Ocean City officials agreed this week to ban beach tents and to set restrictions on beach canopies.
On Monday, the Ocean City Council voted 4-2, with Council President Matt James and Council Secretary Tony DeLuca opposed, to adopt a ban on beach tents.
The ordinance, passed on second reading, also includes language regulating where beach canopies can be placed and how big they can be.
“There are no perfect ordinances. There are always going to be some things that you have to work around,” Mayor Rick Meehan said. “But I think all of this is very clear, and I think that this will be a season, a summer, of education. And when you look at the future, I think we’ll be glad, when we look back, that we passed this ordinance tonight.”
In early May, the mayor and Ocean City Council expressed interest in addressing the increased number of tents on the beach during peak times. City government staff also found that the number of complaints regarding tents had increased as well.