I really don't care about Ship Bottom. I find the entire LBI scene too "rich" for my liking.
It's so, 70's, there and well, I live further south. If I ever do head up that way it would be one more island up to visit the State Park.
That all said, instead of getting off the islands altogether, returning them to the state that IBSP reflects, instead local politicians want to turn these towns into their own little Feifdoms where folks can get fleeced for walking in the water.
Oh yeah, they argue, we need to provide "services". So, are they going to introduce a followup ordinance to include rubber rafts, kick/skim and surf boards as "watercraft"?
Ship Bottom proposes ordinance to charge fee for launching non-motorized watercraft
A lifelong resident of South Seaside Park, Justin Auciello is a surfer, urban planner, journalist and traveler.
He prefers life in boardshorts and bare feet and aims to
live the "endless summer," which he somewhat accomplishes by spending
time in Puerto Rico each winter, where he lives with the family of his
lovely girlfriend, Andreica, and surfs the northwestern coast of the
Isla del Encanto.
But most of all, Justin's insatiable drive is to keep people
informed, whether it is covering a breaking news event on Jersey Shore
Hurricane News – a two-way news outlet covering news, traffic and
weather that he founded in August 2011 – or simply educating children
about rip current safety during a lazy day on the beach.
If you're
planning on launching a non-motorized watercraft in Long Beach Island's
Ship Bottom in the future, it might cost you, and that possibility is
angering many residents and visitors.
The borough's governing
body will consider an ordinance that would require paying a fee to
launch non-motorized watercraft at its May 24 meeting.
Ordinance 2016-12 would
make it unlawful to launch non-motorized watercraft from Waterfront Park
-- along the bayfront between 9th Street to the 12th Street lagoon --
without paying five dollars for each watercraft, according to the
proposed legislation.
The fee is for kayaks, canoes, and water boards/paddle boards.
The ordinance would amend the "paid beaches" section of the municipal code to include the fee and requirements.
According to Borough
Clerk Kathleen Wells, the ordinance was introduced at the last meeting
and is now in the process of advancing toward a public hearing.
At the May 24 meeting,
Wells said the governing body has the following options: vote to adopt
or deny, table it, or amend the legislation's contents, which would
require another public hearing.
The clerk, who said the
process is in motion and no action can occur until an open public
hearing at the meeting later this month, referred a request for comment
on the ordinance's intent to Council President Edward English and
Borough Administrator Brian Geoghegan.
Both officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A petition against the ordinance began circulating on May 1, calling for 2,000 signatures. As of today, 373 people have signed.
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