Marco Island condos fined $1,300 for
violating sea turtle lighting restrictions
Article Courtesy of The Marco Eagle
By Omar Rodríguez Ortiz
Published August 31, 2019
The Code Enforcement
Magistrate issued $1,300 in fines on Tuesday
against several Marco Island condominium
associations for violating sea turtle
lighting restrictions.
Special magistrate
Myrnabelle Roche fined five condominium
associations $250 each for violating the Sea
Turtle protection ordinance of the city of
Marco Island that establishes sea turtle
protection standards. Another one was fined
$50.
The condo associations of Tampico and Royal
Seafarer were fined after Code Enforcement
found their pool lights could potentially
disorient sea turtles, deterring them from
nesting or from returning to the ocean. The
associations of Princess Del Mar, Sea Winds
and Admiralty House were also fined because
one or more apartment units were violating
the sea turtle lighting restrictions.
Code compliance officer Andy Lindenmuth said
many condominiums put signs in lobbies and
elevators to remind residents and visitors
of the sea turtle ordinance.
"We are at the mercy of
weekly rentals," a representative of the Sea
Winds Condominium Association said.
Roche ordered each of the five condo
associations to additionally pay $50 for
administrative fees and costs.
Myrnabelle Roche is the code enforcement magistrate
of the City of Marco Island. The City started the magistrate system
in 2015.
The Madeira on Marco Island condo association was fined $50 for violating
sea turtle lighting restrictions but was not charged for administrative
fees.
Roche postponed issuing fines against two other condo associations,
Sandcastle I and Emerald Beach, to give Code Enforcement an opportunity to
re-inspect the condominiums after changes were made to their respective pool
lighting.
The city dismissed the sea turtle code violation against the South Seas West
Condo Association Tower 1.
The Eagle reported earlier in August Code Enforcement had issued 31 notices
of violation during the 2019 sea turtle season, 11 more than in 2018. Sea
turtle season runs through Oct. 31.
Why are lighting restrictions important?
The female turtles lay their nests on the beach at night and then use the
naturally bright horizon to find their way back to the sea, according to the
City of Marco Island's website.
"Artificial lights on the upland and shoreline disorient the sea turtles and
deter them from nesting or from returning to the ocean," the website reads.
Likewise, the hatchlings will travel inland toward the brighter artificial
light. If they are disoriented, they often die from dehydration and are
easily preyed upon by predators, according to the website.
What you can do to help:
Turn off all unnecessary lights.
Close blinds and curtains.
Shield light sources.
Apply window tint to windows.
Don’t use decorative landscape lighting on the beach
side.
Plant vegetation buffers between light sources and beach.
Don’t use flashlights or flash photography on the beach
at night.
