Surfers Seek to Clear the Beach of Private Property Postings
by Jeremy Morrison, Inweekly
Along the beach on Perdido Key, gulf-front property owners have staked their claim, literally, with no-trespassing signs posted, sometimes linked with rope or chain, up and down the beach. A group of local surfers and surf-fishermen are looking to change that as they push Escambia County to reimagine a beach on the key without such signage.
“I’ve got this beautiful sunset picture — aquamarine water, white sand — and, I’m not exaggerating, 30 ugly-ass signs in the sand,” said Gary Holt.
Holt is the 63-year-old surfer organizing a Dec. 8 run on the public forum preceding the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners meeting, where they will implore county officials to consider limiting beach signage.
“It’s just ugly,” Holt said, contending that the property signage junks up Perdido Key’s beach, where the public comes to enjoy the waterfront. “That’s our playground. That’s where we go. That’s our sanctuary. That’s where we go to escape.”
In addition to being a visual eyesore, Holt said, the signs pose a risk to nesting sea turtles, which could become disoriented upon running into one. A realtor by profession, the surfer isn’t looking to get into a debate on beachfront private property rights; he just wants the signs gone.
“We’re not arguing over the property line, who owns what, the high water line, we just want no signs posted on the sand,” Holt said.
Tim Day, Escambia’s senior natural resources manager, said that signs began proliferating following a 2015 rewrite of a county ordinance during which the number of signs allowed on the beach was left unspecified.
“In recent years, it’s been starting to get more,” noted Day.
The signs, Day said, do indeed have the potential to interfere with nesting sea turtles. The posted signs, he explained, would effectively act the same as lawn chairs or sun shades left on the beach, which is not allowed by county ordinance.
“Obviously, these are nesting beaches for sea turtles,” Day said, pointing out that any interference with the animals would be against federal law. “It’s considered a violation of the Endangered Species Act.”
Also, the signage is problematic when considering other Perdido Key inhabitants, such as the endangered Perdido Key Beach Mouse.
“They provide perching habitat for a variety of birds of prey,” Day said of the signs.
To limit property signage on the beach, Escambia County officials would need to codify such limitations. Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, who is newly representing Perdido Key following recent redistricting, may be looking to do just that.
“We play by the rules,” Bergosh said, “but we get to set the rules.”
Commissioner Bergosh’s take on Perdido Key’s beachfront signage seems to be in line with Holt and his band of surfers: he’s not a big fan.
“I think it’s ugly. I think it’s garish,” Bergosh said. “I think other places you go; you don’t see it.”
The commissioner holds a romanticized view of the beach. One that leans into the concept of public access and one where the landscape isn’t dotted with No-Trespassing signs.
“I grew up here, walking these beaches, fishing these beaches with my dad,” he said. “We didn’t have that.”
The commissioner said that he understands that some property owners would prefer to see the public’s access to the waterfront limited but that he’s more interested in ensuring and increasing the public’s access to the water by improving the key’s available parking and access points.
“There are some people who would like it if no one ever came out there other than people that own property,” Bergosh said. “That’s not going to happen. We’re going to expand the public beach access.”
The commissioner isn’t sure exactly how the county should address this issues of signage on Perdido Key, but he’s looking forward to the public discussion when the surfers come to the commission’s public forum.
“I’m assuming they’re going to bring some ideas,” Bergosh said.
The commissioner said that he recognized any solution would be a compromise between property owners wishing to mark their property clearly and those hoping to clear the beachscape entirely of signage. Bergosh refers to this notion of compromise on Perdido Key as the “yin and yang.” Day calls it the “balance.”
“The key is quite unique,” Day said, “as we try to balance environmental protection with property rights.”
— The Dec. 8 Escambia County Board of County Commissioner’s public forum begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place.
