Okaloosa - Destin Beach - Private Beach

Public Vs. Private Beaches (See the video)

Tuesday, Jul 10, 2007 - 05:25 PM Updated: 08:46 PM

Some like the peace of a private beach, like Ramsey Bouressa, a visitor to Bid-A-Wee beach.

"People actually respect the beach around here, they pick up the garbage, they clean up after themselves, its safer for the kids to come out here, we have kids. and it's a lot easier for them to come out here and play in the ocean," she said.

Others don't mind where they stay, like Joe Gutzeit.

"We'll go over there and play and if someone has something to say about it then we'll leave, we're not real picky about where we can stay and where we can not stay."

But after arresting a person for trespassing on July 5,the Walton County Sheriff's Department wants public beach-goers to know where they can and cannot set up chairs and soak up sun.

There are over 100 clearly-labeled public beaches in the state, and public accessways can be found all over the shore.

But sometimes, public walkways are very close to private beaches.

Officials encourage beach-goers to stay near to the dune walkways to make sure they are not trespassing.

When walking along the water, it is typically okay to cross into private beach property, because of something called the Mean High Water Line.

This line is determined through land surveys and everything past it toward the water is public property.

Though the line is different for different areas, a good general guide would be where the wet sand meets the shore.

Spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Protection Sarah Williams says beach-goers who don't live or rent on private beaches should stear clear just in case.

"Typically, walking along the wet sandy beach is below the mean high water line but again the best places to go to ensure that you're on publically-owned land are those publically owned state and county beaches and we have over 100 miles of them throughout the state so they're very easy to find," she said.

IS THIS THE FUTURE OF FLORIDA'S BEACHES...READ BELOW

BEACH AT DESTIN FLORIDA 2005

DESTIN FLORIDA 2005

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.

RESPONSE FROM Okaloosa Sheriff's Department SHERIFF - 26 MAY 2005

I read city ordinance 05-03-LC and no where in this ordinance does it address the right to remain on private property on the beach within so many feet of the wet sand area. This issue is presently in the Florida Supreme Court and another case of similar issue is in the Walton County Court system.

We are hoping that these court cases will give us some firm guidance on this issue, but as of now if the property owner has a deed showing his property line is to the waters edge or is he has a site survey showing the same we have no option but to enforce his property rights.

We will not arrest anyone and take them to jail. What we will do if the property owner insist we will issue a Notice To Appear to the violator, but no one will be forcibly be removed from the beach for this violation. I talked to Fred Cobb last night and he agrees the deputy acted properly.

If the Courts render a decision saying the public has the right to the beach within so many feet of the water, I will make sure the public is protected to have that access to the beach. The public does now have the right to traverse across the private beaches at the waters edge. My staff is meeting the leadership in Destin today about this issue. I am hoping that in the very near future we will have a court decision that will clear all this up. If you have documentation that shows something different than what I have referred to please contact Major Larry Donaldson and he will be more than glad to make adjustments in this policy. Major Donaldson can be reached at 651-7410.

As I have stated, we will not remove someone from the beach, but will issue a Notice to Appear to go before a judge for the Trespassing violation only after the property owner request the person be sited for the violation. The deputies will not make this determination on their own, only the property owner can request the person be sited for trespassing. Sheriff

RESPONSE FROM Okaloosa Sheriff's Department SHERIFF- Friday, May 27, 2005

After the meeting with Mayor Barker last evening we are going to significantly change our enforcement of this beach issue. As soon as we can get the news release from the City of Destin as to how they want it enforced we are going to change how we enforce this issue. There policy as I understand it is much more in favor of more public beach rights than for the property owners. As soon as they put it in writing we will relax our enforcement on the side of the property owners. I still think this will continue to be an issue one way or the other until the courts hand down their ruling in this matter. Sheriff

Fencing off beaches either limits or eliminates beach access. Even temporary they cause more erosion, maintenance and public access problems then they prevent. Please bookmark and remember this website and what we stand for and come back and join us. We aren't going anywhere… QUEENS Public Beaches