Private beaches and Isaias
First off I want to say that I’m glad everyone is safe, damage wasn’t worse, and the storm has passed. Since last night I’ve already heard several people complaining that the beach damage is unfortunate for “private beach” owners because the public will complain about taxpayer money being spent to restore the beaches. A beachfront owner from my subdivision, who lives out of town, was already complaining in neighborhood chats and planning his argument for when he inevitably gets pushback.
How do these beachfront owners not see the fundamental problem with this? The concern of private beach legitimacy being undermined by taxpayer funded beach restoration is an obvious example of why “private beaches” are a burden on the Walton county taxpayer, and completely unreasonable. Selfish beachfront owners only consider the beaches as a recreation site, and completely overlook how the stability of the beach affects the homes and livelihood of Walton county. I don’t care about your empty beach, I care about preventing homes and business from being battered by storm surge and sinking into the ground.
Ownership and management of that landscape should not be in the hands of private individuals without any consideration for everyone else in the county. Taxpayers should not provide funds to fix “your” beach backyard, that frankly shouldn’t even belong to you, but if you insist that it does, then pay for it yourself. Walton County better stand up for its taxpaying residents, not only by refusing to spend taxpayer money to restore so-called private property but also by mandating that beachfront owners properly restore “their” beaches, at whatever expense. You want “your” beach so badly? Pay for it. And to all out of state property owners that are more concerned in the aftermath that their beaches remain “theirs,” instead of having any concern for the area or locals: you should be ashamed of yourselves.