Franklin county Commissioners reject "leave no trace" ordinance

Franklin County commissioners rejected a proposed rule on Tuesday designed to keep local beaches cleaner and protect nesting sea turtles.

The commission voted 3 to 2 against the “leave no trace” ordinance which was proposed to keep people from leaving items like tents and beach chairs on the beach overnight.

The rule would also have required beachgoers to fill in any deep holes they dig on the beach before they leave at night.

Thos items tend to hinder sea turtles, which have to crawl across the beaches to dig their nests.

They can also affect sea turtle hatchlings which crawl across the beaches to the Gulf of Mexico when they hatch.

The rule would have had a secondary benefit of making local beaches look cleaner and more appealing to visitors.

There were concerns raised about the cost of the program and the feasibility of enforcing the ordinance along all of Franklin County’s beaches.

There were also concerns about how the liability the county would incur by confiscating property and how county would dispose of the property once it was confiscated.

Commission Chairman Cheryl sanders said she feels the county needs to look at the issue more closely before approving it – especially at the potential costs and at the number of beaches that would be impacted by the rule. 

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