WORCESTER COUNTY, Md.- An Ocean City beach gear transportation business said it had to shut down abruptly and some of its potential customers aren't happy about it.
Sand Taxi said it serves mainly disabled and elderly beach visitors coming from the hotels on the boardwalk.
The town adopted an ordinance -- Section 39-27 -- in March which prohibits "the placing or carrying of beach equipment in public beach areas by persons who are not operators or employees for the use of some other person."
That language halted Sand Taxi's business in its tracks - costing them thousands.
"It has inhibited our business from being able to grow or obtain a license to conduct business in the way we want. We've had to pivot in others ways. The challenge right now is to show the city how valuable our business is," said Kyle Skilling, Sand Taxi's co-founder.
So, without real permission from the town to operate, Sand Taxi started a petition to try to get some community support.
The company said Wednesday it had reached 1,000 signatures.
One woman who visits Ocean City often with her husband said she sees the value in the business. Without Sand Taxi's help she said she had to carry her disabled husband's belonging's herself.
"It's not just chairs and umbrellas. I have to carry his medical equipment, his insulin. That stuff has to be in a cooler on ice, so how do I push him in a wheelchair and carry all of that stuff at the same time? This is where I talk about if you don't have somebody in your life or a loved one with a disability, you don't think of this, but I do. It's my life," said Julie Tepper, whose husband, Ron, is originally from Georgetown.
Sand Taxi said it is still allowed to operate as a move-in service taking belongings to and from hotel rooms for visitors, but it cannot operate on the beach.
A town spokesperson said Mayor Rick Meehan was not available Wednesday to comment on the ordinance.
A copy of the ordinance can be found on the town's website.
Sand Taxi has been in operation since August 2020.
