What you need to know about Florida's controversial new beach access law

A bill that Gov. Rick Scott signed into law last month regarding beach access has some people angry.

It has many people perplexed.

What does it mean for the public walking along Brevard County's roughly 72 miles of coastline? Could a hotel operator or beach homeowner actually restrict someone walking along parts of the beach?

The public shouldn't fret too much, said Mike McGarry, beach management coordinator for Brevard County Natural Resources Management Department.

"I would say: 'Watch what happens, and make sure the public access to the beaches remains intact,' " McGarry said. "But the circumstances haven't actually appreciably changed, in my view, from what they were."

The bill blocks local governments from passing measures allowing continued public entry to privately owned beaches, even when property owners may want to block off their land. Instead, any city or county that wants to do that has to get a judge’s approval first.

And that probably would mean litigation, because the public expects open access to beaches, while property owners could try to restrict access along parts of the beach.

"A property owner could put a stake up with a sign saying: 'This is mine. Stay off!' But that just hasn't been the traditional way Florida has worked," said Mason Williams, who was one of three attorneys — Gordon "Stumpy" Harris and Jack Kirschenbaum were the others — who successfully took on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers saying its actions many decades ago caused significant damage to Brevard's beaches.

FLORIDA TODAY sought to answer some questions we've been fielding about the recently passed law.

How big of an effect will this law have on Brevard County?

Space Coast Office of Tourism Executive Director Eric Garvey said he expects the law to have "limited effect" in Brevard County, because of Brevard's beach management program that restores sand to the Space Coast beach areas.

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Most of the beach areas in the county have undergone beach renourishment. And, in most cases, beachside property owners who had the beaches behind their properties subject to renourishment agreed to sign agreements that, in effect, say they will not restrict public access to those beach areas.

An analysis of House Bill 631 from the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association said the bill "does not affect the statewide beach management program or any beach restoration, nourishment or erosion-control projects that participate in the program."

Brevard County Natural Resources Management Department Director Virginia Barker said the county has what is known as erosion control line agreements along most of the beach that would reduce the impact of the bill.

Why was the new law necessary? Why now?

Last year, in Walton County in Florida's Panhandle, some property owners who owned the sugar-white beaches behind their homes were tired of beachgoers setting up chairs and leaving trash in the area.

They sought to restrict the public's access to that area, and county officials said they couldn't. They even forbade "No Trespassing" signs.

The property owners contend they paid for the property — and continue to pay taxes on the beach. But they sued the county and lost.

While that decision is being appealed, Florida Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill that Scott signed, said she found it “appalling” that a city or county can pass an ordinance undercutting private property rights.

How much support was there in the Florida Legislature to the proposal?

The bill passed in the Florida House by a vote of 95-17 and in the Florida Senate by a vote of 29-7. 

Five of the six state legislators representing Brevard County voted in favor of the bill. They were Sen. Debbie Mayfield, as well as Reps. Thad Altman, Randy Fine, Tom Goodson and Rene Plasenca. But Sen. Dorothy Hukill voted against it.

It was signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott on March 23, and goes into effect on July 1.  

What are some details of the bill?

Here's how a Florida House analysis describes some of its provisions:

"The state generally owns the property under navigable waters up the mean high water mark, whereas upland landowners own the land down to such mean high water mark," the analysis said. "The term 'customary use' refers to a general right of the public at large to possess and use certain dry sand areas for recreational purposes. Where a customary use of a dry sand area is shown, the property owner may not use traditional causes of action like ejectment, forcible entry or trespass to stop such public use of the private land."

This bill "prohibits a governmental entity from adopting or keeping in effect an ordinance or rule establishing customary use of privately owned dry sand areas," unless the ordinance or rule was in effect before Jan. 1, 2016.

Instead, a governmental entity seeking to establish the "customary use" of privately owned lands must file a complaint in Circuit Court to determine whether the land is subject to the customary-use doctrine.

What does the Senate sponsor, KathleenPassidomo, say about the bill?

In a guest column published in FLORIDA TODAY, Passimodo wrote: "Some people have been led to believe that this bill restricts access to Florida’s beaches. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Passidomo said the Florida Constitution "provides that all land seaward of the mean high-tide line belongs to the public," and that "no private individual or governmental entity can deny access to it. In many cases, additional land above the mean high-tide line is also public, providing the wide public beaches that many of us enjoy."

"This bill only serves to establish a simple and equitable process by which local governments may seek a judicial determination of customary use that certain private property adjacent to the public beach should be open to the public," Passidomo said

Are cities in Brevard County still concerned?

Some are.

For example, Satellite Beach City Manager Courtney Barker said city councils in Satellite Beach and Indian Harbour Beach in March approved measures designed to place greater safeguards on public access to beaches in their cities.

But, because those measures were approved after Jan. 1, 2016, they would not be allowed under the House Bill 631.

She said she did not think House Bill 631 "will have any immediate impact on Brevard County."

But she noted that publicity about the bill might make more property owners aware of the issue, and might lead some to seek some control over the dry areas of the beach.

Courtney Barker said city officials plan to bring up the issue at Wednesday's Satellite Beach City Council meeting. That will include seeing if the city wants to seek voluntary signed agreements from beachside property owners, indicating that the beach areas behind their homes have been open for public use in the past.

The city would do this in advance to seeking court action declaring "customary use" for the dry areas of the beach, as a way to preserve public access.

Wayne T. Price is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Price at 321-242-3658

or wprice@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @Fla2dayBiz

Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY. 

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @bydaveberman.

Facebook: /dave.berman.54

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