Led away in Handcuffs

[1st in 59]

This morning as my wife and I were returing form a shoreline walk we saw county officials asking a couple of men to move their "set up" from infront of The Retreat at Blue Mountain Beach. About an hour later my wife saw him being led from the beach in handcuffs for tresspassing. One of the men was taking pictures... maybe we'll see them post them here.

I know from reading previous posts that this is a hot button issue but it seems that some want to enforce the "letter of the law". I saw where they were placed and it was close to the water line very near the boundry of the Inn at Blue Mountain. They seemed to minding their own business. As the sherriff left I happened to walk by them and heard "I think it was the right call... where the wet sand meets the dry".

I'm confused, the beachgoers were were set up outside of the posted signs. If the owners really want to keep people out can they fence in their beach? (not that I'd want to see that)

In the many years of coming to SoWal I've always been impressed with the civility of residents and tourists -- although I have heard some horror stories. We abolutely love it here and treat it as though we already live here. But I was very surprised that it seems the owners are calling the country for what seems such a small infraction -- seems like a waste.

This was the second day in a row that I saw county officials inforcing the private beach rule.

Is the pendulum swinging?

I rented a unit at the Inn at Blue Mountain the week of July 4th and was on the beach and witnessed the arrest from about 20 feet away. The security officer spoke with the two men for about 5-10 minutes, then an officer from the Sherrif's Department arrived on an ATV. One gentleman of the pair walked peacefully with the officer to and over the beach walkover. At no time while the gentleman was on the beach or the walkover was he in handcuffs. The other gentleman was not led away or arrested to my knowledge. I assume that the officer on the ATV couldn't take the arrested gentelman to the Sherriff's office on his ATV ,which is why the officers with a patrol car were summoned.

I understand that this is a heated issue, but embellishing the facts to incite the readers on this forum makes your arguments and your report much less credible.

I would caution everyone reading the antecdotes relayed on this forum to take them all with a grain of salt.

As a renter, the situation at that beach walkover is very confusing. Apparently the homeowners and condo-owners on either side of the walkover own the beach to the MHWL, but someone else (Blue Mountain Beach Master Homeowners Association?) owns the walkover and about 10-15 feet of beach out from the walkover. So if you're not a homeowner or condo-owner or guest/renter at either place, you're limited to the 10-15 feet corridor to the beach. I paid a lot of money for the "privlege" of renting at a beachfront property with clear legal access to the beach. There are two very large, fairly uncrowded public beaches to the east and west of this walkover (TopSail and Grayton). If you want unfettered beach use and don't want to pay for beachfront lodging/use, why not go to the public beaches? Those are truly the beaches that your tax dollars are supporting and you have a "right" to use.

FYI - if you have Adobe Reader software you can see the plat for The Retreat homes here http://retreatflorida.com/plat.htm

 

[Darwin]

Sorry to say but appears to me the local way of live is going the way of the native folks along the coast of Georgia. If you start calling yourselves "Resorts" sounds like the county will listen to you. This was my response to the TCD email.

I appreciate the reply but it does not clear up any of our questions. Your answers do not address the realities of beach access problems. The county has a real mess that needs to be cleared up for tourist and property owners on and off the beach. We were just one of 4 families told to move from that access over two days.

We did not have a 'beach set up". We did not have chairs, umbrellas or a tent; just two small sand castles and one folded towel along with four kids and their parents. Their feet were in the wet sand and butts in the dry sand. There was no alcohol, profanity, or even loud voices. Just a family sitting on the edge of the swash zone with a towel we wanted to keep dry.

We are not renting from a beach resort but from the same family we have for 10 years. So is it the off-beach house owners responsibility to let renters know where they can sit on the beach? The off-beach property owners are just as confused as anyone else and are irritated that the public access only leads to a very very small public dry area. If all the off-beach house renters near the Pelayo beach access or any other public access go to the beach at the same time there physically is not enough room for them on the currently undefined public portion of the beach unless they stand in the water and move with the tide. Maybe the county should put up a fence stretching out into the water to mark the public portion and keep the off-beach renters separated from on-beach renting tourist. Do the people buying off-beach properties near public accesses know that they really are not getting access to the beach?

Is the dry sand vs. wet sand scenario the deputy mentioned the county's policy? What happens when the tide goes out the the wet sand is now dry; are you now trespassing when at first you were safe? Who lays a towel down in the wet sand anyway to enjoy the beach? ​

It really is sad to see things get so goofed up for such a wonderful place full of wonderful people and memories.

​

 

[Smiling JOe]

Darwin, nice reply.

 

[GoodWitch58]

Nice letter, Darwin. Glad to see you aren't letting the TDC get away with their canned reply.

 

[Mango]

This whole debacle is just another classic example of how backwards Florida property laws are.

As far as I know, and I haven't researched all coastal communities nationwide, but the ocean beaches in other States that I have vacationed, the State owns the beach.
Go to a Caribbean Island like Barbados, same thing. A billion dollar hotel can be erected, but any Bajan can walk and set up beach gear right in front of that hotel without recourse.
It never struck me to ask when I bought property in Sowal if a beach was public or private, a natural resouce!

I don't feel that a gulffront property owners/deeded beach access should have riparian rights further than being able to walk to the water without obstruction, and by obstruction I mean a permanent fixture blocking that egress.

 

[BlueMtnBeachVagrant]

1st in 59, thanks for the informative post.
Darwin, ditto on the great reply to TDC.

I have always wondered, for a few years now, why TDC did not "inform" the public where public beach property ends and private beach property begins fully knowing that tourists will naturally (and unknowingly) encroach on private property.

So now the question is, will TDC erect signs at EACH public access detailing the extent of the public's "right" to use the beach?

Also should the associations with private easements be required to do the same thing?

 

[Smiling JOe]

Does the Retreat allow rentals? I am not positive but I think it is like Draper Lake and does not so the Retreat Security Guard would probably know who was "supposed" to be there, especially since it is not built out too much.

per Article VII, section 27 of The Retreat's C & R's, leasing of entire homes is allowed, but not for periods of less than one month. However, no dog is allowed to excrete on the common property :funn:and cat ownership in The Retreat is highly discouraged. (I'm not making this up. Read through the 110 page document and you will see what I'm talking about.)

 

[Smiling JOe]

Has anyone read the legal description for The Retreat? The legal description for the southernmost line reads, "...thence meander said approximate Mean High Water Line (of the Gulf of Mexico)...

My question is, how close is "approximate?" In the case of the people sitting on dry sand with their feet on wet sand, I think they would have a strong case based only on the legal description reading "meander said approximate MHWL. What do you think?

 

[yippie]

This whole debacle is just another classic example of how backwards Florida property laws are.

As far as I know, and I haven't researched all coastal communities nationwide, but the ocean beaches in other States that I have vacationed, the State owns the beach.
Go to a Caribbean Island like Barbados, same thing. A billion dollar hotel can be erected, but any Bajan can walk and set up beach gear right in front of that hotel without recourse.
It never struck me to ask when I bought property in Sowal if a beach was public or private, a natural resouce!

I don't feel that a gulffront property owners/deeded beach access should have riparian rights further than being able to walk to the water without obstruction, and by obstruction I mean a permanent fixture blocking that egress.

This whole thing is silly. It's like purchasing property next to the airport, then complaining that the airport is noisy and it should shut down.

Wellllll duh.... the airport was there when you bought the place in plain view.

And so were people on the beach. Probably some of those very property owners who are complaining. It was OK for them to use whatever beach they wanted, then.... they became owners so it isn't ok for anyone else to be on "their" beach. Now that they own a house or condo, they feel like they own the entire area.

As for the remark one poster made about paying big money to stay at a Gulf front unit, are you saying people who are not as fortunate as you and can't afford to pay for a Gulf front unit are less value as a visitor as yourself and should be treated as second class citizens? I think not.

But what I do think is that it is that arrogant and pompous attitude that has made this area less desirable than it used to be for both tourist and local residents.

 

[scooterbug44]

So per the TDC memo, we just spent millions of dollars to renourish beaches that are predominantly private!

If I go to the beach I need to stay within the 5'-0" easement the walkway and stairs are on? I don't think so! The area they say I am "allowed on" is smaller than the area of the walkway/stairs they just finished replacing!

Pgurney - preventing someone from parking in your driveway and preventing someone from accessing your "private" beach are not the same thing. Your driveway is a finite and specialized space. Someone else parking in it curtails your activities. The beach stretches for miles w/ only minor variations and someone sitting on one patch of sand does not prevent someone else from using another nearby patch.

TDC better get a clue!