Are Shibumi beach shades headed to Myrtle Beach during peak tourism season? Maybe.

Long banned during peak season on Myrtle Beach’s prized sands, sun shelters like Shibumi beach shades could finally be allowed — at least on a trial basis.

Over suggestions by city police and fire department officials to keep the prohibition, the city’s beach advisory committee voted in favor of relaxing the policy for a season to determine whether the devices can coexist with beachgoers.

In 2014, the city approved changes to its beach regulations limiting use of tents and other shading devices except umbrellas between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Any official change would have to be decided by the city council, but recommendations by the advisory board typically play a big role in their decisions.

The committee asked city officials to write a draft amendment to include size and location restrictions for shading devices for a year-long experiment. They’d only be allowed in residential areas along the beach.

“I’ve had numerous local people voice their support because they like the product, but our role is to look at the overall picture and how it affects city staff,” committee chairman Steve Taylor said Oct. 19. “We have a very large concentration of people in a pretty small area.”

Myrtle Beach Police Master Cpl. Kevin Larke, who heads the department’s beach patrol, said of the 1,800 calls this season for violations of local ordinances, nearly 1,500 were because of people who set up tents or other shading devices illegally.

“If we change the ordinance now to allow any sort of shading device, we’re going to be fighting all day long,” he said.

Shibumi beach shades, which fly overhead connected to a single arched pole, come in two sizes. The regular size offers 150 square feet of shade — enough for four to six people, according to the company’s website.

A miniature version covers up to two people and provides 75 square feet of shade.

Scott Barnes, a co-founder of the company, said relaxing the city’s law could ease tensions.

“These thousands of people want to use a Shibumi, and so not allowing them to is creating a conflict with the public safety administration who have to do their jobs,” he said. “Our goal is find a win/win solution.”