OCEAN ISLE — The last beach in Brunswick County with free parking is considering the switch to paid in 2025, but a recent public forum brought concerns from residents.
READ MORE: Carolina Beach parking program debated, oceanfront spots for residents back in discussion
Paid parking has been discussed in recent years at Ocean Isle but the board of commissioners is closer to starting its program in 2025. The board is considering a two-year contract with Otto Connect, also used by Oak Island and Topsail Beach. The SurfCast program tracks parking payments by license plate.
Officials want the program to keep up with the county’s growth and generate revenue for the town.
“I’ve never been in favor of paid parking, but times have changed,” Mayor Debbie Smith said. “I don’t always think we should do what everybody else is doing either, but I’m just trying to point out what I think will be some unintentional consequences if we’re the only one that doesn’t.”
The program is proposed to be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 1 to Oct. 31. There would be hourly permits for $5 per hour limited to only three hours. Parking longer than three hours would require a daily permit at $20 per day.
Weekly permits would be $80 and seasonal permits $175. This would cover the approximate 380 beach-front parking spaces, 114 of which are for golf carts.
There would not be resident passes either.
Initially, the board was considering giving residents one free parking permit. However, Town Manager Justin Whiteside said on Dec. 3, after following local news coverage about the “equal access parking” clause in beach nourishment agreements between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Wrightsville, Kure, and Carolina beaches, it is no longer an option. Ocean Isle also has a nourishment contract with the USACE. Whiteside told Port City Daily in an email Dec. 31 the town may not be due for its cycle until 2026, but it depends on the beaches’ need for renourishment. However, when the cycle does come around, Ocean Isle is also subject to the same clause that requires equal access beach front parking — this means residents and visitors have to pay the same for parking.
“What they’re finding out on the back end, we’re trying to get ahead of on the front end,” Whiteside said.
The program is expected to bring in around $380,000 in revenue, though Otto CEO Jim Varner said his estimations are generally off by 10% to 20%, so it could incur closer to $400,000. Thirty percent of the total would go back to Otto, and 70% would go to Ocean Isle. The town would be able to put the parking revenue into the general fund only if they get permission from the state to do so. Otherwise, it would go back into funding the parking program.
“Other towns have done this,” Whiteside said about getting legislative approval.
Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Surf City, Holden Beach, City of Wilmington, Atlantic Beach, Kure Beach, Beaufort, and Sunset Beach all have received approval. The approval provides a legislative exemption to statute § 160A-301, which states towns can only charge parking fees that cover the cost of facilitating the parking program. With the exemption, towns can charge any rate for parking and have permission to use some of the revenue for town operations.
“We don’t anticipate that being a problem,” Smith said.
Locals in attendance were staunchly against the parking program, a pattern that continued from two previous public forums held in the last few months. Area residents expressed concerns about its impact on local businesses, the inconvenience of obtaining parking permits, and the potential of running out of parking in the future.
Some residents offered alternative solutions, such as a tax increase, and others suggested the decision be brought to a referendum for voters to take up the issue. When the idea of a tax increase was brought up, Whiteside said, approximately, a 1-cent increase would be required to match the estimated parking revenue — over $80 more in taxes a year.
“As a resident, I would rather pay $80 in a tax increase than $175 for seven months to park at my own beach,” local Peter Maguire stated during public comment, also applauded by a dozen attendees.
Commissioner Mike Wade said if the whole island was in favor of a property tax increase, then he would seriously consider it. However, raising taxes could be unfair for residents who don’t frequent the beach to pay a tax increase just to fund those who do.
Polly Bristo, an island resident, lives walking distance from the beach and said paid parking isn’t an issue for her. She asked for the board to consider that the group voicing their opinions at the forum may not be an accurate representation of the island.
“Paid parking isn’t a factor for us — tax increase is a factor for us,” agreed Mark Robertson, another resident who lives three rows back from the beach.
Commissioner Tom Athey said residents shouldn’t have to be taxed more to pay for beach access upkeep and visitors should pay their share through parking fees. Ocean Isle consists of 980 year-round residents as of 2023; it balloons to 25,000 during the height of tourist season.
Athey pointed to developments underway off the island that are marketing their homes based on proximity to Ocean Isle’s beaches, saying it could bring thousands of more off-island visitors regularly.
“Unless we charge for parking, then we’re gonna subsidize these developers — in my view — who are gonna make millions of dollars on these homes, and they’re not gonna have to pay a dime to come over here,” Athey said.
The mayor questioned whether it was fair for on-island taxpayers to carry the bulk responsibility and suspected not having a parking program in place made Ocean Isle an even more appealing destination.
“I worry about being inundated with day visitors if we’re the only beach in Brunswick County — I think the only one in New Hanover and Brunswick county – that doesn’t charge for paid parking,” she said.
However, the argument didn’t resonate with some attendees, who defended the right for visitors to come to the island and park for free.
“These are the people that now give us a Publix,” Scott Outlaw, Ocean Isle resident, said. “They give us a Lowe’s grocery store … we got a car wash over here, so I don’t have to go to Shalotte to go get it — because of the population of the off-island people.”
Additionally, the parking program would also get rid of all right-of-way parking, something that stirred contention with local businesses, as many spots are located in the commercial district.
“I think if you take that away from us, and some of the other small businesses, it would affect our long-term viability,” Michael Powell, owner of Drift Coffee located on Halifax Street, commented.
Mike Equito, owner of Coastal Wine and Tap in close proximity to Drift, agreed with Powell: “If those spaces are going to be deemed unusable, we’re going to have a significant issue running our business and having people come to our establishment.”
Equito said the two businesses and nearby Splash Beachware, all share about 10 street-side parking spaces.
Sunset Slush owner Susie Sellers echoed the concern and the parking issues it would create for both customers and employees. Ocean Isle Beach has a commercial district, meaning all the businesses are in the same general area. Sellers pointed out in other beach towns, shops and businesses are scattered up and down the beach, so parking is sparse and less easily congested.
The board agreed to look into ways to keep right-of-way parking in commercial districts.
Carson Allen, owner of Carolina School Surf, spoke against the program at the Nov. 7 forum and repeated his concerns at the December meeting. Allen said flipping the beach front lots into paid parking would negatively impact his clientele, as parents like to stay to watch the lessons, “to get pictures,” and many of his students are youth from low-income homes who already rely on scholarships to attend the surf school.
“It’s significantly going to raise the cost of my surf camp,” he said. “It pushes me from being one of the least expensive camps to one of the most expensive.”
Cindy Price, another local, suggested the decision be put to a referendum as the island may very well be split on the best course of action. The mayor said there has been no discussion about a referendum, and the process to make that happen would require legislative permission from the state.
“I know we elect you as representatives to make decisions for the town, but I think this is a bad decision,” Price said.
Whiteside wrote to Port City Daily in an email that a referendum is unlikely. However, the plan is to put the parking contract to a vote at the next regular commissioners meeting on Jan. 14. The meeting will be at 9 a.m. in the Town Meeting Hall at 111 Causeway Dr.
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