07/28/2025
Walton County Florida beaches: How we got to the fight over the sandy white beaches.
If you have been following the news since 2012 to today: you are aware of the public/private fight over the most beautiful beaches in Walton County, Fl. You and your family may have been asked to move from “private beach area” because the upland beach owner called the sheriff to remove you because you have planted your chairs on “their property”.
This is my observation on how this fight started and escalated.
•Starting years ago, attorneys proposed and county judges allowed owners to “quit claim” land (white sand to waters edge) as their own property while most of the land was historically public.
•Crooked (my opinion) and conflicted politicians who used their influence to persuade state elected officials to pass legislation that solely identified Walton County and nullified the county’s adopted customary use ordinance. Customary use asserts lands historically and anciently used by the public shall continue to be public. (My paraphrasing)
•Weak county commissioners who gave into political pressure to compromise public rights to the white sand.
•Attitudes of entitlement from “nouveau rich”, football coaches, rock stars, and celebrity beach front (BF) owners who pushed class warfare against century-long beach goers, referring to them as “riff raff”.
•Realtors and sellers pushing the concept of “private beach” and “quit claim process”. to sell BF property.
•BF property owners using violence, ropes, signs and guards to police “their land”.
•County granting rights of way and easements to be vacated by adjacent BF property owners cutting off historical access from the public.
•Aggressive beach chair vendors setting up ghost chairs to prevent people from setting up on beaches.
(*Violent BF owner who pulled a knife has since died, politician has since sold and moved)
•TDC over-marketing the area.
•Monster houses accommodating 30 plus people approved by Walton County government creating parking issues and overcrowding on beaches. The bigger the better, the more taxes collected the better.
•Neotraditional town developments (TND) espousing public use of common areas closing down and fencing off historical access to beach giving rise to others doing the same.
•Closure of select public walkovers to the beach for unknown reasons.
•A booming real estate market and wildly escalating home prices.
In closing, the above are my opinions. I should know. I’ve lived two blocks from the beach for 27 years, and served two terms as a county commissioner in Walton County Florida. I realize some of the events described are unpreventable. I blame the county government, greedy landowners, attorneys who serviced their greed and judges who basically gave away by “quit claim deeds” the white sandy beaches over the past 20-30 years.
My conclusion is; “we have seen the enemy, and the enemy is us”.
