Beachfront lights that disorient sea turtles could bring $1,000 to $15,000 fines

Hotels, condos and other beachfront properties whose lights draw nesting sea turtles off course could face set fines of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for repeat violations under an ordinance up for a first vote at the Nov. 18 Miami Beach City Commission meeting.

A violation the special magistrate finds irreparable or irreversible would carry a $15,000 fine, according to the city memo on the item (R5 N), sponsored by Commissioner David Suarez.

Today, the city’s turtle protection rules require a special magistrate hearing to set the fine for every violation. The ordinance would remove that step and replace it with the fixed schedule, along with a process for appeals. The magistrate would keep the power to set compliance deadlines and order property owners, or whoever manages a property’s lighting, to fix problems.

The ordinance also adds warnings:

• An “education period” in the 60 days before each nesting season, when code inspectors could hand out written warnings.
• For most violations, inspectors would have to give a written warning first, unless the violator already got one during the same nesting season.
• For campfires and bonfires, fireworks without a state permit, unauthorized vehicles on the beach and special-event violations, inspectors could skip the warning.

Leatherback sea turtles nest on Miami Beach, and the city’s nesting season starts April 1, a month ahead of the state’s May 1 to Oct. 31 season, to account for them, the memo says. Artificial light at night disorients both nesting females and hatchlings. The city adopted its turtle ordinance in 2006 and last tightened its lighting rules in October 2024; the memo says the city has since found a need for more penalties and enforcement.

A separate Suarez ordinance on the same agenda (R5 M), up for a second and final vote, would set lighting limits, time limits and penalties for special events held on the beach during nesting season. The commission’s agenda also carries a resolution to end floodlight use in Lummus Park, reported earlier.

The penalty ordinance is set for a 9:56 a.m. public hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive. If it passes, it would need a second vote.