Florida boasts rough 8500 miles of coastline — the most of any state in the lower 48 [ PDF]—but some of those cheery beaches could soon get a bunch harder to access . AsCoastal Livingreports , a United States Department of State law of nature passed in 2018 give private property owner the right to close almost the entireness of their beach off to the populace .
Florida lawonce requiredthe commonwealth to " ascertain the public ’s right to reasonable access to beaches . " That policy left the state of matter destitute to sell miles of coastal land to big tax generators like condominium and hotels , while still keep the waterfront approachable to local beach lover and themillionsof tourists who inspect the res publica each year .
Sixty percent of Florida beaches are now in camera possess . Under the new legal philosophy , tides will turn in favor of those individual landowners , allowing them to restrict access to any part of the beach above the high lunar time period blood line . start July 1 , they will be able to make up one’s mind who does and does n’t get to ready foot on their oceanfront belongings .
An on-line petition campaigning to keep those beach open to all has already garner more than 52,000 signatures . If that effort does n’t win , local governments will still have the tycoon to get rid of limitation from privately owned beach , but they will need to petition a judge to do so . Any metropolis ordinances about beach access passed prior to 2016 will also last out in effect .
Florida is n’t the only coastal country where the question of who owns the beaches is up for debate . Wealthy homeowners in California have beenknown tohire security guard to remove people from the beaches in front of their star sign , despite the fact that beaches in the country are public property . The courts have mostly side with the people , though : In 2017 , a billionaire landowner in northerly Californiawas orderedby a state royal court to restore public access to the beach in front of his property , which he had previously come together off with a locked logic gate .
Even with the young law , the portion of Florida shoreline that falls within the lunar time period will always belong to to the state . But that may not help anyone who has to traverse private attribute to get there .
[ h / tCoastal Living ]
