Restrictions eased on private beaches

Beachfront homeowners on Casey Key no longer have to abide by a full set of activity restrictions the county imposes on all of its beaches.

Property owners on Casey Key, Siesta Key and Manasota Key expressed opposition to most of the 17 prohibitions in the county code, because they felt the rules were written for public beaches and should not be applied to private beaches.

In particular, they opposed restrictions on using glass containers, playing sports and camping overnight.

County commissioners last week unanimously approved a smaller set of restrictions that Casey Key and Manasota Key homeowners proposed.

The following activities will still be prohibited on private beaches on those two barrier islands:

• Abandonment of animal fecal matter

• Parking or driving motorized vehicles on the beach

• Disposal of litter, except in proper receptacles

• Sale of food or drink or sale or rental of sports equipment, except by county permit

• Fires, except in grills, fireplaces or barbecue pits

• Introduction of any plant or animal species to the environment by willful abandonment, negligence or for any other reason without county permission

Casey Key residents thanked county commissioners and staff for their assistance.

“You’ve taken the time to listen to our concerns and solicited our ideas,” said Dennis Dowdy, Casey Key Association member.

Siesta Key residents oppose all 17 county restrictions being imposed on their private beaches, but they wanted to write their own revisions, separate from the other two barrier islands.

They plan to discuss their ideas with county staff sometime in the fall.