CAROLINA BEACH — Parking was at the forefront of discussion again this week in one Pleasure Island town, with relief requested by both residents and business owners who are seeing rapid spillover parking in town right-of-ways.
READ MORE: Carolina Beach settles lawsuit with local business for $15M purchase of 9 properties
Dan Tollens and his wife, owners of Carolina Beach Inn, asked council to consider allowing the town’s eight free public spaces on Harper Avenue to be utilized for its customers only.
Conversely, residents on the north end have expressed for months issues with traffic and overcrowding along their neighborhood streets, preventing access to residential parking. Council was unanimously sympathetic to the residents and passed a request to extend designated zones in right-of-ways for re-entry passholders.
However, the ask from the inn owners was more of a sticking point for some council members, who worried it would set precedent for other short-term rentals to request — and expect — the same outcome for parking in the future.
Staff presented a potential new ordinance to allow a hotel/motel without parking on site or within 500 feet of its structure, such as the 12-room Carolina Beach Inn, to designate an on-street parking agreement with the town. Currently, year-round residential exceptions are granted for right-of-ways but only to property owners without parking on their lots; they can ask to be given two spaces, approved by the town manager, but it applies to only resident properties built prior to 1980.
“Designated right-of-way for private business uses is not allowed — it’s parking for everyone, on a first-come, first-serve,” Jeremy Hardison, community development director, clarified to council.
Since 1949, Carolina Beach Inn has used the public parking in front of its 85-foot frontage along Harper Avenue for guests. The new ordinance proposed restricting allowance to motels built before 1952; four others exist in town and would fit this parameter, but all have parking accommodations already.
Staff also included conditions that would include the motel maintaining upkeep of the spaces and enforcing their use in compliance with towing measures. There also would be potential fees associated.
Though the parking along Harper Avenue is currently free, Hardison broke down funds the town could generate from the spaces, topping out at $105,000 if using hourly rates of $5 or $48,000 if assessing it by the $25 day rate. The ordinance suggested going with the latter to determine annual permitting for the motel.
“The suggestion of paying $50,000 — I don’t agree with it, I don’t think it’s fair,” Tollens told the council. “Mr. Mayor, you and I serve on a board that gets to decide where the occupancy tax is spent that our four hotels contribute to. Can you enlighten the public on what those funds are used for?”
Mayor Lynn Barbee answered beach nourishment, events and marketing: “That’s the short version.”
“So we’re contributing to the $24 million,” Tollens added, saying moving forward with the ordinance would comply with conforming use of parking since the motel was built 74 years ago.
Tollens said he and his wife also were planning to donate money for another K-9 to the area police department, due to its “flawless” handling of a shooting incident on his property a few weeks ago. He was wrought with emotion recounting it: “The woman has survived and is awake and speaking — it was a very emotional evening.”
“Sorry you had to go through that, Dan,” council member Joe Benson said. “That sucks.”
“We love what you guys are doing,” Barbee added. “You’ve brought positive changes to distressed properties — they look good. So thank you.”
The Tollens also own other Pleasure Island boutique motels including Carolina Beach Motel and Seabirds Motel in Kure Beach, and purchased the former SeaWitch Inn last fall for $4.5 million, renaming it The Boardwalk Inn. The entrepreneurs have renovated and preserved the spaces to keep with the classic mom-and-pop ownership of island businesses.
Tollens’ wife, Cassandra, said the Carolina Beach Inn has a high customer return rate, which once topped out at 74% when they purchased the motel in 2022. However, it’s decreased to 66% in the last few years.
“When we reach out to people and ask, they say the biggest issue is parking. They say: ‘We just can’t do it anymore,’” she told council. “We get elderly people who are coming in and parking way down the street, lugging their luggage, or families with children and strollers, trying to get luggage and park vehicles — it doesn’t make it a good experience.”
She added with parking fees escalating in recent years, word has spread that Harper Avenue is still free. This means more people are flocking to the street to scoop up spaces ahead of customers checking into the inn.
The town sectioned off eight spaces this year in front of the motel with rubber stops to indicate free parking, as part of its agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The USACE required Carolina Beach to have a certain number of parking spaces equitably priced in order to receive federal funding for its beach nourishment. Hardison noted the eight spaces would take away from that count.
Benson asked if staff had gone to other areas to see if they could harvest spaces in other right-of-ways to make up for the loss, should the council vote it through. Hardison confirmed as much: “We have room.”
Still, staff suggested not moving forward with the ordinance change due to it decreasing parking spaces for the public, reducing the USACE count, creating conflicts in the public right-of-way and nonconforming residential short-term rentals making similar requests. Hardison said there were a number of them in the nearby residential area of Harper Avenue already.
“We’ve had some issues — those residential properties trying to put up signs for those right-of-way parking designations, so that could lead to more requests coming forward,” he said.
“That’s a stumbling block for me, personally,” council member Jay Healy said, also noting how much the Tollens’ businesses contribute to Carolina Beach.
Council member Mike Hoffer countered: “I’m sympathetic to it.”
He asked what historic structures would fall under this provision, not seeing other similar structures in town that could be allowed as much. Hoffer added he didn’t consider Airbnbs or Vrbos to be the same as a motel built before 1952.
“And in residential areas, not to mention,” Benson added, also expressing support.
Hoffer brought up a compromise: “Half the spots?”
Yet, he also questioned what would happen if a multi-use path was to eventually run along Harper Avenue, noting plans have been kicked around for a while in its regard. He pointed out it would be implemented on the same side as the parking spaces.
“You bring up a good point,” Healy said. “If we grant it today and we go forward with the sidewalk, then what does that look like?”
“I just don’t have the legal background — this seems so narrowly tailored,” the mayor said, concerned about future uses. He asked for the attorney to weigh in.
Attorney Noel Fox-Town said passing it could potentially set up the town for opposition, considering a motel is a short-term rental. It’s less about age and structure and more about intent of use, from Fox-Town’s point of view.
Deb LeCompte took issue with those future implications: “I know the language says hotel, but that language could be challenged because it’s still the same service. It’s a short-term rental, it’s not a residence. That’s my concern.”
Benson read a motion to deny the request, which passed 3-2, with Benson and Hoffer dissenting.
“This is the hard part of being on council,” Barbee said.
North end residential parking
After many months of prompting council to make changes on north end streets of Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland avenues, residents have extended parking zones in public right-of-ways. The council allows certain undesignated areas of parking to be accessed by re-entry decal permit holders.
“We’ve had a residential zone on the south end of the island for three years now that’s worked well,” Deputy Manager Ed Parvin told council.
Parvin said more issues have risen with people parking in the road on the north end and told passholders to beware of their tires entering the drive aisle; it would still prompt a ticket.
“You have to park in an area off the road, but still in the 50-foot right-of-way,” he clarified, noting while there aren’t as many in the north end as the south end, yet some still exist.
Earlier during public comment residents Holley Snider and Kerri Machovec pleaded with council to pass the change.
“It’s still an ongoing issue — parking, traffic,” Machovec said. “They’re parking in driveways. They’re parking everywhere.”
Mayor Barbee agreed, telling council members he and LeCompte have met with residents one-on-one for years, all of whom have consistently voiced concerns.
“All you have to do is, on a given weekend, pick your road,” Barbee said, referring to witnessing congested vehicles first-hand on the north end. “I think those residents deserve relief.”
Hoffer hadn’t really heard complaints or received emails but pointed out he didn’t like the policy years ago and voted against it back then for the south end. He thought residents should take ownership in front of their houses.
“Deb should be able to put a rock in the right-of-way in front of her house if she doesn’t want anyone parking there,” Hoffer said, noting this new ordinance also wouldn’t stop anyone with a re-entry permit from parking there.
But because it was the will of residents requesting it, Hoffer voted in favor.
Enforcement of parking in these areas is complaint-driven to Pivot Parking, Carolina Beach’s vendor. Signs will be posted and all information about the changes will be marketed immediately.
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