Will beach chairs, food negatively impact Surfside beaches? Some say, yes
MIAMI - Residents of Surfside are outraged over a new ordinance that they say will negatively impact their pristine beaches. The main issues at hand: Beach chairs and food.
A new law that passed last night will let hotels and condos pre-set significantly more beach chairs along public beaches in Surfside and for the first time, it will allow food and drinks on the beach.
"There is not another beach that can come close to our beach," says Eliana Salzhauer, a Surfside resident.
She worries soon, her unspoiled paradise will look more like Miami Beach.
"What this means is that this commission has chosen to put private interest - hotels & money - ahead of the public," she said.
Condos and hotels have always been allowed to set up beach chairs, but previous laws were more restrictive. Salzhauer, who's a former Surfside Commissioner, says she fought hard to create more beach space for residents. Now, she says, all of that is being undone.
"This is like going to the movies and saving a whole row for your friends who aren't even there yet," she said.
The other main concern: Food and drinks on the beach.
"The problem with the food is that once the animals and wildlife get used to being fed out there, they are not going to go away," she said.
A spokesperson for the town of Surfside released this statement, "After a passionate discussion regarding the Beach Chair Ordinance at last night's Commission Meeting, Commissioners with differing viewpoints forged a compromise to pass the Ordinance 5-0 with one notable change. The number of possible preset chairs was reduced down to 10 from the originally proposed 20 for every 100 feet of lineal beach frontage."
