Escambia County schedules more study after heated public forum on customary beach use

Dozens of residents pressed the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners to adopt an ordinance enforcing customary public use of Perdido Key beaches, and commissioners agreed to further study and public meetings in February.

At a packed public forum, speakers described repeated incidents of visitors being told they could not walk or place chairs on dry sand and urged the county to protect long-standing public access to gulf-front beaches. Laurie Newman, who identified herself as a founding member of the Save Pensacola Beach group, told the board, “The only missing step is for Escambia County to pass its own ordinance.” Several other speakers detailed crowding, loss of parking and instances of condo security or deputies removing people from dry sand.

Board members said the issue merits formal review rather than an immediate ordinance. The chair announced that a committee-of-the-whole meeting (CAL) will address customary use and that the following regular meeting will include a public-comment item on the topic. Commissioners and staff repeatedly cautioned that local action may prompt litigation over individual parcels: county counsel and staff warned that proving customary use can require parcel-level fact development and, in some cases, consolidated court proceedings.

Commissioners stressed they support public access in principle but said they need legal and mapping work to craft defensible local rules. Commissioner Stephen Berry (as referenced in a later proclamation listing) and others asked county attorneys and planning staff to prepare background, maps and options for the February CAL so the board can discuss a legally workable path that minimizes the county’s exposure to lawsuits.

Public commenters also raised related concerns: private docks and piers on Pensacola Beach, agreements between private users and the Santa Rosa Island Authority, and historical parking limitations tied to platting and emergency-access easements. Commissioners asked staff to coordinate with the Santa Rosa Island Authority on the dock reports raised at the forum.

The meeting did not adopt an ordinance that night. The board’s next public step will be the scheduled CAL meeting followed by an advertised public meeting where the community can comment on any drafted ordinance or map.

What's next: staff and county attorneys will prepare materials for the February CAL and a subsequent public hearing; no ordinance was adopted and no parcel-level determinations were made at the meeting.