Ordinance to keep beach clear overnight

Private beach owners will now be responsible for items left on their property at night.
The Walton County Board of Commissioners voted on Tuesday to approve an ordinance that would allow Walton County Sheriff’s deputies to tag and ultimately remove items left on private beaches that do not have permits.
A Remove It Or Lose It program was started last year by the county to cut down on items left on the beach such as chairs, children’s toys and umbrellas, but the WCSO ceased its tagging operations on private beaches after legal concerns.
“It ain’t no big deal,” said South Walton Turtle Watch head Sharon Maxwell.
Maxwell and several other proponents of the ordinance spoke Tuesday about sea turtle habitat disruption, safety for emergency vehicles and the overall beauty of the beach that are being hampered by objects left on beachfronts overnight.
“If there were as many tents and things on the beach during World War II at Normandy, it might have been called Normandy week,” said beach resident Bobby Stewart. “As Andy Griffith used to say, nip it in the bud.”
The pubic forum on Tuesday was the second to discuss the ordinance. Commissioners amended the original proposal from June 10 to remove citations, legal responsibility for the county for permit holders and add umbrellas to the list of items to be removed by authorities.