St. Pete-Clearwater Sun

A new St. Pete Beach ordinance banning signs and posts on the sand near the waterline took effect Tuesday night, following a dispute over property markers placed by a local hotel that residents said posed a danger to beachgoers.

City commissioners passed the emergency ordinance last week, giving property owners seven days to comply. The rule prohibits signs or posts within 50 feet landward of the mean high water line. Officials say the markers pose a safety hazard. As of Monday, a walk of the affected area found no remaining signs or posts still in place.

The dispute centers on the Plaza Beach Hotel, whose owner hired a surveyor to mark the hotel’s property boundary using rebar stakes driven into the gulf. Resident and attorney Dominic Isgro, who says he brought the matter to the city’s attention, described the markers as a clear hazard to the thousands of visitors who use the beach each day. He said the rebar was later replaced with wooden posts, which were ultimately removed.

Hotel owner Robert Czyszczon says the markers were placed based on coordinates provided by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and that he complied when the city first asked him to remove the rebar — only to have the replacement wooden stakes stolen days later.

He argues the ordinance oversteps the city’s authority. In a statement, he said the beach area extending to the mean high-water line falls within his private property and questioned the legal basis for the city’s regulation of its use. Czyszczon says he welcomes the public on the beach, but that access requires purchasing a $10 beach day pass or renting chairs or cabanas.

Commissioner Jon Maldonado defended the measure, citing a pattern of potentially dangerous objects appearing on the beach. “Safety is paramount,” he said, noting that rebar had been found in multiple locations.

Isgro is urging the city to go further by adopting a customary use ordinance, which would formally recognize the public’s long-standing right to access beach areas that have been used openly for generations.

The emergency ordinance expires 60 days after it was passed. St. Pete Beach plans to hold a community meeting with hoteliers and residents to determine how to move forward once it expires.

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