Nuisance ordinance

There may be other situations like that in residential areas, but the only ones I can think of are ones where there is a pre-existing nonconforming use that can be continued as long as it is not expanded, and ones where there is a home-based business. I'm not sure what standards a home-based business must meet. That would be in the code, or maybe some business owners would know off the top of their heads.
I think a more basic question would be whether a wedding would be defined as a commercial activity and if so what factors would make a wedding commercial.

Generally the homes rented out for weddings cater to them, however they are available if someone wants to just rent a big arse house. Many rental companies do not rent homes for weddings and specifically bar it. This side industry of rental companies who cater to wedding parties came about in part to that.

I think there should be a distinction between a private home that caters to weddings versus a "residential" property owned by a corporation or LLC that specifically caters to weddings.

Some owners charge a premium when they know there is a wedding party. Some wedding parties are not truthful to owners, to avoid paying the premium.

Some owners charge a premium when they know there is a wedding party. Some wedding parties are not truthful to owners, to avoid paying the premium.

Yes, and as a former employee of a rental company it isn't fun. The other reason for denying a wedding is that by the law, the rental itself can only hold the number of people that can sleep there, due to fire code.

My sense was that it had become an issue because there were specific "wedding houses" with frequent weddings.

So either renters are throwing weddings w/o owner's knowledge or owners are knowingly renting out homes for weddings.

If the former is an issue, a clause on the rental and neighbors willing to call and complain if a catering/delivery/tent truck shows up would be an easy fix.

If it's the latter, I think it's a Code Enforcement issue.

My sense was that it had become an issue because there were specific "wedding houses" with frequent weddings.

So either renters are throwing weddings w/o owner's knowledge or owners are knowingly renting out homes for weddings.

If the former is an issue, a clause on the rental and neighbors willing to call and complain if a catering/delivery/tent truck shows up would be an easy fix.

If it's the latter, I think it's a Code Enforcement issue.

There was an article in the Walton Sun about a year ago regarding a local company that purchases or builds large homes and then markets them as wedding homes. I have a feeling the two are related somehow.

I covered the first meeting between the renters, homeowners and wedding industry a year ago. First, there's lots of money in weddings. It has stayed a viable business in south Walton when everything-else was packing up. One of the houses, one of the main ones I believe was purchased to be a wedding house, but because of the way the code(or zoning, i don't remember exactly) is mixed in these neighborhoods, it conforms. The noise issue was what was breaking up all of the weddings back then. There is no conformity to the noise ordinance, according to what was said during that meeting and they were supposed to work on it I believe and come back with something.

It's a good point about the money involved. Aleo, you went to some of those meetings I missed, so I don't know about them. I was judging from some code enforcement board meetings involving some of the homes rented out and used for weddings quite a bit. At one of those involving a home in a residential area, the planning director at that time made the statement that any of us owning a home in a residential area in Walton County could legally have a wedding or weddings at their home. There are the two noise ordinances now, the one for Grayton Beach and the one for the rest of the area south of the bay. Part of the nuisance ordinance they are looking at now would be for dealing with noise, and it would apply countywide.

It's a good point about the money involved. Aleo, you went to some of those meetings I missed, so I don't know about them. I was judging from some code enforcement board meetings involving some of the homes rented out and used for weddings quite a bit. At one of those involving a home in a residential area, the planning director at that time made the statement that any of us owning a home in a residential area in Walton County could legally have a wedding or weddings at their home. There are the two noise ordinances now, the one for Grayton Beach and the one for the rest of the area south of the bay. Part of the nuisance ordinance they are looking at now would be for dealing with noise, and it would apply countywide.

You sound right on track. They talked about those points at the meeting a year ago. I actually only remember one BCC meeting and then the special meeting at the annex. They had been shutting a lot of weddings down at 10 p.m. and sometimes before because of music when it first came up. There are lots of rentals for weddings up and down 30a.

I believe it was a man named Blue that spoke about the noise ordinances not being county-wide and the issue that mixed zoning brought to the tables with things like this..

There are the two noise ordinances now, the one for Grayton Beach and the one for the rest of the area south of the bay. Part of the nuisance ordinance they are looking at now would be for dealing with noise, and it would apply countywide.

These have been made into law, or are proposed?

These have been made into law, or are proposed?

The Grayton Beach noise ordinance and the south-of-the-bay noise ordinance have both been in force for a number of years. The nuisance ordinance (with the noise component) is just proposed at this point. There could be action on some form of it on March 9.

Is anyone else sitting around scratching their head because none of this makes any sense? It just sounds like a big ol mess. Commercial, not commercial. Land use code, multi-use code, etc. This ordinance says this while the rest of the county uses this ordinance. It is all making my head spin.

Is anyone else sitting around scratching their head because none of this makes any sense? It just sounds like a big ol mess. Commercial, not commercial. Land use code, multi-use code, etc. This ordinance says this while the rest of the county uses this ordinance. It is all making my head spin.

I heard that!
Did you attend the meeting on Feb. 15?

mass email:

BMBCA Members and Friends,

This is an exceptionally important issue that could impact you and your way of life.

At the request of the Walton Board of County Commissioners (BCC), the President of the Walton County Chamber of Commerce, Dawn Moliterno, is conducting noise ordinance roundtable discussions. In the first meeting, held this past Monday 2/15/10, Moliterno explained that attendees were all there to share their thoughts on the Noise/Nuisance Ordinance and to come together with a document that they could send on to the BCC.

By a show of hands, it was decided that they would shelve the Noise/Nuisance issue and focus on Event Houses only, since most people seemed to be speaking about Event Houses. There was a large contingent of Wedding Planners there with an attorney. It soon became clear that decisions were being made by a show of hands as to what they would pass on to the commissioners. Then the focus on Event Houses soon turned into criteria for permitting them.

For those of you who may not know what an Event House is, it is a home that is rented not just for people here on vacation but for people wanting to put on an event, such as a wedding. Currently these Event Homes can be found within single-family neighborhoods and they are used and even advertised to be available for events like weddings. With these events come bands, loud music and, many, many more people than the home was designed to handle. With those people come cars or trucks for which there is inadequate parking. And this house could be located right next door to you in your community. Your neighbor could decide to turn their house or rental property into an Event Home. In addition, this is not like your current neighbor or renter having a party. This event home could create this type of situation every weekend. These houses have created a lot of controversy and considerable out cry. And it appears the county is trying to find a way to officially allow them into our communities.

At the meeting some residents attending said it seemed premature to be talking about criteria for permitting, which could include fire safety, parking, noise, etc., when they should be addressing land use. It was noted that neighborhoods which are single-family residential are just that, residential, and commercial uses should not be allowed.

One person at the meeting who we believe was with the county said that a renter has every right that an owner has and can therefore, have a wedding if they so desire. It seems to us that cannot be true. A renter cannot for example renovate that home. But the statement causes us great concern. Another county staffer said that they were thinking about limiting events by requiring that the home be used for lodging, so a renter must stay overnight in the house where they have their event. Someone else said perhaps they should limit events by frequency, for example limiting how often each house would be allowed to have events each year. But even if they only allowed one event a year per house, and this would be unlikely, if you had 100 homes in your community that would mean there could be a great number of events per year within your community. These are not solutions, but it shows the county seems inclined to allow Event Homes within our communities.

Event Homes should not be banned and people should be able to rent their homes to families for residential use. But Event Homes should not be allowed in single-family neighborhoods or communities designated as Residential Preservation Area (RPA). The Event Homes should be required to be located in commercial or mixed use areas. Businesses should not be allowed in residential areas and it should make no difference whether the business is contracted by a renter or an owner. As far as we know renting a home for residential use does not fall under commercial and thus, the usual residential rentals would not be affected. Once this door is open all kinds of businesses or non-residential uses might be included. Allowing any kind of non-residential use is a dangerous precedent.

If YOU as a homeowner care about protecting and preserving the quiet residential use of your neighborhood YOU have got to speak up. The event people have other places they can go but we don't. They can go to mixed use and commercial areas. If the county permits these operations it will be a real abuse of the system. We know that the spirit of the RPA is that it be RESIDENTIAL and not something else. Homeowners must speak out to preserve our neighborhoods. We cannot go down this slippery slope of allowing 'events' when everyone knows we are talking about commercial use.

Having residents at the Monday meeting to show hands in favor of preserving residential neighborhoods will be crucial since what goes on to the County will be what comes out of these meetings on the basis of a hand vote. If the majority of people at this meeting are in favor of Event Homes we could be out voted and you could find an Event Home next door to your house. But if you cannot attend call Dawn Moliterno Monday morning at, 850-267-0683 or email her now at, <dawn@waltonareachamber.com> and express your view. Commission Cecilia Jones was in attendance as well and you should let her know how you feel by calling, 850-231-2978 or emailing her at, <joncecilia@co.walton.fl.us>.

The next meeting is scheduled to be held at the South Walton High School Media Center Room on Monday, 2/22/10, at 3:00 pm. The South Walton High School is located on the west side highway 331 just north of highway 98.

Everyone is encouraged to attend the next meeting. It is important that the noise ordinance is not changed to the detriment of our neighborhoods.

For anyone interested we have notes distributed by the county from the last meeting held on the 15th and we will be glad to provide you a copy of them if requested. Just let us know.

Blue Mountain Beach Community Association, Inc.
P. O. Box 1042, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

“Dedicated to the preservation of our residential community - its natural beauty and its quality of life – through education, communication, and cooperation” ​

Blue Mountain Beach Community Association, Inc.
Serving communities between CR 393 and Little Red Fish Lake
(Incorporated under FL Statute 617.301-617.312)​

mass email:

I attended the first public workshop last week regarding the general issue of a noise and/or nuisance ordinance. It became clear, however, that the major issue generating repeated complaints for the county code enforcement and sheriff’s department is the use of residential houses being repeatedly rented for events (e.g., weddings, reunions) in single family neighborhoods.



What is happening is both companies and individuals are advertising homes in single family neighborhoods as event venues. (e.g., weddings, family reunions, etc) In some instances, for example, an event coordinator may have two weddings in one weekend at a building built as a single family residence and located in a single family residential subdivision.



According to one event planner at the meeting, the Destin/Walton County area is becoming very popular as a wedding and event venue. It was also indicated at the meeting that event coordinators are receiving more and more requests to hold events in more single family residences. At a time of economic down turn and reduced lodging rentals, more owners are wanting to pursue using their rental house for events to generate income. Events continue an income flow for the owner, event planners and various service providers.


There did not seem to be an issue with events held in other venues such as mixed use developments like Seaside, Rosemary or in places like Eden State Gardens or the country club. The issue is the business of staging the event in a residential neighborhood.
Neighbors are complaining about the noise from the bands and large numbers of people milling about, event attendees’ parking throughout the neighborhood due to the lack of parking spaces at the house venue, lack of adequate restroom facilities for large numbers, (won’t elaborate on this one) the disruption to the neighborhood from the activities of trucks and other vehicles connected with set up and take down, unruly behavior of event guests, trash, etc.



The focus of the meeting has been the houses being used for events in subdivisions with a land use of “Residential Preservation”. (RP) This is the typical single family neighborhood. The primary use is residential. Commercial is only allowed if it is established in the subdivision plat or the covenants and restrictions. In the RP areas where this has become a problem, commercial is not allowed via the plat or covenants and restrictions.


The county has indicated that some of the event activity in the RP neighborhoods is commercial and should not be allowed. The difficulty is distinguishing between a non-commercial one-time event (e.g., family rents house, stays there and has a family reunion) from the continuing rental of the house in which the the primary purpose of the rental is for an event venue.



The Fire Marshall expressed a concern that the activity was being held in dwellings not set up for the nature of the use. He cited concerns over the occupancy overload of the dwelling, lack of sprinklers, and other potential safety issues.


There was discussion and suggestions about many aspects of the issue including requiring business licenses, limiting hours, ensuring liability of owners for violations of laws, etc. I have attached a brief summary of the first workshop prepared by the facilitator. Commissioner Cecelia Jones is also attending the workshops as well as representatives from the TDC, Sheriff and county staff.


The next meeting is scheduled to be held at the South Walton High School Media Center Room on Monday, 2/22/10, at 3:00 pm. The South Walton High School is located on the west side highway 331 just north of highway 98.

All those interested in this issue should try to attend.

Anita Page
SWCC Executive Director

The nuisance ordinance item was not included on the county commission agenda for March 9, because the recommendations resulting from the meetings between the wedding industry and residents were received too late for it to be added. However the item is expected to be an add-on to the agenda on March 9 to be taken up shortly after 4 p.m. The meeting starts at 4 p.m. and the South Walton Annex is the location.

Commission moves forward on noise/nuisance ordinance | nuisance, beach, ordinance - Local News - WaltonSun.com

Commissioners approved four recommendations concerning the public nuisance ordinance at Tuesday's regular Board of County Commissioners meeting...

...For the last four weeks, community members have met weekly discussing the ordinance. Moliterno told the board that no issue had everyone’s approval, but that through working together four recommendations were decided to go before the board.


First, the board separated the nuisance ordinance from the rest of the recommendations presented.


Second, the commission chose to make the ordinance more focused on short-term rentals rather than all residential units.


The third and fourth recommendations were for an educational programs and a mass-notification of the ordinance to all area residents. Commissioners also voted to evaluate a process for business and special occasion events.

Does this mean I can call the Sheriff's department on the ice cream truck? That jingle drives me nuts.

Does this mean I can call the Sheriff's department on the ice cream truck? That jingle drives me nuts.

If you do, get yourself a t-shirt that says "hates kids, annoys cops".

If you do, get yourself a t-shirt that says "hates kids, annoys cops".

doot doot doodle doot doot doot doot "HELLO" "HELLO" doot doot doodle

I could have been wearing that t-shirt years ago.

doot doot doodle doot doot doot doot "HELLO" "HELLO" doot doot doodle

I could have been wearing that t-shirt years ago.

Yeah, but then everyone would be assured what your real agenda is.

If you do, get yourself a t-shirt that says "hates kids, annoys cops".

I probably need a shirt too - I call dispatch when ever there is an issue and they transfer me to the right people.

I probably need a shirt too - I call dispatch when ever there is an issue and they transfer me to the right people.

At least they still take your calls.