Destin Harbor
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The owners of two adjacent commercial marinas in Destin Harbor have filed a lawsuit against the City of Destin for forcing them to provide more than half of their boat slips free of charge to the public.
Plaintiffs Claude Perry Enterprises LLC and Marler Harbor Property LLC filed their lawsuit January 30 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division.
“Plaintiffs bring this action seeking a declaration that the City’s requirement that the Plaintiffs’ provide 21 of the slips at their commercial marinas to the public free of charge in perpetuity is an exaction and unconstitutional condition under the United States Constitution, the Florida Constitution, and section 70.45, Florida Statutes,” the 75-page complaint states.
Claude Perry and Marler Harbor claim that both commercial marinas are located on or over sovereign submerged lands, which are owned by the State of Florida and administered by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund on behalf of the public in accordance with the Public Trust Doctrine.
Sovereign submerged lands are “those lands including but not limited to, tidal lands, islands, sand bars, shallow banks, and lands waterward of the ordinary or mean high water line, beneath navigable fresh water or beneath tidally-influenced waters, to which the State of Florida acquired title on March 3, 1845, by virtue of statehood, and which have not been heretofore conveyed or alienated.”
According to their complaint, the plaintiffs have operated the marinas pursuant to leases from the state since at least the 1990s.
Beginning in 2018, the plaintiffs sought to replace and reconfigure the aging infrastructure of the commercial marinas and began the process of obtaining the necessary permits, authorizations, and approvals to do so from federal, state, and local agencies.
Upon receiving the necessary permits, authorizations, and approvals, they constructed both commercial marinas, which contain a total of 41 boat slips, and operated them without incident until late 2024.
The owners noted in their filing that they lease many of the slips in their marinas and also provide a number of slips to the public, free of charge, for daily use on a first-come, first-serve basis.
They claim they report usage of slips and revenue therefrom to the state on an annual basis, and pay any associated lease fees, as required by the terms of their sovereign submerged lands, or SSL, leases.
According to the complaint, the City of Destin published a map on its website in late 2024 that indicated all of the boat slips at both of the plaintiffs’ marinas are available to the public for free.
“This action by the City has resulted in repeated confrontations between members of the public and Plaintiffs’ staff at the marinas, including serious safety concerns,” the filing states.
Then, in early 2025, the city brought enforcement proceedings against the plaintiffs based on its belief that 21 of 41 of the slips should be available to the public free of charge in perpetuity.
Claude Perry and Marler Harbor claim they have tried to “amicably resolve” the conflicting understanding of the boat slips’ usage at the marinas.
“To date, despite Plaintiffs’ proactive efforts to resolve the alleged enforcement issues, the City has nonetheless continued pursuing a code enforcement action and fines against Plaintiffs based on the false premise that Plaintiffs must provide 21 slips free of charge to the public at Plaintiffs’ commercial marinas,” the complaint states.
Claude Perry and Marler Harbor seek, among other things, an order from the federal court declaring the land on which the boat slips at the marinas is located as sovereign submerged lands and subject to SSL leases.
Tallahassee law firm Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
