Posted on August 11, 2020
The city currently has three public beach parks and eight public beach trails. Nine of the city’s public beach access points, dispersed throughout the Crystal Beach and Scenic Highway 98 areas, have a combined total of less than a half mile of public beach, according to a Destin Log story from 2018.
DESTIN — The City Council is set to receive an update Monday on the city’s potential $10.6 million purchase of three parcels that would lead to a major expansion of Destin’s Shores at Crystal Beach Park.
The possible land buys would be the first in the city’s initiative to acquire more public beach, especially in the Crystal Beach area. The initiative was the council’s top priority in the city’s 2020 strategic plan.
Destin officials have been looking at various parcels that stand between Henderson Beach State Park and the Okaloosa County-owned James Lee Park and range in price from several million to more than $15 million.
The city currently has three public beach parks and eight public beach trails. Nine of the city’s public beach access points, dispersed throughout the Crystal Beach and Scenic Highway 98 areas, have a combined total of less than a half mile of public beach, according to a Destin Log story from 2018.
The council has pledged $9 million, most of which is local option half-cent sales tax money, and the Okaloosa County Commission and county Tourist Development Council have pledged $13 million in county bed-tax money for land acquisitions in the overall public beach initiative.
In February, the Destin City Council authorized staff to work with the nonprofit Trust for Public Land to negotiate beach acquisition opportunities.
Now, three properties adjacent to the Shores at Crystal Beach Park are under an option/purchase agreement with the Trust, according to Deputy City Manager Webb Warren.
Source: coastalnewstoday
