Task force mulls changes to beach umbrella ordinance

By KEVIN RICH
Special to the PRESS

The South Padre Island Shoreline Task Force considered a revision to an ordinance related to beach umbrellas, as well as proposed beach and dune permits during their Monday, Nov. 20 meeting.

The task force discussed amending an ordinance regulating shade devices and chairs on the public beach. Shoreline Management Director Brandon Hill recounted that a revised version of chapter 13-24 section E had been brought forward during a previous task force meeting.

“What was decided at that meeting was that we ought to take a step back and have a public forum where the property owners, the business owners, and the City staff and shoreline and City Council, could all sit in a room and hash through the various issues that come along with the umbrella ordinance,” he explained.

Hill emphasized the purpose of the ordinance is not to inhibit any of the activities related to the beach umbrellas. “All this is referencing is the storage of the equipment,” Hill said. He added that the previous ordinance was vague in terms of this point. “That led to an issue where, during a storm, we had the inability to get everything off of the beach in a timely manner,” Hill said.

“What we’ve efforted (sic) to do, by having this forum, and then taking all of those notes, and putting it into this proposed ordinance, is solve that ambiguity by really spelling out when the City will be making this call, where the material will need to be placed, and the means by which we’ll be doing that,” he said.

Task force member Neil Rasmussen asked if the vendors had bought into the issue of when equipment would have to be removed and where it would need to be placed.

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