Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) Announces “Remove It Or Lose It” Campaign (07/17/2007)

WALTON COUNTY, Fla.—July 17, 2007 – The Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC) is announcing the “Remove it or Lose it” campaign to help the Sheriffs Department and Code Enforcement enforce the Walton County Ordinance 2003-07g. The “Remove it or Lose it” campaign will assist in educating the public on the ordinance to ensure a smooth transition for beachgoers. Enforcement of the ordinance will go into effect on July 23, 2007.

Walton County ordinance 2003-07G states: it shall be unlawful for beach chairs, umbrellas, tents and other such personal articles to be on the beach in such a manner that they interfere with beach maintenance, nesting turtles, or emergency vehicles.

“Due to the sheer volume of beachgoers leaving personal items on the beach, the county was forced to address this public safety and environmental concern,” explained Kriss Titus, executive director of the TDC. “As the organization charged with marketing the destination and maintaining the county’s 26-miles of beaches, it was natural for the TDC to spearhead the ‘Remove It or Lose It’ campaign and for our beach crews to remove abandoned items.”

The enforcement of the new ordinance will protect the public and nesting sea turtles. Personal articles left on the beach overnight during sea turtle nesting season have resulted in significant numbers of abandoned nesting attempts. In addition, personal belongings left on the beach are hindering beach maintenance crews from adequately cleaning the beach and interfering with emergency vehicle access. There have also been reports of injuries to beachgoers who encounter these items while walking the beach after dark.

The intent of the ordinance is not to remove personal belongings under private boardwalks, but rather to ensure all items are removed from the middle of the beach. The ordinance applies to all areas falling within the definition of “beach,” regardless of whether such areas are located on public or private property. Articles that are stored adjacent to or underneath personal walkovers will not be removed unless there is TDC maintained trash receptacle at that location. Any personal items left near county walkovers or adjacent to any of the 400 trash receptacles maintained by the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC) will be removed without being tagged.

The Walton County Sheriffs Department, TDC beach maintenance staff, Code Enforcement, and the Walton County beach activities coordinator will all aid in the implementation of “Remove it or Lose it.” The Walton County Sheriffs Department will tag items on the beach giving owners and beach vendors 24 hours to remove the items from the beach. The tag will have a date, time, and description of the item observed on the beach. Items left near county walkovers and TDC maintained beach receptacles will be removed without being tagged. The TDC beach maintenance staff will remove all items that have remained past the 24-hour notice. The ordinance as written applies to all areas falling within the definition of “beach,” regardless of whether such areas are located on public or private property. However, articles that are stored adjacent to or underneath personal walkovers will not be removed. For more information, contact Code Enforcement at (850) 622-0000.

Email to a Friend

Print Page

Join Media List

NEXT:

Silver Sands Offers Shoppers New Dining and Entertainment Options with Cheeseburger in Paradise and Carrabba’s Italian Grill (06/20/2007) Both restaurants will be opening their first location in the Destin area this year.