Gulf Shores is banning alcohol during spring break for the eighth year in a row. The city council first passed an ordinance back in 2016 that prohibits the consumption of liquor on the beaches during this specific vacation period.
The decree continues to be reestablished each year. That means, during the months of March and April, alcohol is not allowed on the beaches.
Grant Brown is the Recreation and Cultural Affairs Director for Gulf Shores. He said the ban helps cut down on rowdy crowds and creates a more family-friendly atmosphere in the city.
“That move actually has helped to divert some of the very strong large college parties from coming into Gulf Shores. They're choosing to go to other beaches because of that,” he explained “That action has now allowed families with the younger children to be sure that they can come to the beaches and have a good safe family environment versus the party scene from the colleges, which is a positive for our whole area.”
Per the city of Gulf Shores decree, it’s unlawful for any person to possess or consume any alcoholic beverage on the sand of any portion of the beach east of the eastern boundary of the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge, west of the western boundary of Gulf State Park and seaward of the line of sand stabilization fencing installed by the city as part of the beach projects established on the Gulf front beaches within city limits.
The recurring ordinance has been the city's solution to issues frequently reported during spring break vacation. This includes large groups of beachgoers binge drinking, using illegal drugs and creating an unsafe atmosphere for themselves and other visitors. Brown said the ordinance is not only supported by the community and local businesses but also encouraged.
“They're very much on board. What happened in 2015, when Panama City Beach passed a similar ordinance, we were fairly well prepared and assume that a lot of those parties would move into Gulf Shores, which in 2016, they did,” he explained. “If you can imagine 200 or 300 kids on the beach drinking and party partying… then we have to dispatch our police department down there. At that point, it's almost too late.”
The motion to ban alcohol during spring break was presented in tandem back in January with a separate motion to increase police presence within the city during the spring break holiday season. Gulf Shores council members passed that motion as well. This year, the city will also be backed up by Baldwin County Sheriff’s deputies.
“It just becomes unsafe for the kids that are on the beach,” said Brown. “Alcohol and Gulf of Mexico waters do not mix, and then to try to keep peace on the beach, or police officers put themselves in a pretty rough situation.”
The city also hired additional lifeguards ahead of the 2024 spring break season. Brown said the alcohol ban hasn’t caused tourism in the city to take a hit, but instead, has helped bring in business.
“[There’s] the backfilling from families that now come to the beach for their spring break. A lot of baseball tournaments and softball tournaments and sports tourism use our area and our beaches during spring break to play tournaments, etc. So, it's been a really positive move for us,” he said.
The ordinance to ban alcohol is in effect in Gulf Shores in perpetuity with each spring break season’s dates until it is changed. Each year since 2016, the city council has approved a resolution establishing the dates for the spring break alcohol ban in coordination with the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism Board.
The ordinance to alcohol ban is in effect through April 28. Violators are subject to fines of up to $500 and six months in jail.
