City officials have agreed to move forward with a ban on beach tents and to include additional restrictions on open-air canopies.
During Monday’s regular meeting, the Ocean City Council voted 5-2, with Council President Matt James and Council Secretary Tony DeLuca opposed, to approve the first reading of an ordinance to ban tents on the beach.
The legislation was also amended to include additional regulations on beach canopies, which those opposed argued would be unenforceable.
“I certainly support no tents, and I thought when we brought this up we were really just talking about sides, fronts and backs,” DeLuca said. “I think our main problem on the beach is visibility. That’s the issue, and that’s really the only issue we have. So I’m not going to be voting for this.”
Earlier this month, the mayor and Ocean City Council expressed interest in addressing the increased number of tents on the beach during peak times. Staff also found that the number of complaints had increased as well.
The topic was revisited last Tuesday, when staff presented the City Council with several examples of ordinances adopted by surrounding municipalities, including a Dewey Beach ordinance that outlaws tents but stops short of banning canopies.
With public safety and viewsheds in mind, the council agreed to develop similar regulations, which were introduced for first reading this week.
Why not just ban all people since the majority of Ocean City visitors are scum anyway?
One day all of OC will be boarded up. Like towns in the Wild West
It’s not safe anymore in OC
Thugs are everywhere
Enuf with the constant thug comment. They are part of society and the economic engine. Without them, no more tik tox, no more entertaining videos on the net, no more crime and no more jail time. We pay for the internet and their videos amuse us. We pay for cell phones to watch the internet to watch the videos. We pay for law enforcement, judges and jails. They need them to survive.
Embrace the thug, they are part of Americana!
(sarcasm off, pass me a cold beer)
Tents? What? Someones side hustle with beach umbrellas being trampled?
Tents, yet hammock city under the pier is still A O K?
Stop beating down the hands that feed you City Fail!
people should post the whole story not just part, the ban was for large tents put up early in the morning when no one was around. the large tents were taking up too much space and the cables and ropes that held them in place were extending out too far cause a possible tripping hazard