciate anyone willing to stand up for our community.

This post was created for honest discussion and transparency, y'all keep the childish edits and individual innuendo to another forum please. Teresa, Let's look at this objectively, without bias for a minute. Again, we agree on most ideas. We agree that responsible activists are part of American legacy, on BOTH sides of issues, we agree that we need to know what is happening in our community, that people being mistreated is wrong, that rude and disrespectful folks on BOTH sides aren't helping.
Will you also agree that activists escalating something out of nothing for sensationalist Facebook and Instagram content is wrong?
Would you also agree that such noisy orchestrated narrative materially hurts our tourist economy?
Would you agree that there are bad actors on both sides of this issue trying to amplify the division, and are hurting our chances of 30A life as we know it?
Did anyone post images of the hundreds or maybe thousands of beachgoers yesterday that were enjoying their day on private Walton County beaches without a conflict or a social media event?
At what point did this event escalate? Was it the initial discussion, or was it after activists interjected to deliberately elevate the noise and involve Sherriff? The social media posts admit that the quiet encounter was amplified only by activists.
Does it seem strange that so many vocal activists just happened to be present, with only images of them, not the two subject parties, in what some witnesses claim were staged poses for camera?
This particular activist (the one in the black baseball cap according to the police report) represents herself as the leader of the entire CU movement. What does that say to the honest members? No doubt we can do better. It's just very hard for honest discussion when things aren't as they seem.
Here's the official WCSO report. Notice the "But". You decide.

04/28/2019 : 12:39:15 intranet\so-robrhonda2 Narrative: THE COMPL REQUEST 10-45 AFTER DEPUTY MAKES CONTACT
BECAUSE COMPL IS LEAVING FOR AIRPORT
04/28/2019 : 12:38:30 intranet\so-robrhonda2 Narrative: THE COMPL JUST ASKED SOME OTHERS TO MOVE BEHIND THEM
AND THEY MOVED BUT THERE IS A FEMALE WITH BLACK BALL CAP AND PEACH BIKINI STARTED CALLING
OTHERS TO COME OVER AND TOLD COMPL TO JUST CALL THE POLICE
04/28/2019 : 12:36:28 intranet\so-robrhonda2 Narrative: ADV THERE ARE ABOUT EIGHT PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN THAT
ARE VIOLATING THE PRIVATE BEACH

 

[furymom]

Glad Reggie is NOT being silent!!!!

 

[ShallowsNole]

Well, when you title your thread that Customary Use Will Destroy our 30A Legacy, that in and of itself tells that you do not know what 30A's legacy is, at all.
Most of the magic of our quiet little beach road has been long gone.

The only thing that remains is the beach, as it has been long before any of us were born, and will be here long after we are gone. And, we want our children, grandchildren and many generations to be able to enjoy peaceful days at the beach, as we always have done.

 

[Reggie Gaskins]

Not quite sure how anyone can read the appropriately titled original post here, and not understand that your very point is woven throughout its entirety. We want the same thing. I just want to be honest about it, with mutual respect and lawfulness. Not irrational mob mentality that misrepresents reality and prevents the very result you claim to desire. Go back and read it again.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

...... Respect has and always is critical......

How can there be respect when private property owners are continuously called
mean, selfish and greedy?

How can there be respect when Daniel Uhlfelder stands in front of a townhall county meeting regarding customary use on July 18, 2018 and tell the world that his Jewish grandparents immigrated to America from Europe “because of oppression like this”....in effect pulling out the Nazi card accusing beach front owners as such. His actions show total disrespect for the Holocaust victims. Yeah respect.

And how can there be respect when “your side” perpetuates mistruths such as “BFOs stole public beach” through quiet title?...in effect painting a picture of BFOs as rich thieves. I know the masses are ignorant about this concept....but not you and especially Daniel Uhlfelder. And for the benefit of others, none of this beach that was quiet titled was NOT public beach in the first place.

It is amazing however that so so many people drink this kool-aid or should I say you continue to do a wonderful job of making and marketing mai-tais for the masses. But that’s what your tactics depend on - the general public’s ignorance of facts regarding this debate.

Your only weapons are ignorance and emotion.


Cow pastures? And you said it’s the lots closest to public beach accesses that have the loudest voices. BRILLIANT!

So why not COMPROMISE with those owners and see if they would be willing to sell an easement to the county??? Wouldn’t EVERYBODY win? Right now, the only winners are attorneys in all this litigation.

Oh yeah, your position is no compromise as well.

“We want it all or nothing.” Again, be careful what you wish for.