Local Activism:
Bal Harbour Beach Access: Latest Update

WE ROCKED THAT BRIDGE!!! KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM!
That is right! In case you were lost in space... In case you didn't hear... Saturday's protest was a HUGE success! We were covered by 4 local news channels (Chan. 7, 6, 10 and Telemundo) rebroadcast the next morning on some, and the Miami Herald printed a fantastic piece on the event.

While a follow-up party is in the works, the fight is still on and we still need you to act!
We need people to sign the following petition that helps us get Bal Harbour Village Manager Alfred Treppeda pushed out-the-door for unethical conduct regarding failure to protect public beach access. Click here and help us STOP! unethical conduct to block beach access in Florida!

What’s happened in Bal Harbour is not fair.  It is not right.  It is time for action! Attend our public demonstration and march! Review the complete timeline of all events leading up to this point. Browse a picture-and-video tour of the situation:

• Complete Timeline of Events
• Photo/video tour of the entire situation.
• More recent photos in January 2008.

Over a year and a half ago, the South Florida chapter embarked on a mission to regain access to a public beach which had been closed indefinitely by developers and allowed to persist by the negligence of Bal Harbour Village and Miami-Dade County.  Developers paid Bal Harbour Village over $300,000 to close a public parking lot and an accessway to the beach. The developers used the space to store materials and equipment and provided no real alternative for public access to the public beach.

There was also one small problem: Bal Harbour didn't have the legal authority to close the public area since it was owned by the Florida Department of Transportation. They also didn't have a legal right to accept $300,000 from developers.

Surfrider has been working to get access restored and to resolve the chronic, long term problems of public beach access in Bal Harbour Village.   The fight is intense with millions of dollars of tax payer dollars for sand pumping beach projects at stake.