Save St. George Island Beaches
The Beach Is Disappearing While The HOA is Wasting Time and Money
St. George Plantation HOA is Not Representing Your Interests
The St. George Plantation Homeowners Association has wasted hundreds of thousands of our HOA dollars on lawyers and court delay tactics—and is even trying to bring every lot owner into the litigation, forcing many of you to hire a lawyer too.
If you care about our beautiful beaches, join us in signing this petition to tell our HOA to stop wasting time and money and start working towards solutions to protect the beach.
Unsure what to believe?
Read on to learn more about the wasteful tactics deployed against us as we work to preserve our island’s beautiful beaches.
The Facts
On St. George Plantation, beach-front homes were each platted and encumbered with a 100-foot Beach Access Easement (legal agreement for private use by other lot owners in the plat) which started 339 feet seaward of Plantation Pass and extended for 100 feet towards the water.
*Image: Satellite Image from 1995. Click to zoom in.
Due to coastal erosion and avulsion—and exacerbated by the Bob Sikes Cut—the 100-foot private property over which this Beach Access Easement was platted is completely underwater from Seaside Village to Dolphin Village.
*Image: Satellite Image from 2023. Click to zoom in.
Since the loss of the private property on which the Beach Access Easement was platted, these beachfront properties from the dune to the Mean High Water Line are no longer encumbered by the easement, meaning the other lot owners in the plat may only walk through the shallow water along the shore—i.e. seaward of the current mean high water line (MHWL).
The previous HOA Board understood that beach loss was a problem for everyone and started to address the problem—but a small group of homeowners didn’t want to pay for beach repairs and took over the board by convincing others to ignore the issue, too.
The current HOA Board has taken the legal position that even though the originally platted beach access easement is underwater, the beachfront properties are still encumbered with the easement, because it moves landward with the shoreline.
As a result of the Board’s novel legal position, a group of beachfront owners filed a Declaratory Action asking a judge to rule on the legality of the Board’s novel legal theory.
The HOA has spent more than $300k of our community’s dollars trying to delay the judge from reviewing the documents.
The board is currently trying to bring every lot owner into the litigation, even though the judge has ruled that it is not required. This would mean more legal fees for each owner, beyond what the board incurs.
It’s time to end the delaying and stalling, and start working towards solutions.
Why It Matters—And What’s Next
The HOA’s ongoing delays are costing everyone. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have already gone to lawyers and stalling tactics, while the beach continues to wash away. Every day we wait, more money is wasted, more sand is lost, and our homes become more vulnerable.
Beach erosion and avulsion won’t stop on their own. As the shoreline recedes, storm protection weakens—putting every property, not just those on the beach, at greater risk. Just look at Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe to see how devastating storm surge can be.
The HOA has failed to maintain the beach easement, and now that easement is underwater, meaning many homeowners have no access to the beach. This hurts property values, rental income, and ultimately, the health of our entire community.
It’s time to move forward. The HOA must stop wasting our money on lawyers and division, and start working with homeowners on real solutions to protect what’s left of the beach.
