New Beach Ordinance "Unconstitutional"
Posted by Tim Shepard - Broker on
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…
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Under attack for the lack of action regarding the issue of private and customary beach use, the Walton County commissioners have found a clever way to begin enforcing this. Chapter 22 of the Beach Ordinance dealing with "Leave No Trace" has been amended to include the placing of signs, poles, chains or roping off of what home owners feel is their gulf front property.
The debate over customary vs private beach access in Destin and properties along the Emerald Coast is becoming more and more heated. Walton and Okaloosa Counties have miles of beach and how much of this should be designated public or "customary use" needs to be determined. For years, Destin beachfront property has been developed into magnificent resorts, homes, and condos, but now it's time to decide how much of that land is for private use only, and how much can be open to the public.