City of Naples Council members voted to reopen beaches during an emergency meeting on Monday after closing them on Saturday following reports of overcrowding.
Council members heard several hours of public comment and debated the pros and cons of restricting beach access hours into separate blocks to discourage people from neighboring counties from visiting Naples beaches.
Beaches in Miami Dade and Broward Counties have not opened yet, and council members expressed concern about people coming from those more populous counties and exposing Naples residents to COVID-19.
It took six hours and three motions for council members to vote 4-3 to reopen Naples beaches with certain restrictions.
Beaches will be open from sunrise to sunset Monday through Friday. The use of coolers and tents will be prohibited. Beach chairs and umbrellas will be permitted and beach restrooms will reopen as well.
On the weekends, beach hours will be bifurcated. Naples beaches will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then from 5 p.m. until dusk. Chairs, tents, umbrellas and coolers will be prohibited in the morning, but beach chairs will be permitted from 5 p.m. to dusk.
Walking, swimming, running, paddle boarding and fishing will be permitted on the beaches but not during the weekend 5 p.m. to dusk block.
Council members also voted to increase parking fee violations to $200 and eliminate early payment discounts. There will be no hourly beach parking available, and illegally parked cars will be towed.
The new restrictions will go into effect on Wednesday, May 13.
