City weighs beach vendor crackdown

One of the hopes for Destin’s beach restoration last year was that with wider beaches, it would be easier for the public to share the sand with private property owners.

It didn’t work.

Monday, Crystal Beach residents Pat Reiner, G. Bernard and Nancy O’Hare said beachgoers in their homeowners association had been told by beach vendors that if they left the Shirah Street public beach access, they’d be trespassing on private property.

City rules say the public is free to walk up to 20 feet north of the waterline, even on private property, but the trio said that vendors placed chairs well south of the 20-foot line to block pedestrians, and put chairs so close together, it was hard for the public to even reach the wet sand.

City Manager Greg Kisela said the city has received multiple complaints about this, and the Code Enforcement Department is working with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office to put a stop to it: “We have very direct and firm conversations with beach vendors on what they can and can’t do.”

Beachgoers have complained to The Log and the city in the past about vendors blocking public access or ordering people off the sand.
In 2005, the council passed an ordinance which requires beach vendors on all Destin beaches to obtain a city permit; keep their operation upland from the 20-foot line; and not “block or impede in any manner” pedestrian access below the line.

“The umbrellas have never been further back than 15 feet,” one of the trio said Monday. Another speaker said several tourists have told her they’re going to Sandestin next year rather than deal with the problem again.

Councilor Tom Weidenhamer said he’d seen the same thing happen at Dunes of Destin where “they’re running Do Not Cross tape between the (no trespass) signs… Come on, we’ve certainly got to have some type of code enforcement that would actually put some teeth in this.”

Kisela said that vendors who violate city rules can lose their operating permit. He said the city and the sheriff’s office have been waiting for more than a year for the Florida Supreme Court to hand down a ruling in a beach property-rights case that might clarify some of the issues, but in the meantime, city policy would be enforced.

“I know it’s frustrating,” Kisela told the three speakers. “As soon as we turn our backs, the umbrellas and chairs start heading your way.”

Councilor Sam Seevers said the worst problems were on the weekend, when vendors moved the chairs closer to the water’s edge to shut out weekend visitors.

Kisela said Code Enforcement Officer David Bazylak already works weekends, mostly at Destin harbor, and could be directed to spend more of his time on the beaches.