CAROLINA BEACH — Council continued to hash out parking needs in its town limits this week, as they deal with a change in interpretation on the town’s beach nourishment contract. After meetings with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Carolina Beach now could open up limited beach-access parking spaces for resident passholders.
READ MORE: Carolina Beach renourishment contract approved, residential parking passes still in discussion
At the Dec. 10 meeting, Ed Parvin, the town’s planning director and assistant manager, revealed recent discussions with the USACE shifted. In September, the contract required 767 oceanfront parking spaces to have “equal terms,” meaning both residents and non-residents are charged the same daily and hourly rates. This led to the town council voting in October to restrict resident passes from being used in those lots.
Now, the 767 parking spaces do not have to be confined to beach-front parking lots only — on-street parking can be included in the count. This means there is room in beach-front lots for some spaces to be swapped out with street-side parking and reserved for resident-passes only.
The USACE oversees renourishment projects and Carolina Beach is expected to undergo one in January. The town’s priority is to fill the north end of the beach with sand first due to increased erosion. But it also must comply with USACE requests, as federal funding is providing $32.9 million for construction costs to renourish 2.7 miles of shoreline in the town; Carolina Beach will contribute $15 million.
“We have some ability now to change things around,” Parvin told council. “We don’t know exactly how that’s going to look.”
Town clerk Kim Ward indicated the meeting with USACE had just taken place “in the last 24 hours,” so details still have to be sorted.
Carolina Beach currently charges $6 per hour or $25 per day for regular parking lots, and $7 per hour or $30 per day for premium lots, which are closer to the beach, between March 1 and Oct. 31. The town has weekly parking permits that anyone can purchase for $100, and yearly parking permits for Carolina and Kure beach residents and business owners for $40.
Also, employers can purchase an annual $100 parking permit for their employees for the Central Business District only.
Town staff came up with three potential ideas that would change current permit options in order to strike a balance between meeting the USACE requirements and mitigating the push for residential parking zones with beach access.
Changes proposed included:
- Option 1: Resident passes remain $40 for on-street and downtown parking, weekly and employee passes remain $100, but the latter will be allowed to only use the same spaces designated for residential passes
- Option 2: Universal pass, for residents, employers and off-islanders, are $350, limited to 6,000 sold and good to use in any public spot
- Option 3: Two permit zones: One for the 767 “equal-access parking spots” sold for $225 and open to everyone, with a limited 3,000 passes, required for in-person purchase and buyers to receive nontransferable ID sticker for vehicle; and the other includes a $30 resident permit or $70 employee permit to park in the rest of the parking spaces designated resident zones
Option one would include parking space designation changes. On-street residential parking spaces would be switched with beach-front parking spaces, giving resident passholders limited access to oceanfront lots.
Mayor Lynn Barbee thought many options were too expensive and had other issues to work through. While option one would be more in alignment with what is currently offered, he still said it is not “ideal,” as the process of swapping out beach-front spaces for resident spaces is a “detailed” and “gruesome” process.
“It’s not what I would prefer necessarily, but of the three options, that’s the only one that meets the budget,” he said.
Parvin said town staff was less inclined to favor option two, as it would lose revenue. Town manager Bruce Oakley indicated raising the price to $350 was an option to get revenue closer to the budget, but the price is so high they risk people not buying the passes altogether.
In November, Port City Daily reported an anticipated $2.9 million was to to be gained in Carolina Beach for the 2024 season — up from $2.68 million in 2023. PCD asked the town what its budget is, but did not get a response by press.
Deb LeCompte raised a concern about what happens to the residential zones if there is no residential pass, and how on-street parking in front of houses would be regulated — which is currently reserved for resident parking.
“Does that mean residential zones would be gone? So, we’re back to people parking, you know, tourists parking in the front yard?” she questioned.
“Yeah, if you get rid of the $40 residential pass, you got to solve that problem, too,” Barbee agreed.
Parvin tossed out the idea of a re-entry permit. It would act like a proof of residence and the idea is all residents get one to show they live on the land and can park in residential street-side spots in front of homes. Re-entry passes are currently issued for residents or businesses and property owners — without limit — to be allowed access to the island during natural disasters or other emergencies.
“That sounds good to me,” Barbee said.
LeCompte countered it was her “least favorite,” not liking the idea of risking residential parking zones.
Option three didn’t sit well with council member Jay Healy. He balked at taxpaying residents paying such a high price for oceanfront lots
“Our residents shouldn’t have to pay anything,” Healy said.
“If they wanted that prime beef, front parking, yes,” Parvin responded.
“Absolutely not,” Healy said. “If anything, you should go back to option one and reduce the resident pass from $40 to $30.”
Council member Mike Hoffer was in favor of option three, but he also questioned the pricing, especially with low-speed vehicle passes having access to all the same public parking for half the price.
In all options are annual $100 parking permits for low-speed vehicles that are registered and don’t go over 25 miles per hour— including golf carts — for all public parking spaces. Golf carts didn’t pay to park before, as the driving permit acted as a pass, and low-speed vehicles paid parking rates, since they didn’t require driving permits. Those will change to be more uniform and passes are available to anyone.
“I’m not sure how I explain to someone who doesn’t own a golf cart why they have to pay twice as much for a parking spot as someone who owns a golf cart,” Hoffer said.
Ward said in a conversation with the USACE, having equal parking availability for low-speed vehicles was considered to be in compliance with the “equal access” regulation, but confirmed the cost of the permit for those spaces wasn’t discussed. The council agreed this question should be cleared up by the USACE before the final decision is made.
During public comment — held before the presentation — Carolina Beach resident Sarah Finn shared results of a survey she conducted with responses from 263 local residents about parking; approximately 6,800 people reside in Carolina Beach. She revealed 96% wanted to use resident permits in oceanfront lots and 66% were on board with having non-resident permits.
The latter has been addressed by council members in the past, many disapproving of them. During the 2023 municipal elections, Mayor Lynn Barbee, and council members Jay Healy and Deb LaCompte answered in PCD candidate questionnaires they were against this option. Concerns revolved around lack of spaces to support the growth of county residents and “diminishing returns” to sustain the parking program.
Finn also shared that 98% had resident passes in 2024, but only 45% planned to purchase one in 2025 because they don’t have beach access.
The survey showed 53% of residents who responded use their permits equally between the Central Business District and the beach.
“Removing passes from beach lots will change how frequently 74% of residents visit the beach, which speaks to quality of life and why many of us decided to live here,” Finn stated.
She disagreed with staff’s first two options and was more favorable to option three — “but it needs a lot of work,” she said.
Cindy Dunn, another local resident, asked the council to consider prioritizing its taxpayers over revenue.
“I realize that in order to keep our services and our beach like we want it, to move forward, we have to have revenues. But sometimes it’s not all about the money; it can be about quality of life for our citizens,” Dunn said.
Town staff will come up with a revised proposal based on the feedback for the next regular meeting on Jan. 14, where council will vote on which plan will be implemented for the rest of the fiscal year.
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