PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. -- It's July 1 and that means new laws took effect in Florida today. One of them refers to public beach access across the state.
- New controversial beach access law goes into effect
- Beach front property owners can declare portion of beach private
- Law only applies to dry sand areas
It states that beach front property owners can declare a portion of their property on the dry sand private. But because public funds are used to renourish most Bay Area beaches, some won’t see a change at all.
"It's interesting. I don’t see how people could enforce that," said Nick Demyanovich, a beach goer from Largo.
Redington Beach put an ordinance in place before July 1 to assure residents that beach rules would not change.
"People have the right to enjoy the beach. Those property owners have rights, too," said Mayor Nick Simons.
Simons believes residents and beach goers won't have to worry.
He offered this advice, "Just to continue to do what they've been doing and respect everyone else's right to enjoy their property and use of the beach," said Simons.
The law only applies to dry sand areas. Below the high tide line remains public. If a property owner wanted to put a fence around their section of beach, they would need to be granted a permit to do so.
If a property owner chooses to restrict their property, local governments could sue them and present the issue to a judge.