BEACH OPERATIONS
Beach Access Updates:
New Regional Beach Accesses
Walton Dunes Regional Beach Access
258 Beachfront Trail
The Walton Dunes Regional Beach Access conceptual designs will be presented to the Walton Co. BCC at the March 10 meeting in Freeport. Once a formal design is decided by the county commission, design and permitting efforts will begin, with an anticipated completion of construction in 2022.
Miramar Beach Regional Beach Access
907 Scenic Gulf Drive
The Miramar Beach RBA has reached 90% completion in the permitting and design phase, with plans for the construction phase to begin in fall 2020. This access will not begin construction until after the summer season and will remain open for visitors and locals to use during the busier months. Amenities to this access include additional parking, a revised pavilion, a dune walkover and a lifeguard on the sandy beach.
Seagrove Beach Regional Beach Access
Address TBD, Located Across from Café Thirty-A
Staff continues to work through the permitting and design phase for the Seagrove Beach Regional Beach Access. Formal permit applications have been submitted to the respective federal and state agencies, with construction planned to begin in late 2020. This access will include additional parking, a bath house, a dune walkover and will be ready to welcome visitors in 2021.
Beach Access Renovations
Starting in November 2019, the Walton Co. TDC staff began renovations on nine beach access points, including the replacement of decking and railing, the addition of bike racks, or a complete rebuild, if necessary.
Five of the beach accesses were located in the Seagrove Beach neighborhood and the four regional beach accesses were located throughout South Walton. To make accessing the beaches easier for both visitors and locals, no more than two neighborhood beach accesses and/or regional beach accesses were under construction at a given time.
The 395 (1), Hickory Lane (2), Live Oak (3), and Dogwood (4) neighborhood beach accesses have all reached substantial completion and are ready to welcome visitors. Nightcap (5) is still under construction and will reach substantial completion mid-March.
In addition, the Fort Panic, (1) Gulfview Heights, (2) and Inlet Beach (3) regional beach accesses have reached substantial completion, with Ed Walline (4) reaching substantial completion in early March. The beach at the Ed Walline is still accessible during construction, and guests are welcome to access the beach.
Capital Improvement Updates
Per the Walton County BCC, staff was given direction to develop capital improvement plans and schedule public workshops for the four purchased properties, including:
- The Driftwood Road parking project is on a 1.119-acre parcel located at 76 Driftwood Road in Miramar Beach.
- The County Road 393 parcel is 2.3-acres and located north of Gulf Place Town Center on the west side of County Road 393. The official address is to be determined upon construction. The parcel will be used for additional parking.
- The County Road 283 parcel, also referred to as “Grayton Grand” parking project, is located on the eastern portion of County Road 283 South, across from the Shoppes at Grayton. This 6.995-acre parcel is the largest of the capital improvement projects and is currently being used for parking by both locals and visitors. The official address will be determined upon construction.
- The Eastern Lake Road parking project consists of two neighboring parcels, located at 392 and 406 Eastern Lake Road in the Seagrove neighborhood. 392 Eastern Lake Road, .215-acres, is located just south of Williams Street on Eastern Lake Road. 406 Eastern Lake Road, a .278-acre parcel, is located just next door (east) of 392 Eastern Lake Road. Once finished, this project will provide almost a half-acre of parking.
Based off the feedback of residents and community members, TDC staff are taking the next steps in compiling information collected and developing comprehensive plans for each location. These plans will be presented to the Walton Co. BCC in the near future and will represent the best use for each site. The BCC will ultimately decide the most appropriate plan for each project based on these comprehensive plans.
Multi-Use Path Projects
Planning and construction of updating the South Walton multi-use paths will be done in collaboration with the Beach Operations department and Public Works department. Currently, studies are being conducted for upcoming improvements.
The Alligator Lake Multi-Use Path project included a pre-cast bridge structure, located on the Timpoochee Trail in Grayton Beach. Both Highway 30A and the pedestrian bridge are currently open to motor and foot traffic.
Meeting Reminders:
If you are interested in learning more about improvements to the destination, we encourage you to attend the Beach Management Committee and Destination Improvement Committee meetings. These meetings provide an opportunity for community leaders, staff and the public to discuss opportunities to enhance the South Walton experience for our visitors. These committees serve as advisory boards to the Walton County TDC and BCC.
Meetings are held every other month in the South Walton Annex.
- Tuesday, May 5, 9 a.m.: Beach Management Committee Meeting
- Thursday, May 7, 1 p.m.: Destination Improvement Committee Meeting
Managed Vendor Program:
March 14 kicks off the beginning of the Managed Beach Vendor Program for the 2020 season. Earlier this year, the Walton Co. BCC voted to expand the program to all regional beach accesses within Walton County. In 2019, the pilot program began at the Ed Walline RBA, Inlet Beach RBA and Grayton Beach NBA.
Expansion of the program was based off feedback from community members, partners and staff. Continued expansion of the program to neighborhood beach access points will be considered in the future.
Program Overview
The Managed Vendor Program, overseen by the South Walton Beach Service Association, is now in effect at all regional beach access points, as well as the Grayton Beach Neighborhood Beach Access. So far, this program has drastically reduced the amount of “ghost chairs” and has been well received by the public. With multiple participating vendors, the program has proven to be effective. As mentioned above, discussion to expand the program into neighborhood access will be considered as the program progresses.
So how does this new program work? Beach Vendors all have equal opportunity to participate in the managed vendor program. They have to be 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), sandcastle 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 currently. 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 nine 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, 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.
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