ST. LUCIE COUNTY. According to records and a sheriff’s spokesman, sheriff’s officials arrested six people and issued court summonses to investigate complaints about nude sunbathing at a public beach where the activity is prohibited.
October 25 The enforcement action at Little Mud Creek on Hutchinson Island, south of Fort Pierce, was initiated after a “repeated complaint of nude sunbathing at the public beach,” according to an arrest affidavit.
Little Mud Creek, which has a parking lot and boat ramp, is about a mile north of Blind Creek Beach, which in 2020 in June designated a clothing-free beach by county commissioners.
The parking lot at Blind Creek Beach was closed in January for renovations, including parking lot improvements and restroom facilities, county spokesman Erick Gill said. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
“We have left the beach itself open to beachgoers who want to use the clothing optional beach, but parking has been designated at Little Mud Creek Pier, just under one mile north of it,” Gill said.
Gill said people were parking on State Road A1A, where no parking is allowed at the Blind Creek Beach Alternate Access, which is closer to that beach.
“The sheriff’s office has increased enforcement of the right-of-way and ticketing people who were standing on the right,” Gill said.
He said there have been complaints from people about not being closer to the parking lot to access the clothing-optional beach.
“Unfortunately, we just didn’t have any convenient right of way to park,” Gill said.
Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Andrew Bolonka said public access improvement projects at Blind Creek Beach “affect the amenity of the nudist community or the people who visit that particular beach.”
As a result, he said, some people apparently decided to use the Little Mud beach area as a nudist area, which is not allowed.
Deputies started receiving complaints about this in late August and September.
“Our deputies were very visible and very involved in the area. They were patrolling on foot, they were on ATVs,” Bolonka said. “They are involved in educating and communicating with people who frequent the area by reminding them and showing them posted signs about the designated optional nudity areas.”
He said the nude sunbathing situation at Little Mud Creek hasn’t stopped.
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“We have to make sure we’re enforcing the law, enforcing county ordinances and respecting everyone’s rights, but everyone has to work together to respect the rights of people who are not part of the nudist community,” Bolonka said. “Those persons cannot assume their will to designate other areas and not comply with the law.
Six people – five men and one woman aged between 27 and 77 – were arrested on charges of indecent exposure. All listed addresses outside the area, records show.
Three more people were given notices to appear in court. Bolonka said that because the three are local residents, they were entitled to court appearance notices.
Will Greenlee is a news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will X @OffTheBeatTweet or contact him at 772-267-7926. Email him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared in Treasure Coast Newspapers: No public nudity within mile of St. Lucia County nude beach