Wonderful family vacation...discouraged by beach issues

[Shannon Lince]

I agree with EZ4144...I am sick of the "entitled ones" that move here/vacation here and run rampant and disrespect the locals. They move here and immediately start wanting to change the area to be more like ATL,BHAM. or where ever. Just remember we are the ones that pour your drinks,serve your food, ring you up at Publix,built your house and then come and unclog your toilet. How about a little respect for us that invited you with open arms and didnt realize that while our arms were outstretched you had the knife ready to stab us in the back. There used to be a big party at the end of every summer (RIP Jimmy) where we celebrated GOBB...(Got Our Beach Back) and now you (that probably came and enjoyed the free food and drinks at that party) want to say we cant use it anymore. Well all I have to say is ..if you dont like it ..LEAVE. Sell that house that you pay so much tax on and have to put up with so much at. With the price of beachfront in SOWAL you should be able to afford a really nice one on a beach somewhere else.

Speaking for myself I think many of the locals are missing the following points:

1. Locals are not the issue and never have been. 90% of beach property owners do not care one bit about their neighbors using their property because they know they will be respectful and friendly. I walk my beach most days and I wave hi and speak with my neighbors on the beach.

2. But then there were newspaper articles how the beaches belonged to everyone, no one owns the beach and private beaches needed to be abolished. And the county started in with hiring out of town attorneys ... so naturally many property owners became alarmed. Then they found out they were losing the right to get rude tourists off their property, or they would get crowded out of their own beach. These owners aren't stupid - they can see all the new developments going up and they see the developers have their eyes on their property.

3. Most beach property owners know that over time the density will increase until their property is simply an over crowded public beach. They have been given no assurances that this won't happen.

Just look at the one guy yesterday telling everyone when his private beach is "full" he uses someone else's and that's why he supports customary use.

Shannon

 

[steel1man]

Beach Problem two words Beach Vendors

 

[Shannon Lince]

Beach Problem two words Beach Vendors

I don't disagree. And it's quite naive for anyone to think that there will be beach vendors as they operate today if customary use is passed, and it's highly unlikely that it will be passed. But if a judicial ruling granting the public right to all the dry sand, the county will lose it's ability to contradict that ruling. There will not be any reservation of sand to prevent use by the public. Those days will be over.

Shannon

 

[Wuchie]

I don't disagree. And it's quite naive for anyone to think that there will be beach vendors as they operate today if customary use is passed, and it's highly unlikely that it will be passed. But if a judicial ruling granting the public right to all the dry sand, the county will lose it's ability to contradict that ruling. There will not be any reservation of sand to prevent use by the public. Those days will be over. Steel1man, I already know your opinion. How do others feel?

Shannon

We are visiting Seagrove at the end of the month, so if we rent chairs and an umbrella then we become a part of the problem. Is this correct? It doesn’t matter why we need to rent, correct. The only problem only 30As beaches are the vendors ... correct?

 

[Shannon Lince]

We are visiting Seagrove at the end of the month, so if we rent chairs and an umbrella then we become a part of the problem. Is this correct? It doesn’t matter why we need to rent, correct. The only problem only 30As beaches are the vendors ... correct?

I'm not sure I said any of that. What I said was, if customary use is declared by the court, then the beach vendor situation will change dramatically.

 

[FactorFiction]

We are visiting Seagrove at the end of the month, so if we rent chairs and an umbrella then we become a part of the problem. Is this correct? It doesn’t matter why we need to rent, correct. The only problem only 30As beaches are the vendors ... correct?

There is nothing wrong with our visitors renting chairs and umbrellas. What IS a problem is when those chairs sit empty for hours and sometimes whole days with no one using them, particularly if they are on public beach. There are ways of handling this that don't reserve space without the customer actually enjoying the beach. This is a problem that vendors need to help solve, not an onus for our visiting guests to solve.

 

[James Bentwood]

I don't disagree. And it's quite naive for anyone to think that there will be beach vendors as they operate today if customary use is passed, and it's highly unlikely that it will be passed. But if a judicial ruling granting the public right to all the dry sand, the county will lose it's ability to contradict that ruling. There will not be any reservation of sand to prevent use by the public. Those days will be over.

Shannon

huh??

Your argument against customary use is that vendors will be excluded? I don't follow.

 

[Wuchie]

There is nothing wrong with our visitors renting chairs and umbrellas. What IS a problem is when those chairs sit empty for hours and sometimes whole days with no one using them, particularly if they are on public beach. There are ways of handling this that don't reserve space without the customer actually enjoying the beach. This is a problem that vendors need to help solve, not an onus for our visiting guests to solve.

Thank you! We used to haul chairs and an umbrella from STL but we drive a Honda Civic (great gas mileage but not a ton of room). Also, carrying them from the condo to the beach is not the best thing to do when you have artificial joints. We do use our chairs, unless it rains or we’re making a run to the condo for whatever. We agree that the vendors should be strictly regulated. We would be fine paying on a daily basis when we arrive at the beach, but the vendors don’t seem to operate that way, and they give discounts if you rent for the week. My husband and I want to be the best visitors to 30A as possible because we love it there.

 

[beachma]

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Thank you! We used to haul chairs and an umbrella from STL but we drive a Honda Civic (great gas mileage but not a ton of room). Also, carrying them from the condo to the beach is not the best thing to do when you have artificial joints. We do use our chairs, unless it rains or we’re making a run to the condo for whatever. We agree that the vendors should be strictly regulated. We would be fine paying on a daily basis when we arrive at the beach, but the vendors don’t seem to operate that way, and they give discounts if you rent for the week. My husband and I want to be the best visitors to 30A as possible because we love it there.

We bring down everything we need and use for the day for our group of 15, 7 adults & 8 children, in a small collapsible wagon that we also use when we take chairs and a cooler to outdoor concerts, etc. at home. I am trying to repost the picture I posted in the original post that shows our experience this past August with the wall of beach chairs and unbrellas that were set up by 6:00 AM. Getting a spot meant my husband had to be down on the beach by 5:30 AM...he is also 63 and it was not really what you want to do while on vacation. We have been vacationing in sowal since 1991. We are saddened by the state of things and feel especially sorry for the local's that have lost the use of their beaches if they aren't beachfront...it really is a great loss for the average visitor and citizens of South Walton County. I read that the meeting to discuss customary use has been postponed until November. It is such a shame that the root of the problem isn't reasonably addressed...uncontrolled beach vendors. Renting a couple of chairs and umbrella has been the norm as long as we have been going to the beaches Wuchie, but the last few years it has become unreasonable and out of control. FactorFiction is right and exactly what we witnessed throughout the week, many chairs were unoccupied and never occupied throughout the day.

 

[steel1man]

58482EA7-12A0-4CBB-B3F1-D24CFB5D968F



We bring down everything we need and use for the day for our group of 15, 7 adults & 8 children, in a small collapsible wagon that we also use when we take chairs and a cooler to outdoor concerts, etc. at home. I am trying to repost the picture I posted in the original post that shows our experience this past August with the wall of beach chairs and unbrellas that were set up by 6:00 AM. Getting a spot meant my husband had to be down on the beach by 5:30 AM...he is also 63 and it was not really what you want to do while on vacation. We have been vacationing in sowal since 1991. We are saddened by the state of things and feel especially sorry for the local's that have lost the use of their beaches if they aren't beachfront...it really is a great loss for the average visitor and citizens of South Walton County. I read that the meeting to discuss customary use has been postponed until November. It is such a shame that the root of the problem isn't reasonably addressed...uncontrolled beach vendors. Renting a couple of chairs and umbrella has been the norm as long as we have been going to the beaches Wuchie, but the last few years it has become unreasonable and out of control. FactorFiction is right and exactly what we witnessed throughout the week, many chairs were unoccupied and never occupied throughout the day.

This is typical Public Beach Access....Not my definition of Public !!!