"Slices of 30A"

At a public press conference in  Jacksonville Florida on Friday afternoon, Governor DeSantis gave an update and  announcements on continuing Phase 1 of the of the  Safe Smart. Step by Step Recovery Plan to reopen the state.  New changes to take place include:

STATUS OF SHORT TERM VACATION RENTALS: 

Governor DeSantis addressed the  status of the short term rental ban which has been in place state-wide since his Mar 27, 2020 order.  On Friday, he called on counties to  draft a safe, smart plan for    re-opening the rentals in the respective counties and submit those plans to the state for consideration.  If a county's plan is approved, rentals could feasibly allowed to resume operation again as early    as May 18th. 

The beach communities along 30A and South Walton are all located within Walton County Florida. The neighboring counties of Okaloosa  and Escambia to the west and Bay County to the east all submitted their re-opening plans to the state for consideration on Friday afternoon. A response to the Governor's call  for submitting  vacation rental reopening plans was posted Saturday (5-16-2020)    on the Walton County Florida Board of County Commissioners website stated:

"Walton County has developed a reopening plan framework and is awaiting the guidelines from the DPBR.  (Florida Department of Professional & Business Regulation) With those guideline in hand, we will compare them with our prepared plan to ensure that it complies with the DPBR guidelines.  We are working closely with our Tallahassee lobbyist and the Governor’s office to facilitate this process and to move our plan through the system as rapidly as possible."

As of this time it is unclear when Walton County will formally submit their plan to the state so they can proceed toward allowing vacation rentals  operations to resume.   

Additional announcements of note made by the Governor at Friday's Press conference included:  

INCREASE OPERATING CAPACITY FOR RESTAURANTS.  Beginning on  Monday May 18th, restaurants owners can beginning increasing their operating capacity from 25% to 50% while continuing to follow safe practices and providing social distancing for patrons.

GYMS & Fitness Centers to Reopen.  While gyms were not previously included in the Phase 1 reopening plan the Governor noted in the press conference the need for Floridians to be able to work-out and stay healthy. 

For a full recap of changes that go into effect Monday - May 18th. --->  Click here

To keep up to date with the latest COVID-19  travel and vacation rental information  as it relates to Walton County Florida go to: VISIT SOUTH WALTON 

If we can be of assistance with any  30A and South Walton Florida real estate related questions, please reach out - we're here to help any way that we can!