LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida man just wants to clean up his hometown, but the city is saying, not so fast.
Garrett Nathan loves to pick up trash on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
“It’s a beautiful beach town, something I’m really proud to be a part of,” said Nathan.
He’s been doing it for years, several times a week.
“We fill up a half a garbage can walking just half a mile,” he said.
Now, he wants to organize a group beach cleanup. The group did a cleanup last month.
“We just want to have a day when everyone comes out once a month and tries to clean up the entire town. It’s not just about the beaches. It’s about the parks, the parking lots, the sidewalks,” he said.
The city also loves picking up trash, too. They even provide baskets on the beach so that anyone could do it.
The city is all for Nathan to grab more, but since he is promoting his cleanup with a flyer, it is considered an event, which has caused an issue.
“Apparently, it’s caused a little bit of an issue,” said Nathan.
The city said that Nathan needs a permit for his cleanup, and if he keeps promoting without one, he will get fined.
“A $500-a-day fine for every day I continue to advertise and organize the beach cleanup,” he said.
The city is said that permitting helps protect marine life, like sea turtles that nest in the sand.
One city commissioner emailed Nathan the following message: “Having people on their own or even as a group are certainly welcome and even encouraged to do beach cleanup. However, when it is advertised, promoted publicly through internet or other means so that members of the public are invited as participants or to watch, it requires permitting.”
Nathan just wants to continue picking up trash.
“It really helps bring the entire community together, and we thought it would be a great project for everybody to be a part of,” he said.
The city is all for it, but if he wants to promote the cleanup, he will need a permit.
The city sent Nathan a courtesy reminder and a link to get the permit process started. They also sent a statement to 7News that reads: “Our town is such a leader when it comes to environmental consciousnesses… We are hopeful Mr. Nathan will change his mind and decide to follow our event permit process so he can host this event in a safe and respectful manner.”
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.