At the mouth of Churchill Bayou the shoreline is mostly marsh. Florida's wildlife agency maps it as exposed marsh with submerged aquatic vegetation just offshore, a short distance from Hogtown Bayou, Eden Gardens State Park and the US 331 bridge. On a bayfront lot here, everything that matters to a buyer sits on the strip of land between that marsh line and the house. That covers the fence, the deck, the path to the dock and the seawall question. Walton County regulates that strip as the Bay Shoreline Protection Zone. For the past eleven weeks, the county has not been enforcing it.
The Board of County Commissioners votes tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, on an ordinance that rewrites the zone's rules. So if you're under contract or about to list a home on Churchill Bayou this fall, you're dealing with a rule that's in the middle of changing. The improvements you can see in the buffer may predate the old rule, may have gone in during the pause, or may be exactly what the new rule is about to allow. You can't tell which by looking at them.
The strip of land the county governs
The zone covers Choctawhatchee Bay itself and everything within 50 feet landward of the mean high water line of the bay and the bayous directly connected to it. Churchill Bayou's mouth sits in the Choctawhatchee Bay system next to Hogtown Bayou. EPA's water quality records list a monitoring station called "Mouth of Churchill Bayou" in Walton County. The public sources we reviewed don't settle whether the bayou opens straight into the bay or reaches it through Hogtown Bayou first. Because the rule turns on whether a bayou is "directly connected," that question is worth putting to county planning staff for any specific parcel.
Under the current language, almost nothing gets built inside those 50 feet. The permitted exceptions are boardwalks, public access facilities and the landward portions of docks. Clearing of native vegetation is capped at 25 percent of the buffer area on the site. County staff told commissioners plainly that the existing language "does not allow fences explicitly." Walton County's separate shoreline zone for creeks, rivers and natural lakes already lists qualifying fences as a permitted use, but the bay subsection never did. Two waterfront lots a few miles apart could come under different fence rules depending on which body of water they face.
How a single fence put the rule on hold
The pause started with a property-rights issue. According to the county's minutes of the July 28 commission meeting, the board considered a request involving a fence inside the Bay Shoreline Protection Zone. County Administrator Brian Kellenberger recommended suspending enforcement while staff drafted a text amendment, and commissioners approved the suspension 4–0. Scenic Walton's recap of the meeting described the issue as a code enforcement dispute. The staff report written afterward describes it more broadly, as "a proliferation of Bay Shore Protection Zone issues relating to property rights."
From there the rewrite moved quickly:
- July 28, 2026. Commissioners suspend enforcement and direct staff to write an amendment.
- August 13, 2026. The Planning Commission votes to recommend approval.
- September 22, 2026. First reading before the board, agenda item 26-1546, which commissioners approved.
- October 13, 2026. Adoption hearing scheduled, per the county's meeting summary.
The ordinance says commissioners may still modify it at the hearing, so the final language could differ from the draft.
What the draft would change, and what it keeps
Staff describe the amendment as giving "clarity as well as additional flexibility for property owners on the bay." They expect adoption to reduce current violations, nonconforming uses and noncomplying structures inside the zone. That expected outcome is the key point for a transaction. If the rule is loosened, some structures that are out of compliance today would become compliant. If the board stops short of the draft, some would stay out of compliance.
| Item in the 50-foot buffer | Current bay language | Draft amendment |
|---|---|---|
| Fences | Not explicitly allowed | Allowed on or as close as possible to property lines, where no fill is required |
| Fence limits | None stated | Maximum 4 feet above natural grade, maximum 65% opacity, installed with minimal disturbance to native vegetation |
| Fences that cut across the buffer | Not addressed | Prohibited |
| Gazebos, patios, decks | Not listed | Allowed within the 25% cleared area if they have no walls and no heated or cooled space |
| Native vegetation clearing | Capped at 25% of the buffer | Still capped at 25% |
The draft would let an owner fence an entire bayshore lot. The bisecting ban is there so a fence can't run across the middle of the protection zone. Picture a fence that runs parallel to the water halfway down the lot, closing off the yard from the marsh. That kind of layout looks natural to a new owner, and it's the kind the draft would rule out.
Several provisions in the draft text don't involve fences at all, and they come up on bayou lots just as often:
- Seawalls. New vertical seawalls and bulkheads along Choctawhatchee Bay are prohibited unless the property sits directly between two properties that already have seawalls, and then only up to 150 feet in length. Elsewhere, revetments, riprap and native vegetation are required instead.
- Docks over seagrass. A pier, dock or walkway can't sit over submerged land vegetated with seagrasses, except as needed to reach water one foot deeper than the lowest point of the boat, motor included, at mean low tide. At the mouth of Churchill Bayou, where the state maps submerged aquatic vegetation, this rule can set how far out a dock has to run.
- Septic. Drain fields must sit at least 75 feet from the mean or ordinary high water line.
- Shallow older lots. The text includes a reduced buffer for single-family lots of record created before November 7, 1996, that are 200 feet deep or less. Those lots get a minimum buffer of 25 feet or 25 percent of lot depth, whichever is greater, with access clearing limited to a 10-foot-wide swath.
The last item matters on Churchill Bayou in particular. Many bayside parcels in this part of Walton County were platted long ago, and the reduced buffer can give an older, shallow lot noticeably more usable yard than a newly platted one. Newly platted lots must be deep enough to meet the full 50 feet.
Why the timing lands on the transaction
The permit record on a bayou lot doesn't show which rule an improvement was built under. A fence installed since July 28 was put in while enforcement was suspended. A deck added years ago inside the buffer was built under language that didn't list decks at all. A seawall could be a permitted infill between two existing walls, or it could predate the current rules. Each case can turn out differently depending on what the board adopts tomorrow and on how the property's permits read.
On a Churchill Bayou listing this fall, these are the records that answer those questions:
- Permits and approvals for every structure within 50 feet of the water, including the fence, deck, gazebo, dock and any shoreline hardening
- The installation date of anything built in the buffer, especially work done after July 28, 2026
- A survey that locates the mean high water line, since the 50 feet is measured from that line
- Confirmation from Walton County Planning and Development Services, at 842 State Highway 20 E in Freeport, of which zone standards apply to the parcel
- The final adopted text of the ordinance once it's posted, compared against the draft
For sellers, the same records help a listing hold up. A buyer who asks about the fence and gets a permit date and the governing rule in reply is much less likely to reopen negotiations during the inspection period.
This post is general information, not legal advice. Shoreline rules apply parcel by parcel, so confirm your own property's status with Walton County planning staff and a Florida real estate attorney.
Getting on the water while the rules settle
For owners who don't have a private dock, the nearest public launches are close by. Charles Cessna Landing on Hogtown Bayou Lane in Freeport has two launch lanes and a courtesy dock. Thomas Pilcher Park, beneath the Clyde B. Wells Bridge on US 331, has four ramps, six 55-foot docks and a 380-foot fishing pier. Nearby, the Churchill Oaks community runs a private marina for its property owners with a 500-foot pier and 36 slips. County ordinance names both Churchill Bayou and Hogtown Bayou among its no-wake waterways, with the restriction applying where "No Wake Zone" signs are posted.
A few questions that come up often
Is the Bay Shoreline Protection Zone enforced right now? No. Enforcement has been suspended since the commission's 4–0 vote on July 28, 2026, while the amendment works its way through. The suspension isn't a repeal, and the board can still change the draft at the October 13 hearing.
Does the amendment allow new seawalls? The draft text keeps the general prohibition on new vertical seawalls along Choctawhatchee Bay. The exception covers a property directly between two existing seawalls, with a length limit of 150 feet.
Can a screened porch go in the buffer under the draft? The draft allows structures within the 25 percent cleared area only if they have no walls and no heated or cooled space, such as gazebos, patios and decks. Whether a particular design fits that description is a question for county staff.
If you're weighing a Churchill Bayou property while the board finalizes these rules, Dickson Group can help you line up the permit history, survey and county confirmation before your inspection period runs out. Let's Connect.
