PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A new law could shift the balance between public access and private property rights on beaches.
Governor DeSantis just signed a bill that could reshape who's welcome where, especially on the dry sand in front of private homes.
"By repealing the law, we return the authority back to local communities. Cities and counties can now adopt ordinances recognizing recreational customary use," said DeSantis.
WATCH: New law could impact public access on beaches
It's something that could impact our beaches along our coast in Pinellas County.
Judy Smith has lived on Treasure Island for 50 years and said that after last year's storms, her community is still recovering.
"It was this deep, five feet deep, and yeah, we need to have beach re-nourishment," said Smith.
Now, a new law could help beaches recover faster.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Tuesday morning that will repeal a previous law related to customary use of beaches.
This means that local governments will have more power to decide where to allow public recreational use of the dry sand on private beaches.
Smith believes the law will help with tourism.
"They will come…more people will come if they have more access to come on the beach, definitely," said Smith.
Some beach businesses in the past preferred to have their private property extend onto the sand, but Valerie Drygal, the manager of the South Beach Condo Hotel, said she supports public access to our beaches.
"We want people to be out there, we want the public to enjoy the beaches just like we do," said Drygal.
The governor said the new law will also get rid of some red tape when it comes to re-nourishment projects and will help speed up the beach restoration.
"I would hope that the beaches get fixed up so it prevents us from getting all that flooding that we had with Helene," said Drygal.
Smith hopes the new law will help her community come back stronger than ever.
"I just hope that it can clear up and we can get some re-nourishment. I do hope that," said Smith.
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