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Ocean City to reinstate beach curfew
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OCEAN CITY - The city's beaches will be off limits again to stargazers, starlight surf fishermen and romantic couples strolling under the moon.
City Council will vote tonight to reinstate a beach curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. after a state court said towns could limit beach access.
In June 2008, Ocean City joined several other towns in allowing 24-hour beach access as a condition imposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection to participate in its beach-replenishment projects. But now that the state Supreme Court has struck down this condition, Ocean City Council wants its regulations back.
"I wasn't real comfortable when we changed it before, but I understood that (otherwise) we wouldn't get money from the state," Councilman Scott Ping said. "I don't care for the idea of keeping the beaches open 24/7. It makes it a lot more difficult to police as far as the kids down there partying and that kind of stuff."
Council will conduct a public hearing on the curfew at a meeting 7 p.m. tonight at City Hall. Many other Cape May County shore communities have similar or identical restrictions to keep people off the beach at night.
Ping said he talked to Police Chief Chad Callahan, who agreed that the curfew would make it easier to enforce quality-of-life issues such as noise. Callahan could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Capt. Jay Prettyman said the curfew would give police more latitude to keep the peace in beachfront neighborhoods.
The measure passed without dissent on first reading. Council President Susan Sheppard said she did not expect any opposition.
"Council decided it was best to make sure the beaches were safe," she said, adding that she did not take advantage of the open beaches when she had the chance.
"I'm in bed by 9," she said.
The city supports the ordinance, Business Administrator James Rutala said.
"It will provide another level of security," he said.
Despite the curfew, city police will continue to make regular patrols on the beach, he said.
Some beachgoers Wednesday said they thought the restrictions were unnecessary. Eric Beil, of Quakertown, Pa., and his 5-year-old son, Ethan, munched French fries on the Boardwalk. He said people should take personal responsibility for their behavior.
"It's a double-edged sword. I can see the reasoning for keeping it safe," he said. "But if I didn't have young kids, I'd be at the beach at night."
Joan Eshleman, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., said people should be free to walk the beach whenever they please.
She and her three sisters shared a Boardwalk bench in their beach attire while they swapped stories and laughed. They have been coming to Cape May County since they were little children.
"Why should I give up my walk? That's disgraceful. Don't they remember when they were a teenager?" she asked. "Choice, choice, choice, give us a choice. We're fighting two wars, aren't we? Isn't that about freedom?"
Her sister Rosemary Votta, of Glenwood, Pa., agreed. She fondly recalled stealing away to the beach with a boyfriend.
"A number of them over the years," she said, prompting giggles from her sisters. "We went under the Boardwalk. God gave us the beach. Let us use it."
If approved today, the curfew goes into effect July 29, the Clerk's Office said. But for those who want to enjoy the moonlight's reflection on the receding surf, there is always Corsons Inlet State Park on the island's south end.
State parks still offer 24-hour pedestrian access to the beaches, a DEP spokeswoman said.
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Posted in Top_three, Cape_may on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 11:05 pm
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