A grassroots coalition is asking the Escambia Board of County Commissioners to consider a compromise proposal that its organizers say could end years of conflict over public beach access on Perdido Key, without costly and divisive litigation.
- Save Our Beaches, a group formed from the merger of Save Pensacola Beach and Open Beach Access 4, submitted a formal position paper and cover letter this week requesting that the proposal be placed on the agenda for the BCC’s March 5 meeting. The group is asking County Attorney Alison Rogers and Administrator Wes Moreno to help facilitate that discussion.
A 75-Foot Easement as Middle Ground
The proposal seeks to establish a perpetual 75-foot public easement along the Gulf-front of Perdido Key, running from the Gulf Islands National Seashore boundary eastward to the Florida-Alabama state line. The easement would mirror an existing federal perpetual easement already in place in the Gulf Beach subdivision, which was established based on historic customary use by the public.
- “As a compromise to full beach access up to the dune line, all Gulf-front condominium owners shall adopt and the County shall establish a limited, uniform, and perpetual 75-foot public easement,” the proposal states.
Why? Save Our Beaches argues the easement approach offers something meaningful to all stakeholders:
- Private property owners would gain a clear, enforceable boundary and legal certainty, while the public would gain guaranteed access to the shoreline.
- The group contends the easement would also create a uniform standard that simplifies enforcement and reduces the patchwork of private signage, cordoning and barriers that have created what they describe as an increasingly hostile beach environment.
Rooted in Customary Use Law
The group’s legal argument rests on Florida’s doctrine of customary use, which recognizes the public’s historic and uninterrupted enjoyment of a beach over time as the basis for continued access rights. Save Our Beaches says it has collected testimony dating public use of Perdido Key’s Gulf-front beaches back to at least 1945.
2018 Law: A 2018 legislative measure attempted to limit local governments’ ability to acknowledge customary use. It was partially addressed by 2025 legislation (SB 1622 and HB 6043), which the group says reaffirmed the legal concept of recreational customary use and restored the public’s standing to seek it.
- “The public has been provided clear, statutory standing to sue local governments who fail to enact a customary use ordinance,” the letter warns, framing the compromise as a way to avoid that outcome.
Addressing Condo Owner Concerns
The proposal directly acknowledges concerns raised by Gulf-front condominium owners, including trespassing near pools and restrooms, dune trampling, litter, noise, and large unauthorized events such as weddings and parties on the beach.
- Avoiding Privatization: Save Our Beaches proposes that the County address those concerns through active management and enforcement rather than privatization of beach space. Specifically, the group calls for the County to regulate and license beach vendors, commit resources to regular trash pickup, increase code enforcement, and improve the sign ordinance on the Key. Under the proposal, private fencing, rope cordoning, sandwich boards in the sand, and beach chair barricade lines within the 75-foot easement would all be prohibited.
Retaining Public Access 1
The proposal also pushes back against any effort to close Public Access 1, which the group describes as the only free county public access point for 1.8 miles of Perdido Key shoreline and the sole walkable access for adjacent neighborhoods north of Johnson Beach Road. Save Our Beaches proposes keeping the access point open but capping it at its existing 40 parking spaces, with no future expansion, as a concession to property owners concerned about increased traffic and crowding.
Lowering the Cost to Visit Johnson Beach
A fifth component of the proposal asks the County to begin a federal process under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to negotiate a local discount fee structure at Johnson Beach, the Gulf Islands National Seashore unit on Perdido Key. The group notes that Johnson Beach no longer sells day passes and argues that fees should be set at a level accessible to all Escambia residents regardless of income — noting the beach’s historic significance as the only local beach open to Black citizens during segregation.
A Warning Against Delay
Save Our Beaches was direct in its warning about the consequences of inaction. The letter, signed by spokespeople Melissa Pino and Dianne Krumel, argues that without a local compromise, Escambia County will inevitably be drawn into years of conflicting court rulings across Florida’s circuit and appellate courts — litigation that could ultimately require resolution by the Florida Supreme Court.
“Save Our Beaches would like our community to avoid this scenario and strive for a local solution that works to the benefit of all,” the letter states…