The Ocean City Beach Patrol is keeping it friendly this summer as it embarks on a mission to educate beachgoers on the city’s new tent ban and canopy restrictions.
Capt. Butch Arbin said lifeguards are spreading the word about a new city ordinance, which bans beach tents and sets several restrictions on open-air canopies.
He said in the first week of its educational campaign, the Beach Patrol had 700 “contacts” with beachgoers regarding the new rules.
“Were just doing our best to educate and inform the public so they can make other arrangements,” he said this week.
This spring, the Ocean City Council passed legislation to ban all beach tents, with the exception of baby tents. The ordinance also prohibits beachgoers from erecting beach canopies before 10 a.m. and then leaving those canopies unattended; prohibits beach canopies larger than 10-by-10 feet; requires a 3-foot separation around a canopy’s perimeter; and requires the anchoring for such canopies to be contained within the canopy’s footprint.
However, officials made it clear to staff that they wanted this summer to be focused on educating visitors – an approach similar to the one the Ocean City Police Department took in 2015, when the city implemented a smoking ban on the Boardwalk.
To that end, Arbin said lifeguards are talking to beachgoers throughout the day and hanging tags on offending tents and canopies when visitors are not around.
“In the morning, when we come across a tent and no one is there, we will hang a tag that informs them of the violation,” he explained. “The tag informs them of the ordinance and motivates them to come talk to us.”