Surfers hope to amend ordinance at Navarre Beach

Surfers, swimmers and Santa Rosa County officials met last Thursday to discuss potential changes to the surf ordinance that prohibits surfing from certain locations along Navarre Beach.

Midway Fire Chief Jonathan Kanzigg and Fort Walton Beach Firefighter D.J. Stone led the meeting, which gathered about 25 people inside the Holley-Navarre Fire Station on Aug. 3. Santa Rosa County engineer Roger Blaylock, and Terry Wallace, county utilities supervisor also attended.

At issue for surfers is the current surf ordinance which prohibits surfing of any kind in public bathing areas.

Kanzigg would like to see the ordinance amended to bring it closer in line with the ordinances of Escambia, Okaloosa and Baldwin counties. None of these counties restrict which part of the beach surfers can use. Kanzigg said there has not been a case of a swimmer or pedestrian being hit by a surfboard hard enough to cause any injury on Navarre Beach.

For more on this story, see the Aug. 11 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.