THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 1, 1994 TAG: 9408010063
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CAROVA LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
The popularity of all-terrain vehicles is posing a unique problem for northern Outer Banks off-road commuters who must use the beach for business.
Tourists who park their sports utility vehicles and trucks too close to the shoreline are clogging the passageway for Carova and Swan Beach residents and businesses that normally travel during low tide.
The increasingly congested area is located where paved N.C. 12 ends north of Corolla and extends to the Virginia state line, which is marked by a wire barricade.
Enforcement of a beach driving ordinance will be discussed at the Currituck County Board of Commissioners meeting at 8 tonight at the county courthouse.
Members of the county sheriff's department are expected to answer questions raised recently by Commissioner Ernie Bowden about what he contends are inconsistencies in policing beach ordinance offenders.
``A situation exists where they seem to pick and choose when they will and will not allow people to violate certain provisions of the ordinance,'' said Bowden, who represents Currituck's oceanfront communities.
As a result, Bowden said, tourists unwittingly are preventing those who commute along the shore from conducting business or getting home on time.
The ordinance says motorists may not block the beach between the water's edge and the mark of the last high tide. It was designed to keep a path open for commuting residents and delivery services.
Bowden, who lives in Carova and regularly transports solid waste to the mainland, said the problem has gotten worse in recent years.
``The problem's been prevalent all the time, but there's no question that it's increased in magnitude. More people are becoming aware that they can drive on the beach,'' he said.
``I don't think we have done the best job of getting the message out, either,'' he added.
Bowden said most tourists politely move their vehicles when asked, though some also refuse.
``The vast majority of them are ignorant of the ordinance,'' he said.
Also on tonight's agenda are public hearings on the following:
A special use permit for telephone switching equipment at Knotts Island's Anchor Campground.
An amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance regarding allowable uses for open spaces.
A sketch plan and special use permit for Currituck Woods, a 17-lot subdivision to be located east of U.S. 158 in Poplar Branch.
A sketch plan and special use permit for a six-lot subdivision on Maple Road in Crawford Township. MEMO: This story also appeared on page B1 of the North Carolina edition. by CNB