No Parking on Ocean Drive.
Egg Harbor Township issues warning about parking at Dog Beach
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
LONGPORT – The Board of Commissioners Wednesday, June 1 introduced an ordinance that will allow pet owners to take their dogs to the beach during summer.
Dogs are currently prohibited from being on the beach between May 1 and Sept. 30 when sunbathers flock to the beach.
Meanwhile, Egg Harbor Township Police issued a stern warning Friday advising pet owners who frequent Malibu Beach, aka Dog Beach, that they will be issued tickets if they park on Ocean Drive.
A public hearing on Ordinance 2022-09 will be held 4 p.m. June 15 in Commission Chamber at Longport Borough Hall, 2305 Atlantic Ave.
The ordinance would allow dogs on the beach fronting the Atlantic Ocean from 6:30-8:30 a.m. provided the dog is on a leash, and under control at all times. Dogs will not be permitted to be off-leash during this time.
Dogs will continue to be allowed on the beach during the “winter rule” time period, Oct. 1 to April 30 provided they are leashed and under control, the ordinance states.
The ordinance was suggested by resident and self-proclaimed “responsible dog owner” Levon “Lefty” Clayton, who also is chief of the Longport Volunteer Fire Department.
Clayton said he and many other responsible pet owners like to walk their dogs on the beach every morning in the off-season.
“Mostly everyone is very considerate picking up after their dogs and preventing them from tearing up the dunes…but every once in a while, you find someone who doesn’t pick up,” he said when he suggested the ordinance. “Let responsible dog owners, as most of the dog owners in Longport are, allow dogs on the beach limited hours in the summer, or if you have to maybe do a permit system.”
Nearby Margate prohibits dogs on the beach during the summer season, and in Ventnor, dogs are permitted on the beach during the summer in the area washed by the high tide between 7-9 p.m. Dogs are not permitted on the Ventnor boardwalk at any time.
Dog Beach, which is located in Egg Harbor Township at the foot of the Ocean City-Longport Bridge, attracts pet owners from around the region, including from Ocean City, where the town’s Public Works crew travels over the bridge to collect buckets of trash left behind.
A police notice posted on Facebook cites an Egg Harbor Township Ordinance and Cape May County resolution prohibiting parking in certain areas along Ocean Drive. There is a small parking lot across the road. Because parking is at a premium there, beachgoers often pull over on the side of the two-lane roadway, which poses a danger to pets, pedestrians and motorists traveling to and from Ocean City.
Anyone parking in the “No Parking” zone is subject to receiving a summons, which carries a fine of $200. The police also warn that vehicles may be towed from the site at a minimum rate of $135 plus a $20 per day storage fee.
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