Deal Tables Proposed Parking Policy – For Now

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By John Burton

DEAL — The borough Board of Commissioners isn’t moving forward on its controversial ordinance to drastically limit parking in the area of the borough beaches—for now.

As widely anticipated, the board at Friday morning’s meeting moved to table the ordinance that would have prohibited on-street parking on seven residential roadways surrounding the beach. Mayor Morris Ades said he wanted to table it, “without a date” as to when the governing body would again address it, in hopes “to find a better solution.”

For the overflowing crowd in attendance, which swelled the borough meeting room, this was good news but not as decisive as they had hope, believing the ordinance should be abandoned.

“It’s a good first step, obviously,” said John Weber, mid-Atlantic regional manager for the Jersey Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental and educational organization that has been quite vocally opposed to the plan. Weber, however, said he hoped he and others will have the opportunity to work with borough officials to come up with a plan that will be amenable for everyone.

“Clearly, they have a problem,” with parking in the community, Weber acknowledged. But, “that problem can’t and won’t be eliminated by denying the public’s right to access the beaches.”

NEWS-Deal-2-wThe commissioners’ intention was to address complaints by homeowners that streets were clogged with the visitors’ vehicles, to the detriment of homeowners’ quality of life. “All we wanted to do was to allow residents to have parking in front of their home,” said Commissioner Samuel M. Cohen.

“It was never our intention to limit access,” to the beach, insisted Ades.

Demitri Karagias, a senior citizen Deal resident, told the committee and audience, “Sometimes it takes me 15-20 minutes to get out of my driveway,” given the traffic and parked vehicles during the summer months.

To the opponents, Ades asked, “If you can find some other solution that would be fine.”

Chris Macinoch, Oceanport resident and a Surfrider member told the commissioners “We would love to be part of that.”

The commissioners said they were looking to accommodate residents. But others, including surfing and fishing groups along with government watchdog organizations raised issues believing the measure, in effect, would deny the public the access to the beaches, considered a right protected by the state Constitution.

Opponents of the parking ban were particularly outraged by this move given the Army Corps of Engineers had undertaken a beach replenishment project done with federal tax dollars.

Roosevelt Avenue Beach, Deal NJ
Roosevelt Avenue Beach, Deal NJ

A spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection earlier this week said the department had “concerns” over the parking limits, fearing it would be in conflict with public access.

“The ocean waters should remain open to all,” maintained Andrew Chambarry, an area resident and lawyer, who is prepared to take legal action should officials ever approve the ordinance.

The ordinance as proposed, would prevent on-street parking on those designated streets from 8 a.m.-to-8 p.m. for non-residents.