I’ll organize and pay for the fish fry as soon as our beaches are reaffirmed for customary use and no person may be excluded from any beach in Florida. It might take a long time but then again it might not but in either case it’ll be worth the wait.
For the last 100+ years, prior to 2016, the ancient customary use was not use private property over the objection of the property owner. This was the same for every single private property in Walton County, and indeed the State of Florida. Prior to 2016 the BCC NEVER said, or implied, that property rights (right of exclusion) no longer apply in Walton County. Never happened. Just like the FBFA promotion that Public Property was purchased for $400 Quiet Title. Never happened. Or that FBFA promotion that Vizcaya was Public Property that was made Private by HB 631 in 2016. Never happened.
Is there ANY evidence that property rights (in particular the right of exclusion) somehow never existed in Walton County prior to 2016?
Dave, don’t be intimated or embarrassed, The People want to know why Walton county is spending millions of dollars on your battle cry of No Compromise No exceptions. They want to know why you threw Bill Fletcher under the bus, a man who has given so much to Walton County, without the expectation of a financial business reward.
Dave, do you think the county has proved (are even answered the questions) that removing property rights (right of exclusion) is reasonable, without interruption, and without dispute?
Note: That does not mean anyone is getting kicked off the beach. That means it is up the property owner who or how many are allowed on their private property, just like it was for 100+ years prior to 2016.
The easy “compromise” is to buy private property and donate it to the State and make your own rules as part of the donation. Did you ever wonder why cars are allowed on Grayton State Park beach and not Topsail? Or the county can purchase property and turn into public beach (not recommended since IMHO the county currently is not able to manage or protect the unique ecosystem and will turn it into a free for all driven by development dollars). Or we can rally as a community and support purchase of the land like we did with Topsail. The State will protect the ecosystem and manage the density. Or we can continue like we have the 100+ years prior to 2016 and people can use private property with the approval of the owner, or they can go to a public beach, or they can go to a State Park, just like Walton County has been doing for 100+ years.