Photo by Iseth

Tonight commissioners will host a public hearing on the “Leave No Trace” ordinance on Pensacola Beach.

The issue arose following the Memorial Day weekend, when complaints about trash and beach and camping gear left on Pensacola Beach raised locals' ire.

County Attorney Allison Rogers told commissioners that camping already is prohibited on the beach, though it may not have been enforced consistently.

On July 7, State Rep. Mike Hill asked commissioners to take up an ordinance the Santa Rosa Island Authority approved that would require personal property left on the beach after 7 p.m. be removed and disposed of properly.

The ordinance would kick in Jan. 1, 2016.

“We take pride in the appearance of our community, including the beach,” Hill wrote. “To allow visitors to vandalize our community with no penalty for littering the beaches with their leftovers is not taking a proactive step at deterring future harmful activities to our beaches and other local treasures.”

Though the SRIA ordinance made 7 p.m. the cut-off time, commissioners expressed preference for “sunset” to be the cut off.

In January, for example, 7 p.m. is well after dark, but in July and August, it is still well within daylight, they noted.

Fort Pickens uses sunset as the cutoff as well.

Commissioner Doug Underhill said that while Perdido Key has similar concerns, he would not push to have the Key folded into the ordinance.

“I think we can address the issue with the Perdido Key master plan and the Habitat Conservation Plan,” Underhill said.

The agenda for tonight’s meeting is linked here.

Watch it online here.