CAROLINA BEACH — After a tumultuous week that saw a power struggle between private landowners, the Town of Carolina Beach, and the Division of Coastal Management, Freeman Park is once again open to the public.
The DCM issued a notice to private property owners that had installed sea oats, rope, and fence posts on the dry sand beach at the park to remove the unauthorized structures by 5 p.m. Monday; landowners did not comply.
ICYMI Feb. 12-18: What’s going on with Freeman Park?
On Tuesday the town reopened the park to vehicle traffic, despite the fencing and sea oats still being located on the property. The town issued its own notice to remove the fencing by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the landowners did not comply. According to Michael Cramer town manager of Carolina Beach since the owners did not comply with the town’s request, the posts were removed by town staff.
“The Freeman Beach LLC did not remove the posts by 2 p.m., so I sent our crews out to the site and removed them. We will store then at Bridge Barrier Road until they are picked up. Freeman Park is clear of obstructions,” Cramer wrote in an email.
Now, all that remains from the property owners are the sea oats, some of which have already been run over by drivers as of Thursday morning. The fate of the plantings is not yet known, but a representative of the local Jeep and off-roading community have requested the option to transplant the existing oats closer to the sand dunes to help them survive.
“The Local Jeep and off-road community strives to present a positive message to our community in many ways. Since Freeman Park is primarily four-wheel drive access, many of our local clubs (whom are all united) meet on occasion to do community service to that area. This not only benefits our environment but also our community by showing leadership in giving back to what we are grateful for. We want the Town of Carolina Beach and all of Pleasure Island to know that we are always here to support our local Government and Citizens,” Dorrene Stanley, representative for the off-roading clubs said.
The group is requesting the chance to move the vegetation at no cost to the landowners or the town.
“We simply hated to see the vegetation left behind in the drive lane – be ruined. We wanted to take the effort in leading by example to hopefully make something good out of such a difficult time. Please be advised that many Jeep Clubs and 4WD Community members have adopted areas of Freeman Park in order to sustain that location for hopefully generations to come,” she said.
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