Beach visitors keep it few and far-between

It’s difficult to go anywhere on Longboat Key without seeing the beach, hearing the surf or smelling the salt air.

It’s one of the reasons a lot of people moved here in the first place.

But suddenly, even the peaceful stretches of sand aren’t immune from the stresses of ordinary life.

In March, town officials closed all 12 public access points to the beach, though town leaders say the beach itself remains open to town residents as long as they follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s measures to maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet and to make sure groups do not exceed 10 people.

To the north, Manatee County closed its beaches on March 20. Sarasota closed its beaches on March 21, but in many cases those counties shuttered large parks such as those on Siesta Key or Coquina Beach.

Greer Island, though, is closed to boat and foot traffic. 

“So far, residents who live here are walking down the beach, and they’re not violating those other things,” Harmer said. “We are not enforcing any type of beach closure for that activity at this point.”

Cyndi Seamon, Longboat Key Turtle Watch vice president and a town resident, said what she’s seen on the beach generally gives her no reason to be alarmed.

"I think people are doing the right thing," said Seamon, who lives at Beach Walk. "And even if there is a group [walking on the beach], they're like a couple of yards and then 6 feet away."

Seamon expressed her appreciation of living right on the beach.

"We're on social distancing with our neighbors and trying to enjoy our beautiful backyard that we have," Seamon said. "And, again, we're very fortunate for those of us who live out here that we can do that."

Police have been dispatched to the beach several times in the last few weeks, responding to reports of gatherings that callers thought might be improper. In one case, an officer discovered he had been sent to a beach wedding with about eight people in attendance. No action was taken, but officers have turned away some beachgoers who have parked improperly to find their way to the sand.

Barriers at the entrances to the gulf-front access points prevent cars from entering or parking. But dozens of private residences and condos front the beach and several bayside homeowners groups, such as Bay Isles and Buttonwood Cove, maintain private access areas.

“If we receive complaints that people are gathering and they’re violating the advisories out there on group size and social distancing, we would investigate those,” Harmer said. “If some additional direction came down from the state and the county regarding further closures of beaches, we would then work with them on that. But in the meantime, we're using proactive efforts to encourage people to comply, and so far we've had compliance occur.”

During the last weekend in March, Seamon said she saw a group of people park at Whitney Plaza and use Beach Walk's private property to access the beach.

"One of our owners called the police and said, 'You know, we've observed this two days in a row, and you know, they're parked across the street,'" Seamon said. "So the two police officers walked out to the beach and told them that they had to leave. And they did. They escorted them off and they haven't come back again."

Seamon said she has not seen anyone else try to illegally park and use private property to access the beach.

"I think people just thought, 'Well, maybe we could try it and if no one cares or no one calls on it, you know, we can go to the beach, right?'" Seamon said.

Beach Walk has also put up signs that read, "No beach access, no trespassing."

Harmer also noted the differences between the beaches in Longboat Key compared to other parts of Manatee and Sarasota counties.

“Sarasota County has large public beaches, like Siesta as an example, where they have these large expansive parking lots of major beach areas where the public comes in in a big way,” Harmer said. “We don't have that. We don't have large public beach areas that are recreational areas like that.”

Longboat Observer reporter Nat Kaemmerer contributed to this report.