Pensacola Beach public access question will go to voters in November

Melissa Nelson Gabriel | Pensacola News Journal

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Escambia County voters will have a chance to weigh in on Pensacola Beach ownership and access issues during November's general election.

Escambia County Commissioners approved wording of the non-binding beach referendum late Thursday.

The moved followed months of debate and heated public comment sessions with members of Save Pensacola Beach, a local advocacy group that has pushed for the referendum.

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"After years of work, tonight is the night we find out whether or not democracy is alive and well in Escambia County," said Lily Eubanks, a spokeswoman for Save Pensacola Beach, before Thursday's vote. "So many citizens of Escambia County want to stop Pensacola Beach from being over-developed and it would be a terrible thing not to let the citizens vote on something so important."

Although the referendum is non-binding, it would send elected officials a message about voters' vision for the future of the beach, she said.

But some Pensacola Beach leaseholders told commissioners that voters have been misinformed about beach ownership and lease fees and do not know enough about the complicated issues to cast informed votes.

"I am greatly concerned the electorate has been so poisoned with lies and misrepresentations about what the 1947 deed agreement means that the electorate does not know what they are voting on," said Terry Preston, representative of a beach leaseholders group.

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Preston said it is up to the county to enact beach zoning laws and building caps. Overturning the 1947 deed agreement — which gave Santa Rosa Island to Escambia County from the federal government and stated the land must be used in the public's interest — would not change public beach access, she said.

Preston said Save Pensacola Beach, which gathered thousands of signatures on petitions calling for the referendum, has erroneously suggested getting rid of the 1947 agreement would mean that the public wouldn't have access to the sandy beach.

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Save Pensacola Beach formed after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, put forward federal legislation that would have overturned the 1947 deed agreement and allowed the county to give land titles to residents and businesses that currently have 99-year lease agreements with the county for their beach properties.

Opponents of the bill feared it would lead to the gated private access points and no trespassing signs found elsewhere in Florida where most beach land is owned by private business and residents.

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Gaetz's bill died in the U.S. Senate after Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, pulled his support.

Preston and other beach leaseholders said they would like to see their leases converted to fee-simple titles and that Escambia County's system of 99-year leases for beach properties has created a quagmire of litigation and confusing tax regulations.

Grover Robinson, the county commissioner who represents the beach, said he understood the leaseholders' frustrations.

"This is not a simple topic at all, it is a very difficult topic, but it is at the core of who we are in Escambia County and on Pensacola Beach," said Robinson, who is running for mayor of Pensacola.

Robinson said the wording of the referendum represents a compromise reached after many months of discussions between various interested groups.

"I think the referendum vote will set the stage for where we go forward from here with the beach," he said Friday.

The referendum approved by the commission reads:

"On June 21, 2018, The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners adopted a policy to prohibit any privatization through sale or lease of currently unleased properties, especially conservation and preservation properties on Santa Rosa Island. Escambia County reaffirms the congressional restrictions of the 1947 deed. Do you support these Escambia County policies?"

The commission endorsed the wording in a 4-1 vote with commissioner Steven Barry voting against it. Barry questioned whether the wording could impact ongoing litigation over taxes assessed on leased beach properties.

Melissa Nelson Gabriel can be reached at mnelsongab@pnj.com or 850-426-1431.