Its July in Jersey, were tired of being stuck home, and flying to exotic locales isnt in the cards, so down the Shore we go.

But how can Shore towns enforce social distancing rules and prevent crowds on sunny weekends, especially when so many people want to plant their chairs in the popular areas near bathrooms, restaurants and amenities?

Its complicated.

Officials in Long Branch faced just that scenario on Sunday afternoon, causing police to temporarily block beach access near Pier Village, advising visitors to try again in an hour and directing them to other areas of the 2.5-mile beach.

In nearby Belmar and Point Pleasant, beach access points were also closed during parts of the day due to overcrowding.

And its all got Gov. Murphy a bit concerned.

The ability to social distance is somewhat related to how many bodies there are in a given plot of real estate, Murphy said during his Monday coronavirus briefing in Trenton. If we dont manage capacity at beaches and we cant get social distancing, were probably playing with fire.

We talked to officials and legislators to find out what Shore towns can do to keep their beaches safe and the obstacles theyre up against. Heres what they had to say.

Who is in charge of how many people can go to any given beach?

The Shore towns themselves.

Murphy reopened the beaches in May, allowing towns to set the guidelines.

Every beach will be required to establish capacity limitations, but we will leave it to local leaders to determine the method that would be best for their community, he said at the time.

Murphy said he continues to have conversations with officials on how to execute his guidelines, but continues to leave the management of crowd control to local authorities, while urging restrictions on parking capacity and the beach tag sales.

How are Shore towns supposed to limit capacity?

According to Murphys May executive order, towns are required to implement reasonable restrictions, including non-discriminatory capacity restrictions. Those capacity limits, determined by local officials, could be achieved through limiting beach badge sales or monitoring the crowds with technology.

I think both are good options, says Monmouth County Sen. Vin Gopal (D). I think the towns have got to handle this on their own. They know their beaches, they know their entry points, they know their populations, and I think the state has to enforce it.

Which option are Shore towns choosing for limiting capacity?

It seems the many Shore towns arent setting limits on badge sales, but instead are monitoring for crowding.

In Long Branch, officials used drones to determine when to set limits, and several other towns have also chosen monitoring and closing access when necessary.

It sounds to me like Long Branch handled it well (Sunday), says Monmouth County Sen. Declan OScanlon (R). They did a limited closing and then reopened as quickly as they could. It would have been pretty easy to just close everything down for the duration of the day. They didnt do that, which makes their job harder, but its the right job to do, I think. For me, the real-time limiting of access points when you have a problem is the preferable way to go.

Some towns, like Avon-by-the-Sea and Spring Lake, went for option B cutting the number of beach tags sold each day.

But limiting badge sales could affect neighboring towns. Belmar Mayor Mark Walsifer said the limitations imposed by Avon and Spring Lake sent day-trippers to Belmar instead.

Other towns have gotten creative: To enforce capacity limits at several beaches in Point Pleasant, each person is given a wristband, which they return when they leave for the day, allowing another person to enter.

Who decides how many people are allowed at any given towns beach?

The towns themselves.

In Point Pleasant Beach, the boroughs engineer took measurements from the high water mark to the dunes and calculated how many groups spaced six feet apart could fit in the area, Mayor Paul Kanitra, said.

In Bradley Beach, the towns engineer took a photo of the beach and did a similar assessment, deleting space for lifeguard stands and walkways, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

Can Shore towns give locals special access and limit outsiders?

Nope.

A township cannot actually legally restrict folks from outside of their township, Murphy said. So thats not actually within their right to do so.

What happens when the beach closes before you get on?

This is the problem, says Sen. Robert Singer (R).

I think that a lot of the beaches are going to have to do what the state does with Island Beach State Park, Singer says. People know in advance, Were full. Theres limited parking.' That kind of stuff. What happens is people get to the beach, they drive there, they cant buy badges in the normal places, so now they go get in line to buy the badges, and then they get there and theres no parking or the beach is full. I think maybe these towns are going to have to rent portable signs on the roadway so people know up front. Weve got to get it out to the public faster if there is a problem so people dont waste their time or by badges theyre not going to be able to use.

How does this all affect Shore town businesses?

For their economies, for the whole states economy we need people out there enjoying themselves and spending money, says OScanlon. But for everybodys safety, its got to be balanced. We definitely dont want to get to the point where our enforcement, our restrictions drive people away. Im confident were deep enough into the summer that theres a balance where we can keep people safe and keep our economy humming.

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Avalon Zoppo contributed to this story.

Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com.

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How can Shore towns keep beaches from being overrun by crowds? Its complicated. - NJ.com