Like most other families, Edward and DeLanie Goodwin use their private "backyard" for personal and family activities, they want to protect the vegetation there and they really don't like the idea of strangers setting up canopies on it, and even crossing it to enter their home uninvited, which happens periodically.
But because their yard is a parcel of Florida beach, adjacent to a publicly owned beach, they are being told by the county not only can they not stop strangers from trespassing, they can't even tell them not to encroach.
This is according to a new complaint that has been filed by officials with the Pacific Legal Foundation in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Pensacola against Walton County.
"The Goodwins regularly use their beach for personal and family recreational activities, and they naturally want to feel safe and secure in their privacy," PLF attorney Christina Miller said in a prepared statement. "Also, they want to protect the fragile vegetation along the edge of their beach property, because it secures and stabilizes the upland dunes. For all these reasons – and to forestall any attempt to establish some kind of public easement over their dry beach land – they have erected signs to make it clear who owns the property, and that trespassing is not permitted. Conveying that message is the responsible thing to do. And the Goodwins' right to convey that message is protected by the Constitution."
But now the county has adopted an ordinance that banishes their "no trespassing" signs, and the court action is seeking to have the rule struck down.
The rule was adopted by the county on June 14, 2016, and bans "obstruction(s)" on private beach property, including the placement of signs — on pain of a $500 fine per violation.
The Goodwins now have two "Private Property" signs on their private beach property, each 12 inches by about 18, and a third sign that states: "If the County Wants My Private Beach for Public Use, It Must Pay Me For It – U.S. Constitution."
The signs are critical to the protection of their private property, because the county won't enforce any trespassing laws unless the property is marked clearly, the complaint explains.
"The Goodwins have a First Amendment right to speak – and to use signs as a means of speech, a way to convey the message that their beach is not public, and that they value and insist on their property rights," said PLF Principal Attorney J. David Breemer. "The county is robbing them of that fundamental right of free speech. Denying them the use of signs denies them the ability to let the public and the county itself know that their land is private and trespassing will not be allowed."
The foundation explains the publicly owned portion of the beach is subject to heavy pedestrian use and even motorized traffic at certain times.
"Occasionally, members of the public leave the public beach and go up onto the Goodwins' beach property without permission. Some have set up beach tents on the Goodwins' land, allowed pets to defecate there, and refused to pick up their refuse," PLF reported, "At times, strangers have even entered the Goodwins' home. Moreover, local surfers have claimed a right to use the Goodwins' beach, and when Mr. Goodwin took pictures of one of them trespassing in 2015, he was threatened."
Even the county trespasses, sometimes driving trash trucks across the private yard.
Goodwin, in a statement released by the PFL, said, "All we want is to protect the traditional American right to engage in free speech on our own private property. For decades, we have enjoyed and nurtured the sandy beach property we own and on which we pay taxes. It gives us privacy and freedom – including the freedom to speak by putting up small signs. We are trying to protect that."
The complaint explains the couple bought the beachfront property in 1971 and in 1978, built their home, which they occupy today.
"As with most beachfront parcels in Walton County and the rest of Florida, the Goodwins' residential lot extends seaward toward the Gulf of Mexico to the Mean High Water Line. Indeed, under the Goodwins' deed, plat, and the laws of Florida, the MHWL is their property boundary on the Gulf side. … Tide lands lying seaward of the MHWL and adjacent to the property are state-owned public beaches. Upland of the MHWL on the Goodwin property, and lying between the MHWL and line of natural vegetation and/or dunes, is a dry beach area. This dry beach is the Goodwins' private property," the complaint explains.
"The Goodwins do not object to pedestrians occcasionally crossing their sand to get to the water, provided the Goodwins retain the right to stop any objectionable activities and to use signage where necessary to make clear that they retain control over the area."
Thus, the complaint said, the need for signs.
It also notes that the county, two years ago, tried to fine the Goodwins for a sign, citing an older code, but a court dismissed the county's action.
In fact, when the county sheriff's office subsequently determined it could not enforce trespassing laws without signs warning the public where the boundaries are, more homeowners put up signs, the complaint said.
The case suggests the new sign ban is part of a county effort to acquire easements over many private parcels of property in order for the public to use them.
"The sign ban potentially makes it easier for the public and government to mistake dry sand areas as public beachs, to use them, and to later claim that such areas are burdened by public easements due [to] that actual public use," the complaint states.
Meanwhile, the county itself posts signs on its own publicly held dry beaches.
The case seeks injunctions prohibiting the enforcement of the sign ban.