Perdido Key property owners defend 'No trespassing' signs on beaches as visitors push back

Perdido Key property owners defended the "no trespassing" signs on the beaches of Perdido Key during the Escambia County public forum Thursday.

Last month, a group of surfers and surf fishers announced they wanted the Escambia County Commission to update its sign ordinance to remove the "no trespassing" signs in the sandy areas of the Perdido Key beaches that for the past several years have begun to line the property lines, especially near public beach access points.

Perdido Key property owners responded by rallying more speakers to turn out at Thursday's County Commission meeting.

Overall, eight property owners spoke in favor of allowing the signs, while six spoke in favor of removing the signs while the two groups had close to equal numbers in the audience.

Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh told the News Journal last month he was interested in updating the sign ordinance on Perdido Key, although no discussion between the commissioners was held Thursday.

Escambia County Senior Natural Resources Manager Tim Day said sign regulations were changed in 2015 that repealed a prohibition on signs on the beach.

Day said for several years, it was only a few properties that put signs in the sand, but with the growth of online vacation rentals in recent years, the number of signs has proliferated as beachfront landowners have sought to mark their property.

Perdido Key condo owner Brad Farrah said the county should keep the sign ordinance the way it is to inform people of the rules.

He said he walks the beach daily, picking up trash like beer cans and wine bottles and said the county doesn't enforce its rules on the beach.

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"People don't even regard the dog laws where they're not supposed to be walking their dog out on the beach, but I still pet them anyways," Farrah said.

Farrah added that more parking is needed at the state and national park areas on Perdido Key.

"If you guys came on a weekend in the summertime and heard the foul language and the partying and the loud noise going on, when you got our residents, and ours is a residential building, it's not a hotel," Farrah said. "So these people are coming with their families. And they're settling and setting up shop disregarding the signs that we have."

Gary Holt, who organized the effort to ask the county to remove the signs from the beach, said the issue was not about property rights but how visitors to the community perceive Perdido Key.

"People can claim they own all the way to Cuba if they want to. We just want to signs (gone)," Holt said.

Holt said environmental experts like Day have confirmed the signs could put nesting sea turtles at risk.

Perdido Key property owner Mike Scott said the signs aren't a danger to sea turtles but the lack of enforcement of the county's "Leave No Trace Ordinance" was a danger.

"I'm really amused by the suggestion our signs hinder sea turtles," Scott said. "The biggest risk to sea turtles is a failure to comply with the 'Leave No Trace' ordinance. Renters often set up tents and chairs on Saturday afternoon and leave them until the following Friday evening."

Dale Hasting is a surfer who has taught his six children to surf on the beaches of Perdido Key and said the idea of keeping a beach inaccessible goes against hundreds of years of history.

"This little window that we're in where we're trying to enforce and limit the public's access, it can't hold. The people who are here representing the signs and the property rights. It's just not reasonable," Hasting said. "…I hope at the very least today you'll consider improving the vibes out there in the name of community."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Perdido Key property owners defend 'No trespassing' signs on beaches