WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — Dog owners may be able to enjoy a walk with their pooch along the shore this tourist season if a new ordinance amendment is passed this week. It’s being pitched to permit dogs in certain areas on Wrightsville Beach during a small window of morning hours.
The Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen will take up the agenda item at Thursday’s meeting. Current rules prohibit dogs on the beach altogether between April 1 and Sept. 30. During the offseason, Oct. 1 through March 30, dogs must be leashed at all times and registered to the owner’s place of residence, and dog waste must be cleaned up and disposed of properly.
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Town Manager Haynes Brigman is going to present changes this week, suggesting dogs are allowed between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., April 2 through Sept. 29 between beach access points 2 and 42. Also, there is a suggestion to raise the civil penalty for violating the ordinance to $500 instead of $250.
The Wrightsville Beach Dog Walking Group has suggested amendments because the town has received public criticisms — a petition was even started almost three years ago advocating for a rule change. It suggested “no other public beach in North Carolina or South Carolina (except designated wildlife refuges) has a total ban for use of the beach by dog owners,” calling WB’s rule “unfair.”
The proposed amendments aim to address objections while still maintaining the sanctity of a clean, nuisance-free beach.
Formed by town staff upon the aldermen’s request in fall 2025, the dog-walking group consists of six residents, two staff members, a representative from the Audubon North Carolina Society, and a representative from the Sea Turtle Project. The group is informal — not a public body, nor appointed by the board of aldermen — so meetings were held privately, according to Brigman. He commented at the aldermen’s budget work session Feb. 17: “It allowed us to have very candid conversations that maybe people wouldn’t feel comfortable having if it was open to the public.”
Port City Daily reached out to the town to ask about when the group first began meeting but did not receive a response by press. The publication also reached out to the mayor to ask why the aldermen wished to form a working group; he fielded Port City Daily back to the communications manager.
The group has advised dogs should be prohibited at all times from Beach Access 42 to the southern tip of the town and from Beach Access 2 to the northern tip of the town. Beach Access 42 is near a bird nesting sanctuary in the south end, and Beach Access 2 is just north of Shell Island.
According to the agenda documents, objections to dogs being on the beach — and at the north and south ends, in particular during the on-season — include public health concerns related to uncollected dog waste, which washes into the water, and the potential for dog bites and fights. The town also wanted to stop dogs from creating a nuisance for beachgoers or presenting a danger to visitors — especially children. Environmental concerns include dogs disturbing or destroying bird and sea turtle nesting sites.
Any recommendations approved by the aldermen this week will be implemented as a one-year pilot. At the end of the timeframe, the program will be re-evaluated before permanent changes are introduced into the town’s UDO.
The planning board denied the recommendations 5-to-2 at its March 3 meeting due to concerns the town would not be able to enforce the new rules properly and it would invite more violations from visitors.
Planning board Vice Chair Leigh Ann Joyner noted enforcement was her biggest concern: “How is that going to look, who’s going to police it, and who’s going to stop the people that dig a hole to cover their waste as opposed to picking it up?”
The planning board does not typically cover UDO changes, but staff sought further review due to the working group’s informality. The board’s vote will be presented to the aldermen for consideration. Town Manager Brigman added in his memo that enforcement would be a strain on staff. There are about 4 miles of shoreline in Wrightsville Beach for around 30 police officers and — as noted at the planning board meeting — two park rangers, who write citations.
“I don’t think we are capable of enforcement,” Joyner pressed.
The agenda packet notes 110 violations were issued in 2025 — 89 citations and 21 warnings. They consisted of a mix of dogs off leash or dogs on the beach during a restricted time.
According to the man behind the petition, Doug Wilson, 166 people signed it to prompt the town to lighten up restrictions.
“Is it worth opening the can of worms to everyone?” planning board member Nathan Singerman asked earlier this month, pointing out there were far more people who would be allowed to bring dogs on the beach than the 166 petitioners. “It’s solving way more than the problem. What we’re trying to do opens up way more access than we’re hoping [for].”
The aldermen will take up the proposal this week for further discussion. All approved changes would require signage updates alongside beach access points, to provide proper guidance to beachgoers and dog owners. Port City Daily reached out to ask what signs would need to be updated and how much it would cost, as well as to inquire into when the pilot program would begin should it be approved, but did not hear back by press.
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