Middletown Council: Businesses Should Pay to Use Second Beach

Dozens of boot camps and wellness programs take advantage of Sachuest Beach's large, sandy shoreline - so many, in fact that the growing trend of beach-front exercise is limiting residents' coastal enjoyment.

Beach events need to be managed in order to accommodate commercial and public interests as well as to protect the town from liability, said Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown.

"There are so many different things that people want to do down and that we need to manage that," said Brown during the meeting on Monday. "Groups can overrun certain properties that are desirable, so it is in our best interest to get our hands around this."

Brown is proposing instituting a $25 per day fee to commercial businesses - like yoga, surf camps and childrens' camps - that hold for-profit classes on the beach. This would allow the town to keep tabs on disparate uses and manage where and when the classes are allowed on the beach.

"The special event is essentially some event that deprives the public from using the property," said Brown. "It's actually - in the time that I have been the town administrator - one of the biggest complaints from people who use the beach and have conflict between the wellness programs and the people who just want to walk."

Currently, town ordinance levies a $100 per day fee to such business ventures, but Brown said payment is not regulated or enforced. If the council endorses the new fee schedule and business are caught conducting classes on the beach sans permit, they will be cited for trespassing.

Brown said the new fee structure and permitting process will allow the town to manage uses on the beach, delegate parking areas, time frames for usage and cordon off specific sections of the beach for the activity so that the public can still access the coastline.

With the new permits, businesses will also need to submit verification of insurance and valid business licenses to gain approval.

Tell Us: What do you think about the proposed fee for businesses using Sachuest Beach? Is it fair to businesses and residents?