FLORIDA'S BEACHES ARE FOR EVERYONE

Advertising and Selling Real Estate as 'Private Beaches' in Florida is rampant - Should Real Estate Agents be concerned about advertising properties as having 'Private Beaches'

The FLORIDA REAL ESTATE COMMISSION, FREC, said in a recent decision, that it couldn't enforce the advertisements by Real Estate Professionals using the term “Private Beaches”. FREC Commissioner McDonell stated that this issue is an esoteric (intended for or understood by only a particular group)  distinction, it couldn't enforce. The motion carried unanimously.  >>Download the FREC minutes<<

Search who's advertising and selling our beaches as private in  Google.com or Yahoo.com

Florida Tourist arrested for sitting on 'Private Beach' - Walton County 

 Walton County, Florida  - The Map

Millions $$$ spent on beach building 'Strictly for Property Protection' not public use

Walton County TDC says they have 'Private Beaches' also See >>Download<<

Santa Rosa Beach, Walton County, Fl.  Policy to arrest Tourists on Beaches

Santa Rosa Beach, Walton County, Fl. 'Lobbies' for Federal Funds to rebuild Beaches

'The Walton County through its Tourist Development Council (TDC) is seeking a qualified consulting firm that can provide guidance and expertise in the lobbying process for federal shore protection funds. The consulting firm will be expected to take directives from the TDC regarding Walton County’s Beach Management program.'

Turning Tourists into Criminals in Santa Rosa Beach, Walton County Florida

  Walton County 

 Okaloosa County, Florida  -  LIVE CAM

  Destin Florida - Conflict between private property and public beaches escalates

Destin beachfront resident Kathy Wright says allowing the public to walk across private beaches allows “violent men” to threaten her family (See story here & Destiny Shores map)

SEE FL. ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION ON THESE ISSUES >>DOWNLOAD<<

The beach Video on YOUTUBE

Okaloosa County

WALTON COUNTY FLORIDA - Tourist arrested on 'private beach'

Eduardo Gonzalez, 47, of Atlanta, Ga., was arrested just after 11:30 a.m. inside the Retreat Homeowner area of Blue Mountain Beach on July 5.

Lt. Bryan A. Maule, Jr., of the Walton County Sheriff's Office, said the man was trespassing onto private property and was asked repeatedly to move before being taken in custody.

“He was on the dry sand of the beach and was asked to move three feet to the wet area and refused,” said Maule.

The current guidelines for privatization of the beach say that ownership extends to the mean high tide line on the sand.

Witnesses say the man was sitting in a beach chair and was told by neighborhood security to move from where he was sitting. When he refused, a Walton County deputy escorted him off of the beach.

“He wasn’t being belligerent and he got hauled away by five cops,” said local homeowner and witness Rick Hallman. “There were five cops on one guy.”

According to Maule, there were five officers at the scene because of circumstances.

Maule said the deputy that initially responded to the call was on a four-wheeler. When he saw he was going to have to arrest Gonzalez, he called for another deputy (in a car) to transport him. The officer that showed up had a trainee in the car with him. A lieutenant and sergeant arrived on scene to so they could understand what had gone on.

Retreat Homeowner Association President Frank Flautt was not available for comment at this time.

The conflict over beach access is not confined to Ponte Vedra Beach, where a group of residents led by Vince Di Viesti protested last Saturday, above. Many owners of property near the town's beaches, like Carl Bloesing, right, say the disagreement is less about beachgoers and more about parking.

By JANE COSTELLO - Published: January 21, 2005

Under the common law Public Trust Doctrine, a body of law dating back to Roman times, all coastal states as sovereigns hold the submerged lands and waters seaward of the mean high water line in trust for the public

See here where the NJ Supreme Court orders a private community to provide public access

Florida's Attorney General has always realized the publics right to Florida's beaches as stated in an Opinion 1974:  " The line of condominiums, resort hotels, and other tourist facilities constructed along our coasts is rapidly forming a barrier which denies to many Floridians reasonable access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico." See Attorney General

OKALOOSA COUNTY - BEACH ACTIVIST - FORCED OFF PUBLIC BEACH 

DESTIN FLORIDA - 22 May 2005

Beach activist Bob Biel of Destin Florida says, in a letter to the Destin Log, that he was forced off the beach at Destin by the Okaloosa Sheriff's Department.

Bob Biel is a native of Destin and was planning on having a relaxing day at the beach when he and his son sat down within five feet of the water line and was harassed by a beach vendor and upland property owner.

The Okaloosa Sheriff's Department was called and the sheriff explained that it was a private beach and asked Mr. Biel to leave the beach or be arrested.

We have yet to hear comments from the Okaloosa Sheriff's Department. Full story here

With this case, a balance has been struck between the private community wanting privacy and citizens who are guaranteed public access under the law, says Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic attorney Carter Strickland, who represented the NY/NJ Baykeeper, American Littoral Society and CRAB in the case. "Slowly but surely the public is getting access to the shoreline that was made off-limits to them," he says. This case "was unique because an adjacent public beach offers access from the street to the beach and therefore outweighed the requirement that Bayhead Point provide this type of access at this time," he added.

"It is clear that municipalities and the state, including the Legislature, have an obligation to uphold the Public Trust Doctrine and need to take action when the right to access is abridged," says Tim Dillingham, American Littoral Society executive director. "It's time that the state Department of Environmental Protection began checking coastal development permits to see if their public access conditions are being met and enforced."

Florida Open Beaches Act - Scott Shine

Download the >> Bill Here <<

This project was initiated in October of 2003 and is cosponsored by the Surfrider Foundation. The act seeks to establish clear laws protecting access in the state. Florida law only includes two statutes protecting access: regulation of beach driving and prohibition of construction on an access way. We have received and incorporated input to the Open Beaches Act from several environmental groups, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and some members of the Florida Legislature. Our goal is to see this draft act adopted as a bill for the 2005 legislative session. Open Beaches Foundation email      

Surfrider Foundation Wins Florida Beach Access Battle
Three Year Campaign Culminates In Victory For The First Coast Chapter

Ponte Vedra, FL (March 21, 2006) – Beachgoers will find it easier to get to Ponte Vedra Beach following a ruling in the Florida Seventh Circuit Court this month. Ponte Vedra includes approximately seven miles of beachfront that has long been known for its blocked public access paths, which is often obstructed by local residents in a thinly veiled effort to keep this public beach private. Ending a three-year effort by Surfrider Foundation, the court handed down a favorable decision and has ordered the obstructions removed.

City of Naples Florida issues citations for Bicycles on the Beach

Collier County Coastal Committee tries to sensor free speech regarding access

Local conservationist group say beach is for the birds, not the people

Illegal spending of Tourist Development Funds (See Legal Use)