KURE BEACH — Fishermen in Kure Beach are getting some reprieve from the strict beach closures that have left many without a place to wet a line. On Friday the Kure Beach Fishing Pier will reopen, but with strict parking regulations in effect, Kure Beach leaders have had to make some adjustments to specifically help out the fishing pier.
The fishing pier took to Facebook it announce its pending reopening, and address some of the parking questions.
“We are excited to announce the reopening of Kure Beach Pier will be Friday, May 1st at 7 a.m. Our new business hours are from 7 a.m. — 9 p.m., the Pier will otherwise be locked during non-business hours. The Pier house will remain closed with the exception of two windows at the side gate, where you can receive permits, bait, tackle, refreshments, etc. Due to limited parking access, as implemented by the town, spectators will have a 30-minute time limit. We ask for patience during this time due to the weekly or daily changes we may see. We thank you for your continued support. Stay safe!” according to a Facebook post.
According to councilmembers during an over-the-phone Town Council meeting, a business owner, later identified as Mike Robertson (the owner of the pier) made a request for the town to relax parking restrictions for his business.
The pier owns three private parking lots that offer more than 60 parking spaces, but Robertson said he is worried these spaces will reach capacity and requested the town allow his patrons have permission to use town parking spaces.
On Wednesday, the town obliged.
“The Kure Beach Town Council voted to amend the Kure Beach State of Emergency Declaration to open Town-owned Parking on K Avenue, west of Fort Fisher Blvd to allow for Town residents with a current re-entry decal and town-issued passes for overflow parking for conducting business at open businesses in the Town. Please click here to view the State of Emergency Declaration,” according to a town press release.
The town leadership along with town staff discussed the parking situation further and said that Lanier Parking would be making the rounds to enforce parking requirements, but also said that the town-issued passes would come from business owners. These would be signed by the recipient and dated to allow anglers the chance to spend all day (if they choose) fishing.
“I believe some piers in the county have been open. Since we expected the pier house to be closed as non-essential the owner voluntarily did not open the pier. They took the step to construct an outside window so people can use social distance standards and do not enter via the pier house. The pier is private property but as a business must comply with the occupancy limitations in the Governor’s orders. The owner has 3 private lots he will use for customer parking. Any limited overflow will be provided a ticket for parking in available public spaces. Pier customers will not use the 30-minute zone which is dedicated to food pick-up for anyone using the local businesses and for individuals that may wish to park for 30 minutes to view the beach. All other local public parking is limited to re-entry decals provided by the town to residents and owners,” Craig Bloszinsky, Mayor of Kure Beach said.
Of course, there are some questions about the town’s actions. Firstly, the town has prohibited all fishing on the beaches but is allowing people to pay to fish on the pier. Since fishing has also been banned on the beaches in Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, if you want to fish you have to pay.
The Kure Beach Pier is not the only one making money off anglers with no other options.
In Wrightsville Beach, the Johnnie Mercer Fishing Pier is also open for fishing with a similar parking situation. Fishermen are being instructed to park at beach access points — which the town previously announced as closed to the public — walk to the pier where they will get a special parking pass for their dashboard.
Justin Pearson, an Attorney for the Insitute for Justice, a law firm that, ‘files lawsuits to fight on behalf of those individuals who are denied their constitutional rights’ offered his opinion on the town’s actions.
“Town governments possess the ‘police power,’ which allows them to take reasonable measures to protect public health and safety. However, the government is not allowed to apply its power arbitrarily. Often, government officials will use a crisis as an excuse to do favors for their friends at the expense of everyone else. Not only is that bad policy, but it can also be unconstitutional,” he said.
Not only do these towns appear to be supporting specific businesses, but the bans on fishing also appears to go against the State Constitution.
Section 38 of the N.C. Consitution is titled the “Right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife.”
It reads, “The right of the people to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife is a valued part of the State’s heritage and shall be forever preserved for the public good. The people have a right, including the right to use traditional methods, to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife, subject only to laws enacted by the General Assembly and rules adopted pursuant to authority granted by the General Assembly to (i) promote wildlife conservation and management and (ii) preserve the future of hunting and fishing. Public hunting and fishing shall be a preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife. Nothing herein shall be construed to modify any provision of law relating to trespass, property rights, or eminent domain.”
The addition to the constitution is a new one, having only been passed by referendum in 2018, and while the towns do have the ability to declare a state of emergency restricting the actions of its people, the question as to the legality of this specific ban has not been answered.
As the beaches are not owned by the towns (they are a public common belonging to the people of the State of North Carolina) and the constitution directly protects the people’s right to fish and hunt, it’s possible these towns might face legal issues in the future.
As far as the legality of the fishing bans on the beaches, Bloszinsky said, “I am not an attorney and there are many opinions on the entire issue of health emergency authority. On private property you can express your rights within the limitations of the Governor’s order or local restrictions. The State and Federal parks are closed you cannot fish on the beaches, public beaches are open for mobile exercise, no coolers, no chairs. If someone is so inclined to pursue the issues and sacrifices across the entire spectrum of orders all under authorities granted for health emergencies, then the courts can decide. The sacrifices are everywhere on every citizen. I can’t answer what is right, just what I feel is right based on guidance from the Governor and Health Officials. Protect your citizens first then when possible safely restore all the things we all want to enjoy. Hopefully, that will be soon as we all contribute to staying safe.”
