Walton County loses In Federal Court

[John G]

Not sure if this sign is still up, but it does say, "no walking."View attachment 67601

I won't dispute what that specific sign says.

I will say this. I support Private Property Rights of Beach Front Owners 110%.

I've yet to run into one of these owners that says you or anyone else cannot traverse to the east or to the west, on the beach. Its the issues I listed that are the problems.

Find me one owner that says you can't walk east to west and west to east on SoWal Beaches and I'm very open to changing my opinion 180 degrees very quickly.

 

[gailforce]

Not sure if this sign is still up, but it does say, "no walking."View attachment 67601

But one could dance, skip, run, hop, cartwheel... I think I'll shimmy

 

[Kaydence]

The beaches belong to everyone...private property does not. The 50% given to vendors for free is pure unadulterated BS too. Cecilia Jones got just what was coming to her!

I don't live near the beach but it annoys me to no end that people let their animals run lose to dump in their neighbors yards or actually walk them, allow them to dump and don't carry poop kits. Then their are the morons who make U turns in the yard rather than pulling into the drive way and turning around. It's like some folks were born in a damn barn.

Being respectful of private property rights goes a long way towards enjoying your stay on the beach and your neighborhoods!

 

[FactorFiction]

Why bring up the fact/make the point? I guess it is because this is a right in the Florida Constitution that means something to me as one of "all the people." I enjoy walking along the beach. If I have to walk in the wet sand or even in the water in some areas, I guess I can live with that.

The reason for WHY bring up the fact/make the point is that facts matter. You are very good about trying to get the facts right in your posts and writing, so the fact is that walking along the wet sand was/is protected on the beach (including private property) in the state of Florida is an important fact to understand. The sign you posted may say that the public can't walk there, but the state of FL says they can.

 

[FloridaBeachBum]

The reason for WHY bring up the fact/make the point is that facts matter. You are very good about trying to get the facts right in your posts and writing, so the fact is that walking along the wet sand was/is protected on the beach (including private property) in the state of Florida is an important fact to understand. The sign you posted may say that the public can't walk there, but the state of FL says they can.

To clarify, Miz responded to a question I had in her quote. I do not think there is any dispute that everyone can walk the foreshore of the sand in FL. That’s why I don’t understand the insistence for people to continually bring it up. Determining where the littoral foreshore is can be challenging; but the 0.74 EL MHWL can be marked by a surveyor. Many Walton littoral property owners can mark their MHWL property boundary. Walton conducted a county MWHL survey of all the state of FL property Oct 2013 and can/should do it annually if the BCC is going to enforce the state’s constitutional defined property boundary.
http://ftp.labins.org/MHW/MHW5398.pdf

Legally as I understand (I'm not an attorney but try to be informed), the foreshore is the sand (usually wet) seaward of the property owner’s and state’s MHWL property boundary; not “any” or “all” wet sand. As can be seen in the NOAA tide data the tide and wind can blow the waters edge above/landward of the MHWL so the MHWL is submerged under water at times.

Not only facts; but words matter too. “… the facts is that walking along the wet-sand was/is protected on the beach (including private property) in the state of Florida is an important fact to understand.” To clarify the FL Constitution protects the publics right to walk the foreshore below the MHWL. Not the wet-sand. Wet-sand on a calm day is a convenient visual reference for the foreshore. The FL Constitution clearly does not protect walking along the wet-sand or dry sand on private property. Only in Walton County has the BCC declared that the public can use private property (to walk across and other activities) without the property owner’s permission. And Walton declaration is under dispute in multiple courts.

The private property sign shown in Miz photo looks like it marks the eastern property boundary, is clearly landward of the MHWL (if titled for that property and probably is), was posted (legally according to the US Constitution and Federal judge), and presumably correctly states the area that is private property but incorrectly uses the word “waterline” instead of foreshore. You state, “The sign (image) you (Mitz) posted (online) may say that the public can’t walk there (there where?; private property? water-line? wet-sand?), but the state of FL says they can.” The state of FL says the public is ONLY entitled to walk the state of FL foreshore property seaward of the state/private property MHWL boundary. Not private property, water line, or wet sand.

 

[John G]

From the above post...

"I do not think there is any dispute that everyone can walk the foreshore of the sand in FL. That’s why I don’t understand the insistence for people to continually bring it up"

BINGO!!!

 

[miznotebook]

I appreciate the enlightening discussion, folks!