DeSantis Signs Senate Bill 1622: What It Means for Beach Access in Walton County

Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. – June 2025 Governor Ron DeSantis has signed Senate Bill 1622, a move being hailed by local officials as a major step toward restoring the public’s ability to access Florida’s sandy shores. The new law repeals a controversial 2018 statute that made it nearly impossible for counties to recognize the customary recreational use of dry sand beach areas — especially in places like Walton County, where beach access has been a heated issue for years.

“This legislation repeals the burdensome state mandates and returns decision-making power to local governments when it comes to recognizing recreational customary use of beaches,” said DeSantis during the signing ceremony.

The change allows counties to pass customary use ordinances — laws that recognize longstanding public access to beach areas even if they fall within private property lines — without having to first go through an expensive, time-consuming judicial process.

Background: The 2018 Roadblock

In 2018, the Florida Legislature passed a law that blocked local governments from affirming customary use unless they first obtained a court judgment. Walton County, which had adopted a customary use ordinance in 2016, just before the state-imposed cutoff date, found itself in legal limbo. The law sparked conflict between beachfront property owners and residents who had, for generations, walked and played along the same stretches of sand.

“Back in 2018, when the state passed a law that blocked local governments from recognizing customary use of beaches, no one felt that impact more severely than Walton County,” said Senator Jay Trumbull, who sponsored SB 1622. “Overnight, people who had walked the same stretch of beach for generations were being told that they were trespassing.”

What SB 1622 Does

• Restores authority to local governments to pass customary use ordinances without first filing a lawsuit.

• Repeals the 2018 preemption law that required court involvement before any customary use ordinance could be enacted.

• Empowers communities like Walton County to reaffirm traditional public access to their beaches through local law.

What It Doesn’t Do

Despite the optimism surrounding SB 1622, there’s a major caveat: the law does not alter existing private property rights.

Beachfront homeowners who hold deeds extending to the mean high-water line (MHWL) still own that land — and they can still mark it as private and enforce no-trespassing rules, unless and until a new customary use ordinance is passed by the county and withstands legal challenge.

That means the public won’t automatically regain access to stretches of sand currently claimed as private.

The Next Step: Local Action Required

Now that the state has lifted its legal blockade, it’s up to Walton County to act. Reinstating a customary use ordinance — one that defines public access as a long-standing tradition — would allow residents and visitors to once again legally enjoy walking, fishing, or lounging on dry sand beach areas, even if technically part of someone’s deeded property. Will they ? Remains to be seen, the outcome could be another lawsuit…. If Beach Nourishment Is Done Under a State-Sponsored Program (e.g., FDEP)

Florida law (as upheld in the landmark case Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, 2010) says: The new sand seaward of the erosion control line (ECL) becomes state-owned.

Private property stops at the ECL, not at the new waterline. This means renourished beaches beyond the ECL are no longer privately owned, even if the original lot once extended to the old mean high-water line. 👉 In that case, the beach becomes public — permanently. ⚠️ If the County Renourishes Without Setting an ECL or State Involvement Ownership is murkier. The private property owner may retain rights to the newly deposited sand, depending on: Where the mean high-water line (MHWL) settles afterward Whether there’s an agreement or recorded easement Without an ECL, the MHWL still governs ownership, and it can shift over time (called the doctrine of accretion or erosion).

Plain English – Breaking Down SB1622 Public Beaches Misconsception