§ 262-28. Beach excavations regulated.

(a)

It shall be unlawful, except as hereinafter provided, for any person to dig sand upon or excavate earth from any of the ocean beaches lying in the county of Brevard; and it shall be unlawful for any person to take sand from or excavate earth material under any of the bank slopes lying along and facing on the beaches of Brevard County. The governing authority of the Brevard County erosion district shall see that the provisions of this section are enforced in order to prevent waste in beach lands and erosion of the lands lying immediately in front of and adjacent to said beaches and to protect the present shoreline as near as possible.

(b)

If any person should desire to excavate earth material from the shore banks along the beaches of Brevard County, either from his own lands or the lands of another, such person shall make application to the board of county commissioners for a permit to be granted to such person to dig or excavate sand or earth material from the shore banks of the Atlantic Ocean in Brevard County, which application shall state approximately the amount of earth to be dug and the change, if any, made in the shoreline fronting the Atlantic Ocean in Brevard County; and if from such application the board is convinced that no material harm will be done to the beaches or the lands of another person or any change in the shoreline fronting and abutting upon said beaches, the board shall grant such permission.

(c)

If any person shall excavate earth from the beaches on the Atlantic Ocean lying in Brevard County or from the shore bank abutting upon and facing said beaches without first securing a permit as provided by this section, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction therefor, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $100.00 or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed 60 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.

(Laws of Fla. ch. 25703 (1949), §§ 1—4)

Editor's note

The specific penalty provided for in the above section is unconstitutional and unenforceable as a special act may not prescribe punishment for crime. See Fla. Const. art. III, § 11. However as this section makes a violation a misdemeanor, such violation is punishable as a misdemeanor of the second degree. See F.S. §§ 775.08—775.083; Delmonico v. State, § 155 So.2d 368 (Fla. 1963); Lynch v. Durrance, 77 So.2d 489 (Fla. 1955); Jannett v. Windham, 109 Fla. 129, 147 So. 296 (1933); reh. denied, 109 Fla. 129, 153 So. 784, aff'd. 290 U.S. 602.