A federal appeals court has rejected property owners’ arguments that a Florida beachfront town’s ordinance outlining public access to “dry sand areas” of town beaches violates a state law.
Last month, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the town of Redington Beach and overturned a district court ruling that went in favor of beachfront property owners. The homeowners argued that a town ordinance violated a 2018 state law governing public access rights to beaches.
The Florida Constitution grants the public a right to use beach areas below the “mean high-water line,” the 11th Circuit decision notes. But Florida law also recognizes “customary uses” of local beaches and shorelines based on historical practices, according to the opinion.
Robert Eschenfelder, the town attorney, said it was important for Redington Beach to overturn the district court decision.
“It undermined the argument that the application of customary use is an automatic taking of property,” Eschenfelder told the Florida Record. “That’s the main victory I wanted to get from the appeals court.”
Had the district ruling been upheld, Florida local governments would have been more limited in their ability to maintain public beach access, he said.
“If it had been upheld, then no local government would have applied customary use,” Eschenfelder said. “That would have shut down access to beaches that the public has now and has had for a long time.”
The 11th Circuit overturned the Middle District of Florida court’s ruling granting the seven property owners summary judgment that the town ordinance constituted an unlawful taking of property. It also rejected one of the property owner’s claims that Redington Beach violated her First Amendment rights by removing her from the town’s Board of Adjustment.
A new trial examining Redington Beach’s beach access ordinance will likely take place by November, with the outcome of future appeals possibly concluding by July 2022, according to Eschenfelder. In the meantime, the town’s beach access ordinance will be in effect, he said.