OCEAN CITY, Md. - Setting up a spot on the beach in Ocean City has caused problems between some beachgoers and the town for years.
This week, the mayor and City Council met to discuss the beach enforcement team's busy June. During Tuesday's meeting, the town shared a report from Emergency Services covering June 1 through June 21.
The report showed there were 509 encounters between the town’s beach enforcement crews, which consist of six people, and beachgoers for issues including smoking and playing sports on the sand.
The largest number of encounters involved canopy rules, with 900 interactions recorded. The canopy ordinance was updated in April, allowing people to occupy a 15-foot by 15-foot space for canopies. The previous rule allowed a 10-foot by 10-foot space.
Even with nearly 2,000 stops, the town issued zero citations.
"I love Ocean City, I honestly prefer to come here as opposed to like Jersey," says Thomas Carroll, who has visited Ocean City since the 1970s.
Carroll said he appreciates the town's enforcement efforts.
"It was a zoo back in the day, and then it got a lot better, and then it got a little worse. I actually think it's been pretty good the last couple of years," Carroll says.
Another issue the town is monitoring is people setting up tents early to hold spots close to the water. From the same time frame, beach enforcement crews issued 360 tags for empty tents.
"If they're educating people and it's still an issue, maybe they need to go one step further," says Carolyn Scialdone.
Scialdone said setting up on the beach can sometimes feel like a free-for-all.
"It's been every year since we've been up there. Huge tents, with nobody underneath it. Being staked out, seven in the morning they're being put up. To me that's not fair. That's not right," she says.
In April, Town Manager Terry McGean shared with CoastTV that these enforcement crews were designed to educate people on the ordinances, not to collect hefty fines. McGean also shared that the enforcement crews were simply a trial run and will be reassessed in the fall.
As another busy summer rolls on, the battle for a spot in the sand is far from over.
