Jacob Ogles
Sen. Jay Trumbull wants Florida to reopen local beaches.
The Panama City Republican filed legislation (SB 1622) to repeal a 2018 law that limited public access and barred local governments from passing ordinances about customary use.
“Our beaches are a pillar of our community and during my time in the Florida Senate, public access to our beaches has been an overwhelming concern of the residents of Senate District 2 – particularly in Walton County,” Trumbull said.
“Residents should not be denied access to our beaches and no one individual should have the power to deny the public from enjoying a community asset that means so much to so many. While the repeal of this law will help restore balance between personal property rights and the public’s ability to enjoy our pristine shoreline, it will also help provide a better path forward to a well-intentioned law that has, unfortunately, fallen short of its intended goal.”
The law Trumbull wants repealed has been controversial since it was first passed. Walton County, and many others, had a customary use ordinance at the time that allowed individuals to walk, sunbathe and picnic even on private beaches, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
Under state law, any sand below the high tide water mark is already accessible to the public. However, consistently dry land can be privately owned, creating disputes in many coastal communities, particularly in areas where private land abuts publicly owned beaches.
In 2018, the Legislature passed a law (HB 613) signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott prohibiting customary use ordinances that impact private dry land. However, ordinances in effect before 2016 were grandfathered, which Trumbull said singled out the Walton County rule even as others stood.
When the law was passed, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee lived in Walton County and heavily lobbied the Florida Legislature to restrict governments from enforcing customary use ordinances. But Huckabee sold his Blue Mountain Beach home in 2021.
4 comments
PeterH
February 28, 2025 at 3:05 pm
So important!
🤡🤡🤡
Renee
March 1, 2025 at 8:34 pm
It is to some of us!
Billy Bob Beachbum
February 28, 2025 at 6:06 pm
2018 HB 631 is FS 163.035 due process law. Read it. Other Counties were excluded because they litigated CU 1st and Walton did NOT! County government cannot give public interests in private property without due process of law based on ancient British common law of “custom”. Walton beachfront owners have title and property rights of quiet enjoyment and exclusive use if they want or to share if they want from the Mean High Water Line (MHWL) landward just every property owner. But if Government officials and the public demand use of private property you can expect property owners to fight for their rights just like the 1200 beach parcels owners did and prevailed against Walton County with prejudice except for about 100 parcels who did not contest Walton litigation. Huckabee volunteered to be on a panel selected by the Walton Commissioners to find compromise for public use of private property. But Walton County rejected the recommendations and litigated instead. Poor uninformed “reporting”.
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0100-0199/0163/Sections/0163.035.html
Al Costner
March 2, 2025 at 9:50 am
Huckabee… Terrible person terrible politician
Comments are closed.