Panama City Beach City Council to consider temporarily closing portion of beach overnight

PANAMA CITY BEACH − With spring break season approaching, local officials might close a portion of the beach overnight.

In a meeting on Thursday at City Hall, the Panama City Beach City Council is slated to consider an ordinance to temporarily close a portion of sandy beach from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. The region spans from about Churchwell Drive to Shark Lane.

Officials approved the same ordinances last year to help prevent "pop-up events," or large, unsanctioned and often spontaneous gatherings that are difficult for law enforcement officers to contain.

"The city's beautiful beaches continue to attract even larger crowds than in previous years," the meeting's agenda reads. "Since 2020, the City has seen a large increase in pop-up events ... wherein large groups of young people gather at night on the beach engaging in criminal activity (and) creating unrest."

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These gatherings have attracted hundreds of people, many of whom were tourists staying in surrounding condos. This, paired with several large parking lots in the area, is known to drive people to the stretch of beach leaders will consider temporarily closing.

Officials have said the closure allows the Panama City Beach Police Department to better utilize its resources throughout the city.

In a press conference earlier this month, local law enforcement officials from across Bay County said they are gearing up to deal with the influx of tourists who will inevitably flock to the area for spring break. They anticipate crowds will be heaviest from March 10 to April 10, with the peak time being the last week of March.

From March 26-27 of last year, more than 160 people were arrested throughout Bay County in connection to "Panamaniac," a chaotic and unsanctioned event that gained traction on social media and brought waves of unruly tourists to the Panama City Beach area. Those arrested racked up almost 260 combined charges, of which more than 70 involved drugs, 60 involved guns and 15 involved alcohol.

Law enforcement officials said they are aware of flyers circulating on the internet for similar events this year.

"A temporary late-night closure of the sandy Gulf beach in a specific geographic area, specifically while the city hosts a high volume of visitors, will substantially advance public interest of mitigating the current threats to public safety in the city, and allow the city to better protect its visitors and residents from crime," the agenda reads.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: PCB City Council to consider temporarily closing portion of beach