ERODED PODCAST

Kent Safriet is a partner at the Florida law firm Holtzman Vogel, known for his expertise in environmental and land-use law, including high-profile cases about beach and coastal issues, private property rights, and takings litigation. He notably argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Safriet represented private beachfront landowners, intervening on behalf of 58 clients, arguing that property deeds historically granted ownership to the mean high water line—meaning the public never held ownership, and customary use doctrine does not apply.

Sara Day and her family moved to South Walton a few years ago searching for a slower pace of life than they had in Texas. However, that changed when she saw people being harassed on the beach for just sitting in the wrong unmarked area. She could not stand by idly. Seeking to address the problem of ambiguity about where you can and can't sit, she developed an App that would show where it was permissible to sit based off tidal changes, the Mean High Water Line, and GPS positioning on properties. This seems like a great solution to cut through the ambiguity of where someone could sit that people would be happy to have it. Instead she has been threatened legally and physically by beach front home owners, but has continued to push forward to help her community.

As a tourist living in Amarallio, TX, Lindsey recounts her experience with being "harassed" on the beach for where she was sitting, the seemingly illogical situation for line markers, and her feelings around coming back to South Walton. She brings her full personality and energy to an insightful interview.

Senator Kathleen Passidomo (R‑Naples) is a longtime Florida legislator who co-sponsored HB 631 in 2018—legislation that restricted counties like Walton from enforcing "customary use" beach access without judicial approval—and has consistently defended the law as essential to protecting private property rights. When the legislature advanced SB 1622 in 2025—a bill to repeal the law and restore easier public access to beaches—she stood as one of only two senators opposing it in a decisive 35–2 Senate vote.

Daniel W. Uhlfelder is a Walton County-based attorney specializing in real estate and litigation who became a prominent advocate for public beach access following the passage of Florida’s HB 631 in 2018. The law limited local governments' ability to declare public access to privately owned beaches, prompting Uhlfelder to co-found Florida Beaches for All, a grassroots group that collected thousands of affidavits to support the legal doctrine of customary use. Known for his outspoken and occasionally provocative activism, Uhlfelder played a key role in mobilizing public opposition to HB 631 and advocating for the restoration of public access to the dry sand beaches in Walton County.

As the owner of "Jakes Beach Service", Jake discusses the difficulties of operating a small business that caters to tourists, the new requirements that are being put on vendors to enforce rules, and the evolution from the beloved local small-business industry to a service that the locals have come to see in a less favorable way.

Dave Rauschkolb is a long‑standing restaurateur and community advocate in South Walton. He's the owner of the iconic Bud & Alley’s (opened in 1986), the Pizza Bar, Taco Bar, and Black Bear Bread Co. across the region. He’s deeply involved in local civic life, serving on boards like the Seaside Institute, co-founding the Scenic 30-A Business Association and the 30A Scenic Pride Initiative. He also founded initiatives like Hands Across the Sand (anti‑offshore drilling) and Florida Beaches for All, advocating for public access to beaches.

As a reporter for Mother Jones Magazine, Stephanie stumbled upon the HB631 battle while doing a report on then Rep. Matt Gaetz. This reporting uncovered irregularities in Quiet Title deeds, high-profile personailities working around public ordinances, and a few unsavory items about some of the actions in Walton County.

John hails from the Atlanta area. While living there he was able to get a law passed in the state of Georgia through his advocacy work. After moving to South Walton, he quickly saw the inequity of beach use as a cause worth fighting. His work, along with many others, created the passage of SB1622 which repealed HB631.