This subject just keeps coming around and I feel compelled to say something, I'm not fighting, just putting another take on this issue. I feel sorry for some of these people, seems there's another side of the story that you may not get to hear.
We have friends that sit beach front. We've talked with them about how did this beach issue happen? Here's the info that they gave us: They purchased their property somewhere in the late 70's or early 80's. Lot of area to be had at that time. This area was slowly building. Did Walton County buy in---as you can see not much. We've looked at their property warranty deed, which states a distance of X amount to the mean high water line of the Gulf of Mexico, thence go X amount along the aforesaid mean high water line etc... it reads like these people by deed own their beach. They think that all this mess came about after Dennis. Every beach front property owner that was left standing after this storm had to pay out of their pocket to shore up their property. (This included the sea walls--another issue. In talking with our friends, we found that Walton County didn't have a plan in place to cover the proper way to handle this situation, most were on their own. (Surprised us that Walton Co. never thought a storm would ever affect these people). Storms had affected this area before and FEMA helped to restore the dunes that were washed away by Opal, I believe. It's been a while since we talked about this). Most of the property owners went beyond the call of duty. Sand (another issue) was brought in to rebuild the dune system, plants were planted, and they believe that they did the best they could considering lack of rules for them to use. Some people did some good things and some people did some bad things. They told us they didn't want the seawalls, but had no idea what to do, they were just left standing there. They needed guidance, but there was little to be found.
Any how, here comes the mess. This started people saying that all beach front property owners should be washed into the Gulf of Mexico including their County Commissioner. Shame on the seawalls. Shame on the sand--shame on everything. A lot of property owners sit in complexes and sub-divisions. These areas have been sharing responsibility for the properties for quite sometime. Everyone backed out on this issue and starting saying, that's your property not ours, (seems to me that sums that up by a few people) we're not paying for any of it. So, here we are today. People feeling angry that they were abandoned and also dealing with other people that have the attitude of entitlement, I guess. There is one person in their complex that actually rubs it in their face, that he's sitting on their beach (could sit anywhere else) and it didn't cost him a dime. Kind of hard to take, I'm sure.
Two bits for our friends, they have never asked people to get off the property. They do go down and clean up after people that leave trash and such all over the place. The feel that they have been tagged as the bad guys, when really they don't feel they did anything wrong. They had to do what they had to do.
I can't imagine what would have happened to this area, what if all those gulf front property owners had not dug deep into their pockets and basically rebuilt the beach. Cost of $100,000's of thousands, depending on the area. Life savings, college and retirement money gone, for some, they're still paying for that storm. I would not have wanted to vacation on a beach that was ravaged by mother nature. It was a very sad situation and horrible to look at the destruction caused by Dennis. I just wonder what people would be saying if they had not made an attempt ( good or bad) to restore the coast. Bet a lot tourist dollars would have been lost, as well as jobs, and business. Our friends just sit quietly as people throw stones at this beach front group. As in everything, you have your people that are trying to do right (the largest number I believe) and then you have those that cause the grief (which maybe rightfully so).
IMHO, maybe those who attack these people should have to live (not rent or vacation) on the beach and face the obstacles that come with the turf. I think there are 2 sides to this story and both have their pros and cons. I guess you have to look deep and ask yourself, if that was my home, what would I have done and how would I feel about the negative attacks that come your way. I think some people act nastier than others. Maybe you have to walk a mile in their shoes to understand all the mixed emotions that come with the turf.
Best of luck to our non-trouble causing friends, we hope people will start distinguishing between the trouble makers and others that are just caught up in a bad situation.
Hope this doesn't make you mad that I've talked openly about your problems.
