If T-D-C members don't come up with a Turtle Lighting ordinance by the end of the year, U-S Fish and Wildlife Service could halt the ongoing beach renourishment project. Board members met Wednesday morning to discuss how they'll mandate changes in beachfront lighting to protect the threatened sea turtles and keep the renourishment money coming.

There were some pretty heated discussions in the workshop. People have very strong opinions about this issue. But the goal is to figure out a way to protect the Loggerhead Turtles without jeopardizing the well-being of beach property owners and their guests.

The baby sea turtles head for the gulf when they hatch, unless lights lead them elsewhere. Turtle friendly lights reduce man-made lights shining near turtle nests keeping them from becoming disoriented.

Some business owners say an ordinance mandating the lights wouldn't be cost effective for their businesses and could even cause safety issues at night. But, Janet Mizzi of Fish and Wildlife argues several studies show the turtle-friendly lighting actually had little to no effect on crime rates.

"There's no evidence that crimes have increased or that safety has been an issue. We're not saying you have to turn the lights off. We're saying you have to use a different source of lighting and focus it down instead of up."

But, Julian Bennett a beach business owner disagrees. "We want to protect the turtles, but we want to protect the people who own the buildings you're getting ready to send the bill to."

T-D-C members didn't make any decisions in Wednesday’s meeting, but they will hold another workshop in a few day. December 31st is their deadline for coming up with some type of draft ordinance to present to fish and wildlife.