BEACH OPERATIONS

New Regional Beach Access Updates: 

 

• Dune Allen RBA: Visit South Walton hosted the ribbon cutting ceremony for the first, new regional beach access in South Walton in the last decade Dec. 10. The Dune Allen RBA is now open for both locals and visitors to enjoy, complete with additional parking, restroom facilities, a lifeguard station on the sandy beach and a new dune walkover to the Gulf. Street Address: 5999 W County Highway 30A
• Miramar Beach RBA (Scenic Gulf Drive): Staff continues to work through the permitting and design phase for the Miramar Beach RBA. This access is scheduled to open in late 2020, with a 10-month construction phase. Amenities include additional parking, a revised pavilion, a dune walkover and a lifeguard on the sandy beach. Street Address: 907 Scenic Gulf Drive
• Seagrove Beach RBA: Staff continues to work through the permitting and design phase for the Seagrove Beach RBA, with applications submitted to their respective agencies in December. Construction for this project plans to begin in 2020 and will be ready to welcome visitors later in the year. Street Address: TBD, Located Across from Café Thirty-A

 

Beach Access Renovations:

Nine neighborhood and regional beach access points are undergoing a facelift this fall and winter, including improvements or replacement of decking and railing, addition of bike racks, or if needed, a complete rebuild. Some accesses have already been completed, with more underway throughout the coming months.

To make accessing the beaches easier for both visitors and locals, no more than two neighborhood beach access and/or regional beach access points will be under construction at a given time.

The five neighborhood beach accesses receiving improvements this season are located in the Seagrove Beach neighborhood and will be completely inaccessible during their respective construction periods. Please note, some dates may have changed from the initial announcement of construction.

 

• 395 NBA: Substantially completed; ready to welcome guests
• Hickory NBA: Substantially completed; ready to welcome guests
• Live Oak NBA: 12-7-19 through 1-7-20
• Dogwood NBA: 12-14-19 through 1-14-20
• Nightcap NBA: 12-31-19 through 2-29-20

In addition, staff has started on renovations at four regional beach access points, including: Inlet Beach, Gulfview Heights, Ed Walline, and Fort Panic (formally known as “Dune Allen Regional Beach Access”).

As previously mentioned, some of the dates may have changed since the initial announcement of construction, please plan accordingly.

• Inlet Beach: Closed from 12-21-19 through 2-29-20
  • All three neighborhood access points in Inlet Beach will be improved this winter, but at least one access will always remain open for visitors to access the beach. The bathhouse and some parking will be available throughout this renovation. The western access will undergo construction first, as it will be limited in scope and should be finished in one week, it will then remain open while the other two are being reconstructed/renovated.
• Ed Walline: Closed from 12-12-19 through 2-29-20
  • Demolition began on 12-23-2019 and completion is estimated to be within 60 days. This RBA will allow for beach access through the emergency access drive just west of the main walkway. Although the boardwalks will be closed for these renovations, the bathhouse, sand beach entrance and parking will be available.
• Fort Panic: Substantially completed; ready to welcome guests
• Gulfview Heights: Substantially completed; ready to welcome guests

Additional Beach / Bay Access Improvements:

Seasonal Maintenance
The Walton County TDC Beach Maintenance team has been hard at work this season to make updates to various neighborhood and regional beach access points throughout South Walton. In addition to the nine renovation projects, the bathhouses and landscaping have been updated to prepare for the quickly approaching spring season.

Alligator Lake Multi-Use Path Project:

The Walton County Public Works department is working to install a new, pre-cast bridge structure for locals and visitors to enjoy while exploring the Timpoochee Trail. The project is progressing on schedule and is expected to reopen in spring of 2020.

Please note, as crews continue to improve this area, both pedestrians and vehicles will not be able to pass through the lake crossing and an alternative route will need to be taken. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bay Access Renovations:

Pilcher Park, one of South Walton’s boat launches located under the Clyde B. Wells Bridge, has reached substantial completion from damage in Hurricane Michael. The Bay Access is ready to welcome visitors and locals alike.

 

Capital Improvements Update / Workshop Schedule:
Earlier this summer, the Walton County TDC was given direction from the Walton County BCC to develop capital improvement plans and schedule public workshops for the four purchased properties, including: Driftwood, Highway 393, Highway 283 and Eastern Lake Road. A comprehensive plan then be presented to the Walton County BCC, which will include recommendations from staff and the public for the best use of each site.

Please see below for the schedule of public workshops pertaining to the capital improvement projects. These workshops are open to the public, and all residents, visitors or business owners of South Walton are encouraged to attend. All public workshops will be hosted at the South Walton Annex, located at 31 Coastal Centre Blvd, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

• Wednesday, Jan. 8, 5 p.m.: Grayton Grand Parking Project
• Wednesday, Jan. 15, 5 p.m.: Eastern Lake Parking Project
• Wednesday, Jan. 22, 5 p.m.: 393 Parking Project
• Wednesday, Jan. 29, 5 p.m.: Driftwood Parking Project

In addition, Walton Dunes NBA and Headland Avenue RBA conceptual designs will be presented to the Walton County BCC at the Jan. 14 meeting. Multiple public workshops were hosted for these two projects in 2019, where feedback and direction were given by residents, partners and staff.

Meeting Reminders:
If you are interested in learning more about the improvements to the destination, we encourage you to attend the Beach Management Committee and/or Destination Improvement Committee meetings. These meetings provide an opportunity for community leaders, staff and the public to discuss opportunities to enhance the South Walton experiences for our visitors.

The TDC committees were created to provide recommendations to the Walton County TDC Advisory Board. All meetings will 2020 year will be located in the South Walton Annex. For more information, please visit our website. 

• Thursday, Jan. 9, 1 p.m.: Destination Improvement Committee

 

Code Enforcement:

The Code Enforcement staff has completed the post-season review and is prepared to offer possible code revisions to the BCC for consideration later this year. A combined Beach Management Committee, Destination Improvement Committee and the two beach vending workshops provided valuable insight and direction to help make the beaches of South Walton a better place for both locals and visitors alike moving into next year.

The board ultimately voted to make minor updates to the code for the 2020 season. To see the updates, please click here.

 

Managed Vendor Program:

Pre-Season Meeting Update

Pre-season meetings have been scheduled for our beach vendor program in the month of January. On Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 9 a.m., staff plans to host the Pre-Season Vendor meeting for all participating and potential beach vendors in South Walton. On Thursday, Jan. 16 at 5 p.m., there will be a Pre-Season Vendor meeting, specifically for public comment. Both meetings are open to the public and are encouraged to attend.

Location Updates for Managed Vendor Program

At the Jan. 14 BCC meeting, TDC staff plans to present recommendations for future locations for the 2020 Managed Vendor Program. Currently, the program exists within some of South Walton’s public access points, including Ed Walline RBA, Inlet Beach, RBA and Grayton Beach RBA. The board will review and decide on future locations for the program, based off of feedback from community members, partners and staff.

Program Overview

The managed vendor program, overseen by the South Walton Beach Service Association, is in effect at three of South Walton's public beaches:  Ed Walline Regional Beach Access, Inlet Beach Regional Beach Access, and Grayton Dunes Public Beach Access. So far, this program has drastically reduced the amount of “ghost chairs” and has been well received by the public. With 18 participating vendors, the program is expected to expand to more access points in the future and has proven to be effective. As mentioned above, the Code Enforcement department hosted two public workshops for industry partners and citizens to discuss improvements for the upcoming 2020 season.

So how does this new program work? Beach Vendors all have equal opportunity to participate in the managed vendor program. They have to be, of course, a permitted vendor in Walton County; sign the Association’s Agreement; drop off/pick up equipment as needed or store their equipment in the association’s storage boxes on the beach; are not allowed to set up/tear down equipment on their own; and pay a fee based on how many beach sets rented out.

A beach attendant, who is on site daily, works directly with guests to set up their beach equipment, whether it be chairs, an umbrella or watersports equipment. When the guest is done with their equipment, the attendant removes the equipment from the beach. This will alleviate the issue of "ghost sets" or empty chairs on the beach.

The program regulates Walton County beach vendors for beach chairs/umbrellas and watersports equipment (such as kayaks, paddleboards etc.). The program does not regulate or have any association to Special Event Permits/vendors, (including photographers, officiants), sand castle lesson vendors, bonfire vendors or the like.

For more information about the program, contact Phillip Poundstone at info@swbsa.org or call (850) 832-8715.

Beach Access & Customary Use Reminder:

While there have been changes for customary use of private beachfront property, much is still evolving at this time. If guests have concerns, we hope the below information will be helpful.

 

Things to keep in mind:

• Visit South Walton currently maintains 58 public beach access points, including 8 Regional Public Beach Accesses complete with parking, restroom facilities, and lifeguards. South Walton also enjoys additional miles of public beach thanks to our State Parks. The customary use changes do not affect our public beaches, only privately-owned beachfront property.
• A user-friendly interactive map of public beach access points can be found here: https://www.visitsouthwalton.com/beach-and-bay-access-locations
• Many beach neighborhoods and resorts already have dedicated beach areas available for guests staying with them.

What is customary use?

• Customary use is a common law term referring to the public access of the privately-owned beachfront property. Some Gulf-front properties in Florida have a property line that extends to the mean high water line.

What is changing?

• Essentially, some beachfront homeowners are restricting access to the dry sandy areas behind their homes. All wet sand areas remain undisputed public property and beach goers cannot be excluded from these areas. The Walton County Sheriff’s Department will be the governing force for any conflicts or complications that may arise on the space in front of properties now considered private property.

Does that mean I can't walk all 26 miles of our white sand beaches?

• No, you can absolutely still walk our beautiful beaches for as far as you wish. There will still be plenty of space in the wet sand area for beach-walkers to enjoy, and plenty of public beach where access is in no way under dispute.

 

Customary Use Information:

Walton County Beach Maintenance Department has been denied access to collect trash on private property by some beachfront property owners. As a result of those beach front property owners, beach garbage pickup by TDC crews is no longer available on about 40-percent of beaches. That percentage not only includes the beachfront properties that owners will not allow access to or across their property, but in some cases also adjacent properties that can no longer be accessed for garbage collection because crews are blocked on either side by property owners that will not allow collection crews to cross their property. The affected owners were notified. Public Regional and Neighborhood Beach Accesses will not be affected, and garbage collection will continue as usual on those beaches.

CONTACT US

Visit South Walton 25777 US Hwy 331 S | Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 VisitSouthWalton.com | (850) 267-1216