Point Pleasant Beach: Mayor Kanitra has made a post about the new beach regulations passed at council last night.

With articles already being written, I wanted to quickly address the sweeping new beach and boardwalk rules passed by the Council late last night.

First and foremost, these measures were taken to stem the tide of disrespect that has been left unchecked for the past 5 years or so. You can’t just wish problems away. And when things continue to get worse, action, not words, are all that will change the course. While it saddened me that some members of the Council chose to put special interest needs before those of the residents, I was incredibly encouraged by the steely resolve of Councilwomen Testa and Byrnes and Councilman Vitale.

Last night we took control of the situation by limiting the size of coolers so that it’s harder to hide contraband. We established a legal minimum age for those who check coolers, so our children aren’t expected to search for substances they legally can’t touch. We banned loud, obnoxious music from being played by those who feel the need to selfishly bother everyone around them. We have limited the ability to gather on the beach after hours to stop the influx of people seeking to make their own parties and trashing our shoreline in the process. And finally, we’ve taken measures to ensure beach operators have some skin in the game when it comes to restricting public drug and alcohol usage.

People will still be able to walk the lateral shoreline. People will still be able to go down to the beach for fireworks night. Surfers, fishermen and divers will still be allowed to do their thing. Your usage of the beach will not see much difference. But those who come here to disrespect our town, our residents and our natural resources should take this as a clear message that we have the resolve to do whatever is necessary to stop you from your heinous behavior. This cannot and will not be allowed to continue.