Longboat Key's new sea turtle regulations take effect in 2022

A new year means new rules, and Longboat Key is no exception.

On Dec. 20, Longboat Key code enforcement officer Chris Kopp held the first of three informational sessions about the town’s updated sea turtle protections.

While Longboat Key’s new sea turtle protections take effect on Jan. 2, 2022, by law, they are applicable during turtle season from May 1 - Oct. 31.

“I understand that as ordinances change, sometimes, people don’t live here year-round,” Kopp said. “They may not be aware of all the rules and regulations we have, so really this phase is to kind of educate everyone.”

The updated regulations address exterior lighting, items left on the beach at night, building, permitting and inspection requirements, prohibited activities and more.

The town made more than 70 changes to Chapter 100 of the Town Code.

“You can almost say we rewrote the entire ordinance,” Kopp said. “The majority of the changes were very minor.”

The changes include:

• Requiring all sources of artificial light visible from the beach to come from turtle-friendly bulbs and turtle-friendly fixtures, minimizing the amount of light that reaches the beach.
• No temporary structures or portable recreation equipment can be within 5 feet of marked marine turtle nests. There was no such prohibition previously.
• Prohibiting the operation of motorized vehicles with some exceptions, including for law enforcement, emergencies, permitted construction projects or tourism properties (hotels and motels) that have a recreational-use agreement with the town. A recreational-use agreement allows an entity to use vehicles to retrieve temporary structures or portable recreational equipment on the beach.
• Requiring temporary structures to be removed from the beach nightly from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. during turtle nesting season.

Town leaders initially considered adding stricter regulations for window tinting as a part of the ordinance. However, town leaders heard from an engineer who explained there is typically a higher cost for darker tinted glass.

“We do have a requirement that if your window is either seaward of the coastal construction control line or directly visible from the beach — so if we can see your window from the beach — it must have 45% on that window or lower,” Kopp said.

Kopp explained why the town recommends a 15% window tint.

“FWC has done some studies and they have shown that at 15%, the amount of light that is emitting from the inside of that property does not drastically affect sea turtles as much as anything larger than that,” Kopp said.

Kopp also explained the town’s violation process once the new rules are in effect. A property found in violation of the rules is first given a verbal warning, and then a courtesy notice to fix the violation.

If a property continues not to follow the rules, Kopp said the town can either issue a citation or go through the special magistrate process.

“Every violation stays on that property with that person for five years,” Kopp said.

Kopp said the special magistrate process is more long-term, for example, for permanent-type lights.

FWC data shows Longboat Key had second-most sea turtle disorientations in 2020 among Florida beaches.

“We’re just trying to find ways where the town of Longboat Key can get off the naughty list with the state of Florida and not be the second-most in disorientations,” Kopp said. “We want to fix that.”

In the next several years, the town will work with FWC and Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium to determine the effectiveness of the new rules, which are aimed at lowering sea turtle disorientation rates.

Specifically, Kopp said the town will monitor FWC data on disorientations, disorientation rates and how the data compares to previous years.

“Not only do we look at our disorientation rates... we also want to look at neighboring jurisdictions,” Kopp said. “Just because we have a high number, if other jurisdictions are also having a high number, that tells us that there is something going on with the region instead of just here (in) the town of Longboat Key.”

The town is planning to hold two other in-person meetings about the new sea turtle protections at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21 and at 10 a.m. Monday, March 14. Each meeting will provide the same information, but will not be available via Zoom like the Dec. 20 meeting.

Anyone with questions can call the Planning, Zoning & Building Department at 941-316-1966 or by emailing [email protected].