New Florida law gives local leaders more control over beach access. Will they use it?
However, Escambia County Commissioner Steve Stroberger, who represents the area, doesn't think it's necessary to put the new law into action, at least for now.
Under the new law, local governments can allow the public some access to beaches considered "private" without undergoing costly litigation, especially if the beaches were historically used by the public.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1622 into law in June to restore 'local control' by allowing local authorities to recognize recreational customary use of Florida's beaches. The law also streamlines beach restoration efforts in small Gulf Coast counties.
Perdido Key's beaches generally allow public access to the "wet sand" area, which is south of the mean high-water line. This means that while private property may extend to the high-water mark, the public is generally permitted to walk, swim and fish in the wet sand area.
However, access to the dry sand portion of the beach is often restricted to private property owners.
Under the new law, counties and cities can adopt ordinances that allow activities like walking, fishing and swimming in the 'dry sand' area of beaches, even on privately owned beachfront property.
Escambia County resident Gary Holt has been fighting for more public access on Perdido Key for years. He organized an effort asking the county to remove "no trespassing signs" private property installed in rows on the beach.
Private property owners put up so many "no trespassing signs" on Perdido Key, Escambia County passed an ordinance in 2023 limiting them to one sign, 10 feet from the dune line, instead of three signs.
Holt said he and others are now in the process of asking Escambia County commissioners to recognize the new law as an executive order signed by DeSantis for customary use of Florida beaches.
"Customary use is a game changer for Perdido Key," Holt said. "No more arguing over property lines and who own which white sand! It is a big campaign issue for the West Escambia County residents that love Perdido Key. Also for the local and out-of-state condo owners that were told by local realtors if they bought in Perdido Key they would have a private beach. For the last 10 years the local realtors have used this sales gimmick to separate their condo listing from Orange Beach and Pensacola Beach."
The Perdido Key Association, a nonprofit organization that represents property owners, did not return a request for comment about the new law by deadline.
Why Escambia Commissioner hesitant to push for new ordinance
Stroberger said he has accompanied the Escambia County Sheriff's Office on patrols of the Key and listened to views from law enforcement, property owners and the public on the issue of beach access on Perdido Key, and currently he doesn't believe it's necessary to push for an ordinance recognizing recreational customary use.
'It's not my intention to do anything at this point,' Stroberger said. 'I feel like everybody's working well together down there on the beach. We've even got deputies down there to make sure that everybody abides by the rules.'
Stroberger says the deputies are mainly focusing on discouraging trespassers from taking advantage of the restrooms and pools of private condominiums where they are not guests.
Public access to Perdido Key Beaches has long been a point of discussion and legal action. In the past there have been several clashes between the public and private property owners over access to the beaches.
Disputed public easement: More of Perdido Key Beach is opening up to the public. Here's where you can and can't go
The discovery of the original deeds to some Gulf front properties on Perdido Key, dating back to 1957, revealed there are 75-foot public access easements, which opened up about 1.2 miles of beach on that were previously thought exclusive.
Some property owners who bought condos and were told the beach was part of the deal are still in litigation with the county over the decision to open it up to the public.
Where litigation over 75-foot public access easement stands
Last December, an Escambia County judge dismissed several lawsuits filed by condominium associations seeking to overturn the 75-foot access public access easement. Several condo associations refiled in January saying it's a 'cloud' on the title and property owners bought their units under a claim of title exclusive of any other right.
They don't believe the county has a valid claim to the easement for several legal reasons, and they were seeking from the court a legal declaration of condominium associations' rights concerning the validity and enforceability of the county's actions.
More beach access: Escambia postpones Galvez Landing project, opts to fund Perdido Key beach access instead
However, a motion by the plaintiffs to stay the litigation for about five months was filed June 24, the same day the governor signed SB 1622 into law.
'I think everything is essentially on hold,' Stroberger said. 'They want to see what we're going to do. I don't want another lawsuit, and I don't really want to mix it up with everybody, if everybody seems to be doing well on the beach. I do believe that the beaches are for the public, but I also believe in property rights. It's really quite a tightrope we have to walk with that.'
The new law repeals a 2018 law that limited the ability of local governments to uphold long-standing public beach access traditions, and DeSantis said one of the goals of passing it is to give local governments the authority to recognize recreational customary use without having to go through 'costly judicial declarations on a parcel-by-parcel basis.'
New law also addresses beach erosion
The governor said the legislation also improves the process for restoring eroded beaches in certain Gulf Coast counties for those with fewer than 275,000 residents and at least three municipalities, by allowing the state to use the mean high-water line as the erosion control line, eliminating duplicative procedures that delay critical restoration projects.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Public beach access in Perdido Key could expand under Senate Bill 1622
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In twin Fox appearances in recent days, Bondi evinced that, for now at least, the Epstein imbroglio was behind her. Interviewers Sean Hannity and Larry Kudlow didn't ask about the files. 'It's over. She made it through. She's going to be fine,' one conservative ally said. In the days after the memo was released, the Justice Department initially kept up Bondi's public appearances. Officials told CNN at the time that they believed putting Bondi in front of cameras to talk about the administration's priorities, like drug seizures and targeting violent crime, would take focus away from Epstein. But the announcements were not enough to change the conversation. At a press conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters to announce fentanyl seizures, the first question Bondi took was about Epstein. 'Nothing about Epstein, not gonna talk about Epstein,' she said. After nearly a month without taking questions from the media, Bondi used her recent Fox appearances to focus on President Donald Trump's federal takeover of Washington, DC's police force for a crime crackdown. And she used one appearance to announce that she was bringing in another Trump cheerleader – Andrew Bailey, the Missouri attorney general – to take on a first-of-its-kind role alongside Bongino at the FBI. It's a not-so-subtle nod that Bongino's days at the FBI could be coming to a close, Justice Department officials say. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back on the idea that Bongino was being eased out, saying that Bailey 'has been brought on as another set of very credible and experienced hands to work alongside the current Deputy Director Dan Bongino, under the leadership of the director Kash Patel and the Attorney General Pam Bondi.' Administration officials view the appearances as an effort to have the attorney general tip-toe back into the spotlight and a sign that they've weathered the Epstein scandal. Yet Bondi's days of freewheeling media appearances seem to be still be under some restrictions. Potential landmines still loom: House Republicans have subpoenaed the FBI's Epstein investigative files and Democrats are vowing to continue to make it an issue for Bondi and other officials when they appear for hearings. While privately White House officials complained about Bondi's handling of the Epstein information, allies say her position has never been in doubt, because of her value to Trump. Loyal and never one to shy away from attacking his political opponents, Bondi has broken the mold of more recent attorneys general, who usually seek to show some distance from presidents as a way to preserve the veneer of independence for prosecutorial decisions made by the Justice Department. DOJ declined to comment for this story. A month ago, amid the blowback from MAGA supporters, Bondi appeared to be under siege. Prominent MAGA influencers, including Laura Loomer, took aim at Bondi, calling for her to be fired. And more worrisome for the White House, Bondi's mess was threatening to consume the president and his agenda. Megyn Kelly, a former Fox News host, wrote on X that she saw two options: '1. There's no huge undisclosed there there on Epstein, Bondi misled on it (until she didn't) & Trump is quick to forgive a loyal soldier for being desperate to get on TV, or 2. There is a scandal that's being covered up & it's at his direction.' The anger was also coming from inside the administration, from some White House advisers and from across the street at the FBI, where Patel and Bongino had themselves played roles in playing up conspiracy theories about the Epstein case. FBI officials grew annoyed at what they characterized as Bondi's 'constant' presence on Fox News, when many believed she should instead be working on a rollout for the Epstein case information. By March, after Bondi had already angered MAGA faithful by orchestrating a White House event that provided them binders full of mostly public documents, FBI officials began warning that most of the documents being reviewed most likely wouldn't shed new light in the case. In reaction to the embarrassment, Bondi issued a memo claiming the FBI had withheld documents and the FBI assigned agents to pull overtime shifts working overnights and weekends to redact thousands of pages, purportedly to prepare them for release. Bondi kept telling Fox News hosts that the files would be released. But by May, Patel and Bongino began trying to prepare supporters for the let-down. In the wake of the public furor, department officials tried to point to the FBI leadership as a reason the outrage had been so focused on Bondi, alleging that its leaders were behind sorties in the press that said the FBI wanted more information released but was ultimately stymied by the bosses at the Justice Department. It was clear from their media appearances that Patel and Bongino still favored releasing more documents. The July 7 memo made clear the Justice Department was trying to shut down that option.
