Belleair Shore settles lawsuit over umbrella ban

On Aug. 1, the Belleair Shore commission decided to approve a settlement with former Belleair Beach mayor Joseph Manzo.

BELLEAIR SHORE — After more than three years of protest and legal wrangling, Belleair Shore settled a lawsuit last week over whether the town can legally ban beach umbrellas on the town’s portion of the sand along the Gulf of Mexico.

According to a court ruling, the answer technically is “yes,” but because of the protests by residents of its neighboring town, Belleair Beach, the tiny Gulf front town backed down in 2022 and rescinded the original 2020 ordinance and allowed limited use of beach umbrellas.

Belleair Shore homeowners, who own the beach all the way to the high-water mark, had become upset as nonresident beachgoers set up tents and umbrellas on what they viewed as their private property, particularly during the pandemic, a situation that led to the town’s commission enacting the original beach umbrellas ban.

The new ordinance, which greatly limited where umbrellas could be placed on the beach, did not quell the dispute.

Nor did the compromise satisfy then-Belleair Beach Mayor Joseph Manzo, who continued to litigate his personal lawsuit against Belleair Shore, claiming the town had violated a 75-year-old beach-use agreement between the towns as well as the state Constitution.

Now, after almost $40,000 spent in legal fees and the Florida League of Cities — which represented Belleair Shore in the lawsuit — paying Manzo a $5,000 settlement, the issue appears to be finally resolved.

According to a settlement filed in Pinellas Circuit Court, Manzo is barred from reviving his suit against the town. Without his agreeing to the settlement, the case would have gone to trial later this month.

The settlement was offered by the town and stipulated that Manzo fully release Belleair Shore from any claims relating to the beach umbrella issue. Originally the town offered Manzo $2,500 but that was increased to $5,000 in the final court-approved settlement that stipulated that each side in the dispute would be responsible for their own attorney’s fees and court costs.

Belleair Shore was also required to dismiss its charges against two Belleair Beach residents, Pedro Redero and Robert Angelo, for allegedly violating the original beach umbrella ban. Hearings to formalize those dismissals are expected to be scheduled within the next month.

Manzo had alleged in his lawsuit that Belleair Shore officials failed to enforce certain beach-related regulations but then began citing Belleair Beach residents for violating the beach umbrella ban, even when umbrellas were placed on the wet-sand portion of the beach regulated by the state. He also claimed the ban adversely affected his and other’s health through harmful sun exposure.

A court in June ruled in favor of the town on several issues, including the constitutionality of the beach-umbrella ban and related matters, but Manzo’s case continued on various other legal issues. Then in July, Manzo, said that he would agree to the settlement, citing ill health, provided that the cases against Belleair Beach residents were dismissed.

The Belleair Shore Town Commission met briefly in a “shade” session several weeks ago to discussion approving the settlement, which was filed and approved by the court on Aug. 1.

Non-residents continue to be limited to single-pole umbrellas no greater than 7.5 feet in diameter that can only be placed in front of the three beach accesses.

However, residents of the tiny community of about 50 homes — mostly grand-scale houses best described as mansions — can put umbrellas on their own beachfront property for up to three days.

The ordinance is part of the town’s official list of “prohibited activities” on the town’s beach that also includes such behaviors as acting “in a rough, boisterous or offensive manner,” “appearing in a state of nudity,” holding a barbeque, drinking alcohol or leaving garbage in the sand.

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