A beachgoer uses the boardwalk at Ed Walline Regional Beach Access off Scenic Highway 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.This stretch of the Gulf Coast has become "ground zero" in a battle between private property rights and public beach access.
Erich Martin for NPR hide caption SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla.— Walton County boasts 26 miles of shoreline and is home to the tony beach towns of Seaside, WaterColor and Alys Beach, along state Scenic Highway 30A.
It's known for emerald clear waters and white sand so soft and fine it squeaks underfoot.It has also become ground zero in a protracted battle over where personal property lines end and the public's right to set up a chair and umbrella begin.The decade-long fight — including the defeat of county efforts to keep the sand open to all, flip-flopping state laws and landowner lawsuits — has left beachgoers to navigate a confusing patchwork of beach access.As the conflict spreads to other coastal communities, residents in the Sunshine State are eyeing a Florida constitutional amendment to settle the issue once and for all — and to warn beach lovers elsewhere that they may be next."Our beaches should be public," says Dave Rauschkolb, a founder of the nonprofit group Florida Beaches for All."They should be shared as they have for eons."Rauschkolb walks down a boardwalk at a neighborhood access point that leads to a pocket of public beach sandwiched between multimillion-dollar Gulf front homes.
Dave Rauschkolb, the owner of Bud & Alley's restaurant in Seaside, Fla., helped found the non-profit Florida Beaches for All to advocate for open beaches.Erich Martin for NPR hide caption "On a busy day, this will just be packed between the signs," he says, pointing out...