We had previously written to Mayor Carlos Gimenez expressing our objection to the location of the boat storage house as well as our concerns over the lack of transparency.  Mr. Gimenez, as a county commissioner, had voted in favor of the agreement when it came before the Miami-Dade County Commission as a resolution.

 

At issue: the original resolution identified the Boat Storage House as being at the “Bill Bird Marina”.  This is at the south end of the park, approximately 1 mile south of the location now in the plan, at the "Haulover Beach Marina" and North Parking Lot .

 

The mayor’s senior assistant called, and we explained our concerns and she is going to follow up on the issue and a face-to-face meeting will be scheduled soon.

 

Miami-Dade County’s Charter calls for public hearings before an agreement of this size is executed. Further, Article 6 (which was in effect at the time of the resolution) requires a countywide vote for a building over 1500 square feet.  The County Charter was revised on January 31, 2012 and Article 6 is now renumbered as Article 7.

 

On May 3, Ken Tauer, Secretary, Richard Mason, President, representing South Florida Free Beaches/Florida Naturist Association and Shirley Mason, Executive Director of B.E.A.C.H.E.S Foundation, met with the Chief of Park Planning and Research and her staff on the boat storage house and other planning issues including disabled parking designed in the 2001 Haulover Park Master Plan.  In that Master Plan, a new boat storage house was located adjacent to where the present boat rack is located...i.e. south of the North Parking Lot.

 

The Park Department’s position is that because plans to expand the North Beach Parking Lot provide additional spaces there will be the same number of spaces available for beach visitors. Using a formula that is based on only 20% of boat owners showing up on any day, they estimate there will be no loss of spaces for the beach visitor. This formula is optimistic at best and does not appear to account for the guests arriving in cars of boat owners.

 

As it presently stands there will be user conflict for parking spaces between the boat owners and the beach visitors. The fact that the present number of spaces is not adequate for beach visitors at this time, the boat starge building only compounds the problem.

 

We are not opposed to the boat storage facility being built in Haulover Beach Park since there is a need for additional boat storage facilities in Northeast Miami-Dade County. Our objection is the proposed location and it is our goal to have it moved to the first original planned site.

 

At this time, the only way the boat storage facility does not get built in the North Beach Parking Lot is if we naturists can convince the Mayor to make an executive decision or if the location does not get other government agencies' permit approval.

 

The responsibility of participation and letting your position known rests with the visitors to the naturist beach in a grass-root effort of opposition. You must participate to make it work. It’s called democracy.

 

The struggle continues. Stay tuned!

 

If you object to the boat house at the currently proposed location in the North Beach Parking Lot you can let the following people know your opinion:

 

Carlos Gimenez,  Mayor.   Phone: 305.375.5071.

email: mayor@miamidade.gov

 

Javier Souto, Commissioner, Chair, Park Committee. Phone:  305.222.2116

email: District10@miamidade.gov

 

Miami Herald:  HeraldEd@MiamiHerald.com

Space Coast Naturism
Canaveral's Playalinda Beach:
A Nautical Nudists field trip


Nautical Nudists is a Tampa Bay area nudist diving and boating club.  On Saturday May 5th, a busload of 51 nudists mostly from the resorts in the Tampa Bay area visited the clothing-optional section of Playalinda Beach at Canaveral National Seashore.  The group joined several hundred skinny-dippers at the beach for a great Cinco de Mayo.  Need we describe our visit in detail?  Of course we had fun!

The c/o area of Playalinda - traditional but not officially sanctioned - extends about 1/2 mile north from dune crossover/parking lot #13. Despite a Brevard County anti-nudity ordinance, it continues its use over many decades as a popular 'nude' beach.  Unlike Haulover, this is a 'primitive' beach with no showers, no water, and no vendors.  There are chemical toilets.  So visitors should come prepared with their own food and water.

Canaveral National Seashore has two small areas (out of 25 miles+ of seashore) used by skinny-dippers, at Apollo and Playalinda Beaches; for more information (both practical, and discussing the somewhat convoluted legal issues) please see these back-issues of the SunDial:  (PDF files)

Spring 2008 (pages 13-15...includes map)        Spring 2009 (page 11)

The "no nudity" Brevard ordinance signs have been removed from the 2 crossovers at the Playalinda c/o area, although there is still a sign near the park entrance.  It has been years since the Brevard sheriff was called to enforce the local ordinance.  However, there is a tacit understanding that skinny-dipping must be confined to the 'traditional' area.

The official Canaveral website has no information on the areas used by naturists, as it maintains a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on naturist use:  www.nps.gov/cana

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New Naturist Hotel in Cocoa Beach

Just down the block from the famous Ron Jon's Surf Shop, and a short drive to the 'traditional' clothing-optional beach at Canaveral National Seashore's Playalinda Beach, Fawlty Towers is the latest entry into the naturist market, becoming a clothing-optional facility on May 1st.  (The name, of course, comes from the BBC John Cleese TV comedy of a few decades back.)

Check it out at the Fawlty Towers website

Media coverage:

Fox 35 Orlando     13 News     Florida Today     TripAdvisor


Paul Hodge (center), Fawlty Towers owner, with naturists Amy & Michael at grand opening.

Michael provided the following review for our readers:



Amy and I attended the naturist grand opening of Faulty Towers.  It's a cozy little motel with an intimate pool setting...no hot tub. There are about 33 lounge chairs and 2 tables around the pool which is maybe 30 x 15 feet. There's a pleasant little Tiki bar with seating for about a dozen and several side tables with 4 chairs each.  

It was a typical naturist crowd that attended the evening.  We arrived after 6 PM (still sun for more than an hour) and enjoyed the festivities which included a Jamaican singer/guitarist.  He may, however, have been there just for today's grand opening.  The owner and staff are very nudist friendly and accommodating.  We heard that there were about 30 people around the pool earlier in the day.  Plenty of sun on the pool which is central to the complex with many rooms overlooking the pool.

As nudists, we are happy to have another venue in which to relax on weekdays, especially one close to home (just 20 min. away for Amy & I). We spend weekends at Cypress Cove where we have a 2nd home.  I'm biased so will not make any negative comments.  If you're a primadonna, you may not be happy there.  As a person willing to give the venture a chance, I'm all for it.  I do think they're going to need a lot of support to survive.  I don't know what the occupancy rate was, but not all rooms were booked for the opening.  We later learned all rooms but one had been booked for the coming weekend.  We hope to see you there!

Michael
 

End of an Era...Ocean Palm Motel Closes

With the high-rise Trump and other luxury developments in Sunny Isles Beach, it was only a matter of time for the 2-story Ocean Palm Motel, built in 1949, just north of Haulover Park.  It  is now closed. The hotel was a popular inexpensive and convenient facility for tourists visiting Haulover's clothing-optional beach.

Video on News 10

Where to stay now?  The Newport Beach Resort about 1/2 mile north offers discounts to SFFB members.  Cabins are available at the Oleta River State Park just down the road.  For links to these facilities and additional lodging recommendations and links, go to the B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation website Haulover Beach page.

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Nude Fun Runs at Lake Como & Cypress Cove

Dare to Go Bare Run
at Lake Como Cooperative 
Family Nudist Resort
Land O' Lakes


On May 20th, the two largest Florida nudist resorts in area are holding 5K runs through their grounds.  Run entry fees at both resorts feature full access for the day to all resort amenities.  For information on these events:

Lake Como run          Cypress Cove run

Lake Como is also proud to announce new additions to its miles of nature trails within the 111 acres of the 200-acre resort that are preserved as wetland or woodland.  Info at:      
 Lake Como Nature Trails

Heron Lake on Lake Como trail

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WHEELCHAIRS NOW AVAILABLE at HAULOVER

Push wheelchairs with balloon tires may now be reserved by calling Ocean Rescue at 786-336-6990.  

One of 2 currently available is shown, with more on the way.
Use of the wheelchairs is free to persons with disabilities.

Disabled access / ADA information online at:
B.E.A.C.H.E.S. website

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Read the current NAC newsletter, and keep informed of national naturist issues and alerts on the NAC website.

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Suppport Free Beaches

To ensure many more nude beach days, please consider joining South Florida Free Beaches and The Naturist Society.  We are currently offering premiums for new members joining SFFB and The Naturist Society.  For details, please go to:

www.sffb.com/sponsors