Florida Senate - 2009 CS for SB 488
By the Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation;
and Senator Justice
592-03877-09 2009488c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public access to beaches; creating
3 part V of ch. 161, F.S.; providing definitions;
4 providing a declaration of public policy and effect;
5 prohibiting persons from restricting access;
6 prohibiting obstruction of beach access except as
7 otherwise authorized by law; prohibiting the use of
8 signs declaring that a public beach is private
9 property; providing that a violation of such
10 prohibition is a first-degree misdemeanor; providing a
11 penalty; prohibiting a governmental entity from
12 placing an obstruction upon or limiting public access
13 to a public beach except under certain conditions;
14 providing for the use of prima facie evidence in suits
15 to exclude the public from accessing and using a sandy
16 beach; providing an effective date.
17
18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20 Section 1. Part V of chapter 161, Florida Statutes,
21 consisting of sections 161.80, 161.81, 161.82, and 161.83, is
22 created to read:
23 PART V
24 PUBLIC BEACH ACCESS
25 161.80 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term:
26 (1) “Beach access” means the public’s right to laterally
27 traverse the sandy beaches of this state where such access
28 exists on or after July 1, 1987, or the public has established
29 an accessway through private lands to lands seaward of the mean
30 high tide or water line by prescription, prescriptive easement,
31 or any other legal means. Development or construction shall not
32 interfere with the right of public access unless a comparable
33 alternative accessway is provided.
34 (2) “Public beach” means any sovereign beach, any
35 recreational beach owned or operated by the state or a local
36 government, or any sandy beach area where the public has
37 established or acquired a right of use by prescription,
38 dedication, custom, or any other legal means.
39 (3) “Sovereign beach” means that portion of a sandy beach
40 titled to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement
41 Trust Fund lying seaward of the line of mean high water or a
42 recorded erosion control line.
43 161.81 Declaration of policy and effect.—
44 (1) Under the Environmental Protection Act of 1971, a
45 public beach is a natural resource, and it is the policy of this
46 state that the public, individually and collectively, have the
47 right to enter and use this resource.
48 (2) Any sandy beach below the mean high water line or a
49 recorded erosion control line is declared public, and a private
50 entity, absent a board of trustees deed or authorization, may
51 not restrict access along the shoreline across such beaches.
52 (3) This part does not affect any beach management efforts
53 to fund and manage the shoreline under part I of this chapter.
54 161.82 Unlawful barriers to use of public beaches.—
55 (1)(a) A person may not:
56 1. Obstruct or cause obstruction of beach access by
57 fencing, barricading, or causing any other obstruction, unless
58 such obstruction is otherwise authorized by law.
59 2. Display or cause to be displayed on any public beach any
60 sign, marker, or warning or communicate in any other manner that
61 a public beach is private property.
62 (b) A person who violates this subsection commits a
63 misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
64 775.082 or s. 775.083.
65 (2) A governmental entity may not:
66 (a) Place or cause to be placed any fencing, barricade, or
67 any other obstruction upon a public beach, unless such
68 obstruction is:
69 1. Necessary for the public health, safety, and welfare;
70 2. Erected for no more than 30 calendar days;
71 3. Necessary to protect wildlife, habitat, or other
72 environmental resources; or
73 4. Otherwise authorized by law.
74 (b) Limit the public’s access to a public beach, unless
75 alternative access that is of substantially similar quality and
76 convenience to the public is provided.
77 (3) This subsection does not prevent any agency,
78 department, institution, subdivision, or instrumentality of the
79 state or of the Federal Government from erecting or maintaining
80 any groin, seawall, barrier, pass, channel, jetty, or other
81 structure as an aid to navigation, as protection of the shore,
82 or for fishing, safety, or other lawful purpose.
83 161.83 Prima facie evidence.—In a suit brought or defended
84 under this part or whose determination is affected by this part,
85 proof of record title to a sandy beach that is landward of a
86 sovereign beach is not prima facie evidence that the titleholder
87 has a right to exclude the public from accessing and using the
88 sandy beach or any associated accessway.
89 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.