Led away in Handcuffs

[pgurney]

yippie's last post just made me think of a good analogy (possibly) that would come from the perspective of a gulf front private beach owner.

Let's say you are an owner next to the public access and public parking at one of the public beach accesses, let's choose Inlet Beach for discussion-sake. At Inlet Beach, it doesn't seem like parking is inadequate at this time, but in a few years it could be. Visitors to the beach, whether they are tourists or upland owners, decide it's okay to park in or block your driveway so that they can have access to the beach. You decide to put up a physical obstruction like a gate to your driveway, or you decide to call the Sheriff's department to have them towed as they block access to your personal property. How far do we take this? Where do you draw the line between personal property rights and the right to access the beach?

 

[Smiling JOe]

This was just sent out by the TDC. Take a look.

Public vs. Private Beach
Frequently Asked Questions


We were enjoying the beach when we were asked to move because we were on private property. Isn’t the beach public?
The county maintains six regional beach accesses with parking and restrooms that are available to the public. Many of the county’s beaches are private due to the way many of the area’s properties were originally deeded and beachgoers who set up tents and chairs in these areas may be asked to move.

Where can the public have beach set ups?
Visitors are welcome to have beach set ups at any of the area’s public beach accesses, including regional beach accesses with parking and restrooms include Miramar Beach, Dune Allen, Ed Walline, Gulfview Heights, Santa Clara and Inlet Beach. Parking is also available at Beach Highlands, Blue Mountain, Grayton Dunes, Van Ness Butler, Jr. and San Juan.

not true -- no restrooms at Van Ness Butler, Jr., unless you are counting the port-a-john in the parking lot, which has been overturned for a couple of weeks now. Who is proofing the TDC's statements?

There is a beach access at the end of the street where our rental unit is located, can we have beach set ups there?
Most public beach accesses are nestled between private properties. Beachgoers should stay within the easement of the dune walkover to set up on the dry beach. Along Scenic 30A, beachgoers who wish have beach set ups outside of these areas must be on the wet sand..

Nothing like a ten foot strip of beach, with umbrellas and chairs twenty rows deep.

In Western Walton County along Scenic Gulf Drive, a large scale beach restoration has created additional public beach. An erosion control line (ECL), a state-required line that was established by identifying the location of the mean high water line during the permitting process, serves as the delineating line between the lands owned by the upland owner (north of the line), and lands owned by the state of Florida (south of the line). Therefore, beach set ups are permitted 35-40 feet from the water’s edge on beaches west of Four Mile Village and along Scenic Gulf Drive.

Well, that certainly cleared up everything for everyone.

Can the public walk along the beaches?
Yes, the public is welcome to walk the beach. Beach chair set ups and loitering on private property is illegal.

Maybe we should have a walk-a-thon and wear mighty-tighties.

 

[yippie]

Well, that certainly cleared up everything for everyone.

Yes, that was my reaction to that FAQ as well. I barely understand it and I live here. That is opening a can of worms if you quoted that to a guest!

That is a cut and paste of the e-mail sent out by the TDC at 4:07pm today, along with this message:

"Since there has been a number of questions regarding where beachgoers are permitted with beach set ups, we have created a Frequently Asked Questions sheet to ensure everyone is providing a clear, consistent answer to our visitors. Please share with any staff who interact guests. We appreciate you helping get this word out to visitors when they arrive. "

I guess they sent it to everyone on their mailing list.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

.....How far do we take this? Where do you draw the line between personal property rights and the right to access the beach?

pgurney,
Darwin said it rather well in post #93:

"The Earth is getting very small and we are starting to bump into each other with greater frequency."

The more crowded we are, it seems the less civil we become with each other.

Darwin's regretful experience is due, in my opinion, to the business as usual attitude of (most of) the county commssioners. Their passage of many development projects with advertised "beach access" but with little to no "real" associated beach is the reason we are where we are. They stuck their heads in the sand and hoped the problem would not pop up.

They did this at Redfish Village. This is another train wreck waiting to happen. Is Nature Walk another one?

The timing is very interesting with Darwin stating that the county / TDC should be sued and the TDC issuing this FAQ letter today... or is it just coincidence?

 

[kittyness]

Their passage of many development projects with advertised "beach access" but with little to no "real" associated beach is the reason we are where we are.

Uh, oh. The house we rented for August advertised "200 steps to the beach". It did not, however, say "200 steps to the public beach". Does this mean I shouldn't even bother trying to go to the beach near the house?

 

[yippie]

The timing is very interesting with Darwin stating that the county / TDC should be sued and the TDC issuing this FAQ letter today... or is it just coincidence?

I would say it was probably fueled by the attention this matter is getting today. I believe one poster said they had been contacted by the NW Fla Daily News and also, I saw a post by a person employed by the Walton Sun.

More than likely, the TDC received those same calls and felt the need to issue the memo.

 

[Darwin]

I got this response today from the Walton County TDC:

[SIZE=+0]

[SIZE=+0]We received your e-mail at the Walton County Tourist Development Council, and we're sorry to hear of your experience on the beach. We depend on our resort management companies to inform our visitors where they can have beach set ups, just as we depend on them to inform our visitors about beach safety and the flag warning system. We also rely on them to share recommendations for beyond the beach activities such as state parks, shopping and dining options. ​

To answer your question "Can visiting families be asked to move?", the answer is yes. [SIZE=+0]Many of the county?s beaches are private due to the way some of the area?s properties were originally deeded and beachgoers who set up tents and chairs in these areas may be asked to move. Visitors are welcome to have beach set ups at any of the area?s public beach accesses, including regional beach accesses with parking and restrooms include Miramar Beach, Dune Allen, Ed Walline, Gulfview Heights, Santa Clara and Inlet Beach. Parking is also available at Beach Highlands, Blue Mountain, Grayton Dunes, Van Ness Butler, Jr. and San Juan accesses.[/SIZE]

Our goal is to ensure families such as yours have a safe and enjoyable experience at the beach by providing adequate information on beach safety, and the rules of the beach. We also work very hard ensuring the beaches are beautiful and pristine when you arrive by cleaning the beach 365 days a year and maintaining more than 56 public beach accesses.

We appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We will be adding a frequently asked questions section regarding public and private beaches to our Web site this week.

Best regards, ​

[/SIZE][/SIZE]​

 

[yippie]

I got this response today from the Walton County TDC:

[SIZE=+0][/SIZE]​

Well, that answers that, doesn't it?

 

[Darwin]

I got this response today from the Walton County TDC:

[SIZE=+0]

[SIZE=+0]We received your e-mail at the Walton County Tourist Development Council, and we're sorry to hear of your experience on the beach. We depend on our resort management companies to inform our visitors where they can have beach set ups, just as we depend on them to inform our visitors about beach safety and the flag warning system. We also rely on them to share recommendations for beyond the beach activities such as state parks, shopping and dining options. ​

To answer your question "Can visiting families be asked to move?", the answer is yes. [SIZE=+0]Many of the county?s beaches are private due to the way some of the area?s properties were originally deeded and beachgoers who set up tents and chairs in these areas may be asked to move. Visitors are welcome to have beach set ups at any of the area?s public beach accesses, including regional beach accesses with parking and restrooms include Miramar Beach, Dune Allen, Ed Walline, Gulfview Heights, Santa Clara and Inlet Beach. Parking is also available at Beach Highlands, Blue Mountain, Grayton Dunes, Van Ness Butler, Jr. and San Juan accesses.[/SIZE]

Our goal is to ensure families such as yours have a safe and enjoyable experience at the beach by providing adequate information on beach safety, and the rules of the beach. We also work very hard ensuring the beaches are beautiful and pristine when you arrive by cleaning the beach 365 days a year and maintaining more than 56 public beach accesses.

We appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We will be adding a frequently asked questions section regarding public and private beaches to our Web site this week.

Best regards, ​

[/SIZE][/SIZE]​

 

[Smiling JOe]

[SIZE=-0][SIZE=-0]"We received your e-mail at the Walton County Tourist Development Council, and we're sorry to hear of your experience on the beach. We depend on our resort management companies to inform our visitors where they can have beach set ups, just as we depend on them to inform our visitors about beach safety and the flag warning system. We also rely on them to share recommendations for beyond the beach activities such as state parks, shopping and dining options.

To answer your question "Can visiting families be asked to move?", the answer is yes. [SIZE=-0]Many of the county?s beaches are private due to the way some of the area?s properties were originally deeded and beachgoers who set up tents and chairs in these areas may be asked to move. Visitors are welcome to have beach set ups at any of the area?s public beach accesses, including regional beach accesses with parking and restrooms include Miramar Beach, Dune Allen, Ed Walline, Gulfview Heights, Santa Clara and Inlet Beach. Parking is also available at Beach Highlands, Blue Mountain, Grayton Dunes, Van Ness Butler, Jr. and San Juan accesses....[/SIZE]."
**********************************************************
With parking overflowing at several of the public regional accesses, if the public is not allowed to sit upon the beach as they have for many years, I think the lack of parking spaces is going to present even more problems as people park illegally on the side of the roads at these regional accesses, potentially creating traffic accidents and possibly fatalities. The County better start stepping up to the plate.

[/SIZE][/SIZE]