The Daytona Beach Pier Takeover, an unsanctioned event planned for April 11, endangers the safety and welfare of Volusia County residents and visitors, Sheriff Mike Chitwood told the Georgia promoters in a letter telling them to stay out of town.
If promoters decide to continue promoting the event on social media, they will be met with zero tolerance for any violations, traffic or otherwise, Chitwood wrote in the warning to promoters.
The Daytona Beach Pier Takeover was scheduled to take place April 7 -11, according to Chitwood’s letter.
Unsanctioned Daytona event endangers public health and safety, Volusia sheriff says
The unpermitted and unsanctioned event will disrupt the normal flow of traffic on the roadways and interfere with and jeopardize public health, safety, and welfare of those here for the event as well as Volusia County residents, the sheriff said in the letter.
And the promoters will pay for any expenses incurred, Chitwood said.
“The Volusia Sheriff’s Office will pursue all legal means to recover from you, the promoter and organizer of this unpermitted and unsanctioned event, all costs and fees associated with providing supplemental law enforcement, firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic, and sanitation services for this unpermitted and unsanctioned event,” Chitwood wrote the promoters.
A zero tolerance rule will be enforced by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. Daytona Beach Police have also designated a special events zone beachside for the weekend.
The zone will be in place from 6 a.m. April 10 to 6 a.m. April 12. Zone boundaries are University Boulevard south to Silver Beach Avenue, from the Intracoastal to the Atlantic.
According to DBPD, “Expect heavy traffic, large crowds, and strict enforcement throughout the zone. Plan ahead, allow extra travel time, and make safe choices behind the wheel.”
Daytona special events zone law passed after chaotic and disruptive truck events in 2021
Florida lawmakers approved a law that designated a special events zone with the zero tolerance rule after a Daytona Truck Meet event in June 2021 put a strain on Daytona’s police force.
According to a News-Journal report, that truck event flooded Daytona Beach with 50,000 visitors, forcing Daytona’s 300-man police force to work 16-hour shifts, and leaving a bill of $174,000 in overtime.
At that 2021 event, besides working streets clogged with traffic, police officers dealt with a bomb threat and a shooting in broad daylight, reports show.
Daytona Beach police and officials said the city felt the crush of pickup trucks with oversized wheels and attendees who treated Daytona Beach like an open-air toilet and trash can, according to The News-Journal report.
The 2021 truck meet followed a previous big-vehicle event on Memorial Day weekend, the Orlando Invades Daytona 2020 event, which drew partiers to the Daytona Beach Boardwalk area. During that event, police closed eastbound bridges for about four hours, according to News-Journal reports.
Daytona special events zone allows police to enforce stiffer penalties
After the truck events, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young did not hold back in telling officials that he wanted the truck event gone from the city, news reports show.
Shortly after, the Florida Legislature passed the law allowing local law enforcement to designate a special events zone where enhanced penalties for non-criminal traffic violations were enforced, news reports state.
The rule also gave law enforcement officers the authority to impound violators’ vehicles, while also providing communities with “enforceable,” enhanced penalties for violations of noise ordinances within the special events zone.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Unsanctioned Daytona event a threat to public, sheriff tells promoters
Reporting by Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
