Testing the sand for Customary Use

[Kaydence]

My opinion! So let me get this straight...someone goes out of their way to leave their own backyard in Seagrove (surrounded by white sandy beaches) to drive to Vizcaya (2 days in a row) to sit on property already in dispute, to "test" taunt, provoke the homeowners there into calling the police and face possible arrest for trespassing? Wow, that's a special kind of stupid! Drawing lines in the sand? Really? Taking up time & valuable resources from the WCSO?

Sheriff Adkinson, you missed a prime opportunity! You put stupid people in jail all the time....you sir, missed your shot!

 

[boomerang]

You are obviously another entitled beach front owner like Mr. Huckabbe that is trying to ruin our beach community

so the dry sand is vacant - left only for you..

pathetic

 

[EZ4144]

My opinion! So let me get this straight...someone goes out of their way to leave their own backyard in Seagrove (surrounded by white sandy beaches) to drive to Vizcaya (2 days in a row) to sit on property already in dispute, to "test" taunt, provoke the homeowners there into calling the police and face possible arrest for trespassing? Wow, that's a special kind of stupid! Drawing lines in the sand? Really? Taking up time & valuable resources from the WCSO?

Sheriff Adkinson, you missed a prime opportunity! You put stupid people in jail all the time....you sir, missed your shot!

It's called a protest. Power to the people!

 

[gumby]

It`s called a waste of public resource time. Take it to the court room.

 

[Teresa]

I am proud of these two local citizens who have brought attention to the farce executive order that does nothing for South Walton Beaches. It is going to take a lot of people standing up. Thank you Daniel and Justin! They have received a lot of press this week and that's what it's all about. Attention to this unjust law preventing people from customary use of our beaches.

 

[EZ4144]

It`s called a waste of public resource time. Take it to the court room.

Arrests and national stories will hasten the legal battle.

 

[Kaydence]

You are obviously another entitled beach front owner like Mr. Huckabbe that is trying to ruin our beach community

so the dry sand is vacant - left only for you..

pathetic

ROFLMAO...I don't own anything beach related and I think Mike Huckabee was/is an a$$ long before he bought property and built a monster house in SoWal. I've always thought he was a horrible, bible thumping, knee jerk politician (republican at that) who doesn't have the sense god gave a jacka$$ and his daughter followed in her daddies footsteps but that's just my opinion.

I actually support customary use and see absolutely no harm in people traversing the beach, coping a squat in the dry sand on a towel, with an unassuming small umbrella (especially if they have a small child to protect them from the sun) and quietly enjoying what nature has provided.

I draw the line at massive boom boxes, exceptionally large tents, gas grills, big screen TV's, sofa's, rows and rows of empty beach chairs, trampling the dunes, relieving themselves in said dunes, leaving your trash on the beach and preventing our native wildlife (sea turtles) from nesting, as well as storage sheds left on the beach to store said beach chairs.

With that said, I also think there is a right way and a wrong way to do things and ultimately this will be decided in the Courts, as it should be. I think its a HUGE waste of WCSO resources to intentionally set out to have yourself arrested by falling on the proverbial sword to show your "peeps" you're willing to be the hero and get yourself thrown in jail for the cause or to make a name for yourself. It's ridiculous!

Bottom line is, take only memories, leave only footprints.

 

[gumby]

This is just my personal observation of all the customary use hoopla. Ten years ago this was never an issue. Over the course of these 10 years the BCC and TDC have done extremely well in marketing and allowing over building in our area. With only 26 miles of beachfront property, you`d think that the powers in charge would slow the development down in our area. The more people you try to shove in this stretch of beach, the more issues are going to arise, thats where we are now = customary use. There are to many people now trying to access the beach. The population has exploded here and the beach has stayed the same. The private property owners probably had no idea this would be happening. they purchased gulf front property to have their slice of heaven, paid property taxes on it for all the years of ownership and now thanks to our wonderful BCC and TDC, want to take from them and give it to the public. Unbelievable
Thankfully, I live on waterfront property - in Freeport.

 

[Kaydence]

This is just my personal observation of all the customary use hoopla. Ten years ago this was never an issue. Over the course of these 10 years the BCC and TDC have done extremely well in marketing and allowing over building in our area. With only 26 miles of beachfront property, you`d think that the powers in charge would slow the development down in our area. The more people you try to shove in this stretch of beach, the more issues are going to arise, thats where we are now = customary use. There are to many people now trying to access the beach. The population has exploded here and the beach has stayed the same. The private property owners probably had no idea this would be happening. they purchased gulf front property to have their slice of heaven, paid property taxes on it for all the years of ownership and now thanks to our wonderful BCC and TDC, want to take from them and give it to the public. Unbelievable
Thankfully, I live on waterfront property - in Freeport.

I agree with most of what you said Gumby but...

I posted an Editorial here the other day which you can read here, Interesting Editorial in today's paper that raises questions for me about the actual taxes paid.

Of particular interest to me was this comment:

Whether your property line stops at the dunes or goes down to the Gulf, your taxes aren’t different. That’s because any land beyond those dunes can’t be developed. There’s nothing you can do with it, so those lands, owned or not, do not impact property values.
The land value that determines the fair market value of these homes, thereby deciding how much tax should be paid for that land, is based on the amount of land owned at the Coast Construction Control Line. If both you and your neighbor have 180 feet of Gulf-facing land, and all things are equal with that land except that you own to the high mean-water line and your neighbor’s deed stops at the dunes, your land will have the same accessed value.

Obviously, that doesn’t mean your taxes are the same. What you’ve put on that land will impact your value, as will dozens of other factors in the state of Florida, but owning a deed to the beach’s dry sand doesn’t increase the value at all. It’s worthless.

If its worthless, its senseless to fight over it.

 

[gailforce]

When people “stand up” for what they believe in, shouldn’t they state what they are so passionate about rather than feigning ignorance for what they are doing? Daniel and Justin were insulting to the sheriffs department by pretending they didn’t know wet sand etc. And condescendingly dismissive to the tourist who’s children were afraid. Why didn’t they say they were there to protest private beaches? That’s what ‘stand up’ guys do.