Eroded: 30A's Battles for Florida's Beaches

Eroded: 30A's Battles for Florida's Beaches

When Florida lawmakers passed House Bill 631, they ignited a battle for the soul of Walton County's beaches. Through expert interviews, legal history, and raw local voices, the Eroded traces how a once-unified coastline is now divided by lawsuits, signs, and security guards. What began as an intention to legally clarify Customary Use has evolved into a crisis that could reshape the future of Florida's beaches—and public coastlines across America.

Episodes

December 26, 2025 32 mins

 

🎙️ Eroded – Episode 1: 30A's Battle for Florida's Beaches

Over the past year and a half, this issue has been examined and is one of the most intense and consequential local issues in recent Florida history: the struggle over using the beach and property rights in Walton County—specifically the 27 miles of coastline along County Road 30A. What began as a seemingly isolated conflict has steadily escalated into a county-wi...

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Show Notes

In this episode, we dive into the complicated and highly charged fight over customary use and private beaches in South Walton (especially along County Road 30A). The conversation begins with a recap of HB 631 — a controversial Florida law that many local residents believed would "take away the beach" from the public. Amid election-period rhetoric, people received alarming emails about losing beach access, but ...

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    December 26, 2025 29 mins

    Episode 3 – Eroded Beaches (2017–2018)

    "30A's Battle for Florida's Beaches"

    I'm about to show you how four Florida lawmakers — two at the state level and two at the federal level — were involved in decisions that impacted beaches along the panh...

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    December 26, 2025 30 mins

    Show Notes – Who Are You Representing?

    In this episode, we dive into the political maneuvering and legal battles that shaped the future of Walton County's beaches following the passage of HB 631. The discussion details how state legislation—authored by lawmakers outside the county—ulti...

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    December 26, 2025 43 mins

    🎙️ Show Notes: Customary Use, Vendor Impact & the Changing Beach Economy

    In this segment, we examine how the repeal of local ordinance authority under HB 631 forced Walton County into the courtroom to establish customary use, leading to over 1,100 lawsuits and mounting legal costs. While the intent was to ensure non-po...

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    December 26, 2025 35 mins

    In this episode, we examine the legislative and grassroots efforts that reshaped beach access in Florida, focusing on how HB 631 (effective July 1 2018) created a legal framework for local governments to take action on "customary use" of dry‑sand beaches—yet it especially targeted Walton County, where property owners and the county itself spent millions of dollars in litigation. Meanwhile, the subs...

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    December 26, 2025 42 mins

    In this episode of Eroded, host Jared Schnader sits down with Sara Day, a Santa Rosa Beach resident who has become a central figure in the fight for public access to Walton County beaches. Moving from Texas in search of a laid-back coastal lifestyle, Sara quickly realized that the idyllic beaches she and her family had envisioned were not fully accessible to the...

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