WILDWOOD – The Wildwood beaches will close between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., May 1 through Sept. 30, per Ordinance 1269-23, which passed after second reading, Aug. 9.
The ordinance will become effective 20 days after publication, meaning it will go into effect after Labor Day, when most of the visitors have gone home.
The purpose of the ordinance, as noted in the document, is to preserve the “public health, welfare, and safety.”
The ordinance, which orders the beach closed 1.5 hours earlier, is among several that have been introduced in an effort to combat general rowdiness and bad behavior by juveniles and others, including drinking and smoking cannabis.
The city passed an ordinance earlier that bans the possession or display of alcoholic beverages on the beach regardless of whether the holder is consuming it. The city also applied a “breach of peace” violation to behaviors such as smoking in nonsmoking areas and playing loud music.
Wildwood also adjusted the start of its juvenile curfew from 1 a.m. to midnight to better control juvenile behavior and to free up more officers to move from the boardwalk to the entertainment district.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
