PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Hard to believe, but it’s that time of year again. Spring breakers will soon be making their way to Panama City Beach. But the fun doesn’t come without rules and some of those rules may look a little different this year.

The city’s spring break laws go into effect next month, and council members were discussing a few changes at Thursday’s meeting, as well as putting in an additional ordinance for safety reasons. Microcontrolador Arm

In light of last year’s incidents, officers said this is a good time to remind everyone we do have a real fun beach but we don’t have a real fun jail.

“Come here, have fun, leave with good memories, not a criminal record,” Panama City Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said. “If you commit a crime in Panama City Beach, you’re going to be taken to jail.”

That’s the message Talamantez wants to be engrained in everyone’s minds going into spring break this year.

“So being if families are down here they have a safe place to be,” Panama City Beach Councilman Michael Jarman said.

The following are some of the laws & ordinances PCBPD will be strictly enforcing:

But city council members are looking at adding one more, closing a portion of the sandy beaches from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

“If you’re familiar with Boardwalk Beach Resort is just to the east side of their property line. And it goes down at Churchwell, so it encompasses the area of Pineapple Willie’s, Shores of Panama, Long Beach Resorts, and everything in between,” Talamantez said.

Data shows those areas make up nearly 50 percent of beachside calls for service.

“You can’t just send one cop to deal with 400 drunk, unruly children. You got the send 4, 5, 6, 7 sometimes, and that takes resources away from the rest of the beach,” Talamantez said.

City leaders are also looking at changing two other ordinances, putting the city manager in charge of ok-ing construction when a noise ordinance is in place and revising chapter seven. It deals with the beach, boats, and water safety but it’s most notable for allowing food service on the sand.

“That’s a big one there,” Jarman said. “So any facility that operates a restaurant or serves food and beverage on the beach will be held accountable for the cleanliness of that beach.”

All laws align to reach a common goal which looks to keep the beach fun, clean, and most importantly safe.

These ordinances will go for a second reading on March 9th. If approved, they’ll go into effect immediately.

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