ST. PETE BEACH — City commissioners have imposed a 60-day emergency moratorium on no-trespassing signs along the Gulf beach, setting up a showdown with Gulf-front property owners who say the markers are needed to deter trespassers and help deputies enforce property lines.
The emergency ordinance, approved 4-1 at a recent commission meeting, prohibits signs, posts and poles within 50 feet landward of the mean high waterline. Violators have seven days to remove them. Commissioner Al Causey cast the dissenting vote.
City Manager Frances Robustelli said the city had fielded “significant concern from the community over various poles being erected within sand, close to the water line on the beach.” She added: “We do have concerns that it is presenting some safety issues.”
The ordinance states that poles and signs near the waterline can obstruct emergency operations and beach management, and that during storms they can become windborne debris. Property owners had not removed them voluntarily despite the city’s requests, the ordinance says.
Gulf-front residents pushed back, arguing the rule is vague, unenforceable and may not survive a legal challenge.
Resident Jacques Martino said the signs are not meant to clutter the beach but to clarify where private property begins. He said the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has encouraged owners to mark boundaries so deputies can respond to trespassing complaints.
St. Petersburg attorney Alyssa Gagnon told commissioners she had “some serious constitutional concerns” under the First and Fifth amendments. She said the ordinance is “plainly viewpoint discriminatory” because it carves out an exception for government signs without explaining why those would pose less of a safety risk.
“The First Amendment simply does not permit that kind of imbalance,” Gagnon said. “If a sign creates a safety concern, it does so regardless of who puts it up.” She said the ordinance is likely to be struck down and is written so broadly it could reach hand-held signs.
Property owners also questioned how the rule would be enforced. The mean high waterline is invisible and shifts with the tides, said Robert Czyszczon, who urged the city to work with waterfront residents on a clearer way to mark private beach.
“The mean high waterline moves, so how is the sheriff going to measure 50 feet if there’s no point?” he asked.
City Attorney Ralf Brookes said the 50-foot threshold was chosen because it is measurable and targets the most obvious violations — rebar and posts placed in or near the water. Other jurisdictions use setbacks of 75 to 200 feet, he said.
Robustelli said enforcement would begin with seeking voluntary compliance. Disputes over the 50-foot measurement would go to code compliance, she said.
“The idea is for everyone to generally know what the expectations are,” she said.
Two changes were added after the ordinance was published. One allows groups serving a public function — such as sea turtle nest monitors — to place signs in place of government agencies. The other lets existing beach operators place a single A-frame sign within 40 feet of the visible waterline, provided it is removed each night.
Causey said the city needs a workshop with stakeholders to find a workable solution. He also objected to using the mean high waterline as a standard because it shifts with the tides.
Mayor Scott Tate called the ordinance a starting point that will bring the city and property owners to the table.
The emergency ordinance and first reading of a companion ordinance passed 4-1.