Beachfront Property Owners Advised To Seek Permits Before Fencing

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL -- With Florida's new law designating public and private beaches now in effect, some beachfront property owners are worried that their private property may become public.

However, Pinellas County Environmental Management officials are advising property owners not to install fences, place warning signs or make any structural changes to keep the public off their property above the mean water line without obtaining state and local approvals first.

The new beach access law passed during the 2018 legislative session mandates a new procedure for municipalities to designate beaches open to the public. (See related story).

In the past, Florida cities and counties could declare certain beaches to be open to the public under the state's "customary use" doctrine. The doctrine says that, if a beach has been historically used by the public, the city or county can declare it a public beach.

The new law takes this decision out of the hands of municipalities and puts it in the hands of the courts, which will consider the historical use and need to give the public access to a particular beach through a judicial process. The law does not automatically give the public access to privately owned beachfront property or grant beach property owners unfettered rights to the dry beach behind their properties above the mean water line. That determination is in the hands of the courts.

Beach property owners should first check with their local barrier island government and then contact the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to learn what is allowed seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line.

For more detailed information including links to the CCCL map and permitting resources, click here.

Image via Pinellas County Government

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