Board directs staff to survey South Padre beach activities to align ordinances

An unnamed municipal board voted to direct staff to survey all activities occurring on the South Padre beach and report back with recommendations to the council on how the town’s ordinances should apply, after a staff briefing at the meeting.

Board members said the survey is intended to identify commercial uses, events and other beach activities that are not currently described in local ordinances so the council can decide which activities to allow, restrict or regulate. “So what we're looking for today is to proceed with that so that we can come back,” a staff member said.

The staff member told the board the mayor and council had requested the review to better align actual uses on the beach with the town’s rules. The briefing listed examples of activities now operating without specific ordinances or permits, including gender reveals, marriage proposals, merchandise sales, food and alcohol sales, yoga and pilates classes, water activities such as banana boats and surf lessons, umbrella vendors, sand-castle lessons and picnics. The staff member said some water activities and lessons currently operate under an “umbrella vendor” permit system rather than individual permits.

Staff also said code enforcement has already begun compiling lists of observed activity and categorizing potential violations under three broad areas: commercial activity and events, sign violations and umbrella setup violations. The staff member asked board members to email items they wanted included in the survey to staff (the staff member referenced “Emily or I” as contacts) so the final evaluation would reflect additional concerns raised by members.

A board member asked that the survey separate activities that code enforcement could practically enforce from those that could not, citing proposals and picnics as examples. The staff member said the lists already under development include those distinctions.

The board moved to approve the staff survey and return recommendations at a future meeting. A board member made the motion and another seconded; the motion carried with two members voting yes and one member abstaining. The member who initially said they would recuse themselves at the start of the item later announced an abstention at the vote.

Next steps specified by the board: staff will complete the survey of beach activities, refine the list of observed uses and present a fuller report at a subsequent meeting for the board to consider and forward recommendations to council.