Personal items left overnight at Groton Long Point beaches have transformed the beaches into looking like cluttered junk yards.

As a community we should be respectful of our neighbors and the spaces we share by only leaving our footprints behind--taking all of our things (including beach chairs, floats, umbrellas, clothing, shoes, beach toys, food, rubbish, etc.) home every day. We should take pride in keeping our community beautiful and clean. The beach is not a garage, it's not a storage shed and it's not an extension of anyone's personal property. Noone should treat it as such by leaving personal items on the beach overnight.

Four beach chairs per house has proven to be too much for our beaches, particularly South Beach, which year after year has been overrun by deeply stacked chairs, leaving nowhere to sit and enjoy the beachwall. Hundreds chairs are left at the beach the entire summer although few are used on a day-to-day basis, creating a persistent mess to be navigated by anyone wishing to enjoy the space.

While some members of our community may not be bothered by the mess on the beaches, and others value convenience above all else--even at the expense of an unsightly beach-- there are compromises that can satisfy most members' needs. One idea is for the GLPA to keep 10-15 'beach club' chairs hung neatly on a rack at the entrance of the beach for members of our community who are less able to bring their things to and from the beach. Another idea is to employ someone to do a daily pickup and dropoff of chairs to and from the beach for members who cant do it themselves.

Let's clean up our beaches for everyone to enjoy. Any items left at the beach over night should be collected and disposed of. The board should make a recommendations to change the beach chair ordinance to the ordinance committee, and Association members should be allowed to vote on this matter at an association meeting.