At his town hall meeting on April 28, Escambia County Commissioner Steve Stroberger addressed a contentious issue affecting Perdido Key residents: beach access easements behind condominiums.
Background: In April 2023, Escambia County discovered that when the federal government sold off lots in the Gulf Beach Subdivision in 1957, the original deeds included a clause granting a perpetual public easement for the southernmost 75 feet of each lot from the Gulf of Mexico northward. Several condos sued the county over the easement. The courts have dismissed most of the lawsuits.
Standing on stage at Liberty Church, Commissioner Stroberger began by identifying attendees concerned about beach easements, noting that most participants raising their hands were condominium residents directly affected by the current policies. This set the stage for a discussion focused primarily on property owners’ perspectives, with the commissioners sometimes agreeing with both sides.
- Ultimately, nothing was decided. Stroberger’s hope of a lifeline from the Florida Legislature doesn’t appear to offer any solution.
Property Rights vs. Public Access
Condominium owners expressed frustration over visitors using their facilities without permission. According to the Commissioner, residents have reported people “coming out there behind your condos and using your pool and using your bathrooms and vandalizing your condominium.”
- Stroberger empathized with these concerns. “I know how I would feel about that myself. I know how I’d feel. I’d feel exactly the way you do.”
However, he also recognized the public’s desire for beach access. He suggested that most beachgoers aren’t interested in trespassing on condominium property but simply want to use the beach. Stroberger noted he was hoping for a potential remedy coming from the Florida Legislature, which is dealing with public access in Walton County
- Stroberger said, “I was hoping that we could come to a compromise, maybe instead of 75 feet, make it 50 feet or something like that, people could still walk along the water line back and forth.”
Beachgoers Perspectives
The town hall provided a forum for residents to share their experiences. One attendee described bringing relatives from Texas to visit the beach but being frustrated by “lines in the water” that prevented them from walking freely along the shoreline.
- ” We only had this little area, and all the lines were in the water, so we could not walk past and go either way on the beach,” the resident explained.
Commissioner Stroberger agreed this situation was “unsatisfactory,” referencing a historical context where “one commissioner was kind of encouraging the condominium owners to put up their signs” (maybe a reference to former Commissioner Doug Underhill) and noting that chains had been installed, which “clobbered the beach.”
Maintenance and Liability Concerns
A condo resident raised concerns about maintenance and liability. This resident described regularly picking up trash left by visitors and questioned who would be liable if someone were injured on a private beach: “If somebody gets hurt playing games on the part that’s not 75-ft, whose liability is?”
Another condominium owner expressed frustration over changing policies, stating they purchased their property 12 years ago when it included a private beach and was taxed accordingly. This resident also raised concerns about environmental responsibilities: “The turtle season starts, and we are in charge of making sure none of our occupants do anything on the beach, any holes or anything? Who’s going to enforce that we are in charge, or we get penalized?”
Potential Solutions
Commissioner Stroberger suggested several approaches to address the issues:
- Increased patrols by the sheriff’s department along the beach and at access points.
- Utilization of the “Realtime crime center” to monitor cameras at beach access points.
- Appropriate signage, rather than chains or barriers, to mark property boundaries
Awaiting Legislative Guidance
Commissioner Stroberger indicated that pending legislation in Tallahassee might resolve many of these issues: “I hope this issue would be… overtaken by events. We won’t have to even talk about this again after the legislature gets out of session.”
When asked about the legislation, the Commissioner admitted not knowing the bill’s details. He said, “We’ll know more after legislation gets out.”
LEGISLATION
Commissioner Stroberger did not identify the pending legislation. It may be Sen. Jay Trumbull’s SB 1622, which focused primarily on Walton County. The bill passed the House and Senate.
However, it applies specifically to counties that:
- Are adjacent to the Gulf of America (Escambia has a beach sign to prove it),
- Have at least three municipalities (Escambia only has two—Century and Pensacola), and
- Have an estimated population under 275,000, excluding inmates (Escambia County has 321,904, according to the 2020 Census. The 2024 estimate is 331,275.