By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP – Are beach tags coming to Strathmere?
Township officials continue to consider the possibility as talks continue about how to address parking issues in the seaside community.
The question became a hot topic over the summer, drawing attention from members of the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company, who raised concerns about access for emergency vehicles in some areas where there were cars parked on both sides of narrow roads.
Residents and visitors reported exceptionally high numbers of visitors this summer, despite or potentially because of the pandemic, as some visitors sought a less crowded option for the beach. The tiny community, which is separated by the back bays from the rest of Upper Township, is often described as a world of its own.
Officials have suggested beach tags could help preserve Strathmere, a motivation for considering the change that has been cited far more often than potentially increasing revenue.
“We don’t want to be the last community without beach tags in Cape May County,” Committeeman Curtis Corson said at the Dec. 7 Township Committee meeting.
Strathmere resident Linda Bateman raised the issue during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“Just wondering if there’s an update on the parking committee in Strathmere?” she said.
Township engineer Paul Dietrich said the township subcommittee met that afternoon.
“We made some pretty good headway,” he said. There will likely be one more meeting after the holidays, he said. “I think after that we’ll be able to release some stuff to the public.”
That could include a layout of new parking rules and discussing the enforcement.
Bateman asked if there would be a poll of Strathmere residents. She said she knew beach tags were part of the discussion, adding that people often make suggestions to her.
“We are probably not going to do a public poll, no. I don’t see that happening,” Corson said. “Taxpayers are welcome to submit input any time through email or text or you can pick up the phone and call me.”
But he indicated the possibility of introducing a Strathmere beach tag is part of the discussion. For now, the community is one of the few oceanside communities where they are not required.
“We’ve talked about the beach tags. We just keep circling back to the enforcement issue,” Corson said. But he said the idea was not at the forefront of the subcommittee discussions.
He said other communities have discussed implementing beach tags. Communities in the Wildwoods have discussed requiring beach fees for years, but so far have held off. Ocean City takes in about $4 million in revenue from beach tag sales each year. Tags are $25 for a season, $10 for a week, or $5 for a daily tag.
Legal precedent in New Jersey has determined the revenue raised by selling beach tags amounts to a user fee, and is supposed to offset beach-related expenses only.
Mayor Rich Palombo questioned whether the committee had explored companies that manufacture tags.
“We haven’t gotten to that yet. We haven’t even talked about how to sell them,” Corson said. “Until we have a way to enforce it, we’re going to have some issues.”
“We’re working on it. It’s going to be a topic of discussion at our next meeting,” Corson said.
There are a number of things to consider, said Committeeman Ed Barr, also a member of the subcommittee. That includes hiring beach tag checkers, setting up a system to sell the tags and more.
Corson said the biggest issue would be enforcing the requirement.
