Code enforcement seeks vehicles and urges targeted lighting enforcement as turtle season begins

St. Pete Beach code enforcement asked the Beach Stewardship Committee to support a budget request for additional equipment and described current turtle-season enforcement and outreach.

The matter matters because staff said more mobility and proactive outreach would improve enforcement of lighting, dune protection and prohibited beach behaviors during nesting season and as tourism rebounds.

Pete Doer, St. Pete Beach code enforcement manager, told the committee staff have been conducting proactive inspections and year-round beach work and that additional vehicles would allow more timely enforcement and inspections. “We’ve been doing inspections on the beach since 2016 when I got here,” Doer said. He said staff are already running night inspections and use specialized lenses (demonstrated at the meeting) to assess whether lights are…