Recently Walton commissioners voted to remove signs, ropes and any obstructions from the beach. This meant that homeowners with "private property" or "no trespassing" signs on their beachfront lots would face penalties if they didn't take them down.
Well, it wasn't long before homeowners started to push back. A federal lawsuit was filed on Monday by Edward and DeLanie Goodwin, claiming that this action was violating their First Amendment rights to display signs on their private property.
According to report in the NWF Daily News, the Goodwins, who have owned their home since 1978, are entitled to its use down to the mean high water line. There are several times in the past when strangers have trespassed on their property and even entered their home without permission. According to the new ordinance, they were asked to remove their small private property sign, but refused.
The Goodwins are looking to:
- Declare this ordinance unconstitutional and unenforceable.
- Seek a permanent injunction prohibiting the county from enforcing or taking further action to enforce the ordinance.
- Be awarded attorneys fees, costs and expenses.
View the original article: Beachfront "No Trespassing" Signs Coming Down in Walton County
Posted by Tim Shepard - Broker on
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