By Dan Moffett
Ocean Ridge commissioners have given unanimous preliminary approval to two measures intended to resolve two of the town’s most contentious and complicated issues.
At the Aug. 11 meeting, the commission approved the first reading of an ordinance amendment that regulates use of the town’s public beaches. The proposed law comes in response to complaints from beachfront property owners about the misbehavior of out-of-town beachgoers.
And commissioners also are attempting to repair a troublesome rental registration ordinance that was passed last year. An amended version of the law shifts the focus from registering tenants to registering property owners, and it reduces fees.
Both of the proposed amendments are scheduled to come up for a second reading at the commission’s Sept. 8 meeting, and commissioners admitted it might take a third reading in October to finish work on the much-debated beach amendment.
Town Attorney Ken Spillias brought the commission a draft for beach regulations that contained language and provisions drawn from other waterfront communities around the state.
“We put a smorgasbord in here and tried to distinguish private from public,” Spillias said, allowing that not all the measures would appeal to commissioners.
The amendment does not attempt to draw a specific line between private and public beach property. The commission had considered using several possible boundaries — the wrack line, or erosion control line, or simply the wet sand, dry sand line — but has drifted away from making precise definitions.
With the proposed amendment, the line between public and private would be left more in policy than in legal language, leaving enforcement up to police discretion. Similarly, the amendment prohibits excessive noise but does not define it in decibel levels. Generally, police will make the call on what constitutes misbehavior and what doesn’t.
“Most of the provisions that are there are for when police see egregious violations,” Spillias said.
Explicitly banned on the public beaches are glass containers, pets — and excretion of bodily wastes, which many beachfront residents complained to the commission they have seen too often.
Commissioners decided against banning alcohol consumption on the beaches, believing prohibition would be an infringement on residents.
The proposed fixes to the rental registration amendment are attempts to remedy complaints that the existing ordinance violates privacy rights and is too costly for landlords. The commission passed it last year in an attempt to rein in the nuisance, short-term rentals of single-family homes.
Spillias offered a revised version of the law that does not require tenants to provide personal information. Instead, landlords are required to register their properties with the town and pay a $35 annual fee for each property. In the current version, landlords are required to pay $50 for each lease.
“I don’t have a problem with registering properties,” said Commissioner Richard Lucibella. “I do have a problem with registering people.”
Several commissioners agreed that the ordinance has been effective in deterring the nuisance rentals and helping police keep track of neighborhoods. As of August, the town had registered 97 rental units and houses.
Commissioner Lynn Allison said she had grown skeptical about the value of the ordinance, however.
“When we started last year, it was about safety,” Allison said, “but I’m not even sure why we’re doing it anymore.”
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