In October of 2015, the borough of Deal attempted to fast-track a town ordinance that would have restricted parking on six streets nearest the beach to residents only, and only after permits were issued to display in vehicles.
As noted in an October 7, 2015 update at TheFisherman.com, the plan was tabled in advance of the public meeting. “I guess they didn’t want to deal with a room full of angry surf fisherman,” said Greg O’Connell, beach access representative for the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) at the time.
Monmouth County surfcasters take note; the issue is alive again, basically because it was never officially put to rest in the first place.
On Wednesday, June 29 at 5 p.m. the Borough of Deal plans to introduce Ordinance 1134 to issue permits for parking on Hathaway, Neptune, Sydney and Monmouth Drive on one side of the street. While the agenda was not yet posted on the Deal website under the “ordinances” section or the “agenda meetings section,” The Fisherman Magazine has obtained a copy of the proposed agenda (see image above right) that reveals that the Borough plans on introducing Ordinance 1134 as a Chapter X Traffic Ordinance.
Stephen R. Carasia , Deal’s Borough Clerk/Administrator said on Tuesday that the proposed ordinance is still in the process of being fully completed. “It can change before Wednesday night, right now it’s just a draft,” Carasia said by phone. In addition to the streets previously mentioned, Carasia said other borough roads including Deal Esplanade, Darlington Road, Ocean Lane, and Roosevelt Avenue were probably also going to be included in the one-side, permit parking restriction.
Mayor Sam Cohen was unavailable for comment, and Carasia said he wasn’t aware of the reasoning behind the draft ordinance. “I don’t want to say without hearing from him (the mayor),” said Carasia, adding “It’s really the Mayor and the Borough of Commissioners who’ve put this forth. They’ll introduce it and then they will pretty much decide what they’re going to do.”
Wednesday’s hearing will only be preliminary step in the process of getting the new parking restrictions passed, and Carasia said the public hearing on any new parking rules wouldn’t occur until July. “This is just the introduction, there’s no public hearing, no one’s going to be speaking on it,” Carasia said of the June 29 meeting.
When the Borough of Deal had discussed plans restrict parking on borough roads to residents only back in October, it caused quite the firestorm within the local fishing community, especially on the heals of a $40 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project completely paid for by the federal government and U.S. taxpayers. After the borough tabled its original plans in October, NJDEP spokesman Bob Considine told the Associated Press, "We have concerns (that) it may impact public access, and it could conflict with the agreement signed with the U.S. Army Corps project. We also simply want to ensure that we work toward providing more public access and not limiting access."
As for the newly proposed ordinance, Considine and the NJDEP have yet to see the ordinance language in full. "Obviously, we would have concerns with any action that could restrict access, but we’ll reserve judgment until we see the final ordinance,” Considine said on June 28.
While the introduction and first reading of Ordinance 1134 cannot officially prompt a vote on Wednesday night without first going to public comment, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility for the Borough of Deal to move something through a vote on Wednesday night. “If they revisit the tabled ordinance from last year they could take a final vote,” said John Depersenaire at the RFA. “We’re not sure if this is an attempt to pass something under the radar or not.”
The question many surfcasters, surfers and beach goers have this week is do the Mayor and Commissioners of Deal have something up their sleeve?
For answers, the meeting will be held at Borough Hall, 190 Norwood Avenue in Deal this Wednesday, June 29 at 5 p.m. It is of course open to the public. For more information go to www.dealborough.com.