(I was forwarded this via email)
from Gloucester daily times
By JOSH ODELL
Staff writer
ROCKPORT -- Like many of her neighbors, resident Sharon Kishida has had a hard time enjoying Old Garden Beach lately. And like many of her neighbors, she says it's not hard to see why.
With its well-known yet small sections of ocean access, the beach has managed to attract increasing masses of scuba divers to the area, resulting in clogged parking and limited use for nearby families.
"The charm of this beach is really that it's so important to families," Kishida said. "The flavor of the beach has changed. It's not so much fun to go down there."
In response to waves of such complaints at last night's selectmen's meeting, members of the town's Old Garden Beach Association and town officials will soon meet to discuss how to handle the situation.
The group's target will be the town's present commercial permitting process, which currently allows the Department of Public Works to issue permits to visiting commercial groups, such as diving organizations, with the intent of boosting the local economy.
The problem with that, say the policy's opponents, is not only that the criteria for assigning such permits are limited at best, but also that such groups in actuality contribute little to the local economy while crowding and disrupting local areas like Old Garden Beach.
"This small neighborhood is not suited for commercial use of this nature," said Norwood Avenue resident Carol Delaney.
Old Garden Beach Association president Richard Morris -- who pointed out that the association has undertaken many civic projects in the area, from spring cleanups to ramp and stair repairs -- expressed concerns with the permitting process and said he and Delaney will work with the selectmen to help clear up the issue.
Morris and Delaney will be working on solutions to the issue with Selectman Nicola Barletta, a resident of the Old Garden Beach area who has seen what many others have seen in recent months.
"I've talked to most of (the divers), and they're very nice people," Barletta said. "There are just too many of them."
Barletta added that he has spoken about the permits with DPW representatives, who said that they are assigned for multiple activities -- not just diving -- to keep outside groups actively coming to town. Painters, for example, frequently ask for such permits.
"I think the problem is in the interpretation," said Barletta.
One major difficulty, said DPW senior field coordinator George Robertson, is that many groups who show up at the beaches do not even get permits, and even the ones that do have permits show up in unpredictable numbers.
"We have no idea how many people are going to show up," Robertson said, noting that advice from town counsel might be helpful in crafting clearer regulations. "We need help legally."
Because the state has classified the town's beaches as open to the public, Selectwoman Joanne Wile said that making some kind of regulation against diving classes -- not diving in general -- might be a positive step.
"It's all in the wording," she said. "If you get the right words, you can control it."
Recent research from Delaney showed that Old Garden Beach -- commonly touted as a prime diving location by several New England diving Web sites -- is booked for seven weekends between June and August for commercially sponsored shore dives.
In terms of enforcing present regulations, Police Chief Tom McCarthy said that groups without permits and parking violators are punished as often as possible, particularly on the busy weekends, under the watch of Sgt. Douglas MacMillin.
"He has been aggressively enforcing anything he sees down there," McCarthy said.
One problem, said McCarthy, is because most of the complaints come on weekends, the department only has two officers on the road that can handle arising issues.
That's why the solution to the problem, said Delaney, has to center around limiting commercial use of the beach.
Adding weight to the neighborhood's cause, Delaney presented the selectmen last night with a list of negative impacts such diving groups have had on the area. In addition to blocking the beach's ramp and "disturbing the peace" with large caravans of automobiles that arrive as early as 5:30 a.m., the diving groups clog the "resident only" parking areas -- and accept the $15 fines -- to the point that residents can't use the area, Delaney said.
In the past, said Delaney, divers have also offended neighbors by changing clothes in open areas, drinking alcohol on the premises and even using the bushes as bathrooms.
"If you were to walk through, you'd see a very unpleasant sight of human excrement and toilet paper that's been left there," Delaney said.
With issues such as those in mind, Selectmen Chairman Charles Clark invited the group of volunteers to research the situation with the help of town officials and town counsel to come up a plan that can be implemented as soon as possible.
"It seems like we have all the right tools," Clark said. "The thing is we won't know without testing how those tools will stand up."
from Gloucester daily times
By JOSH ODELL
Staff writer
ROCKPORT -- Like many of her neighbors, resident Sharon Kishida has had a hard time enjoying Old Garden Beach lately. And like many of her neighbors, she says it's not hard to see why.
With its well-known yet small sections of ocean access, the beach has managed to attract increasing masses of scuba divers to the area, resulting in clogged parking and limited use for nearby families.
"The charm of this beach is really that it's so important to families," Kishida said. "The flavor of the beach has changed. It's not so much fun to go down there."
In response to waves of such complaints at last night's selectmen's meeting, members of the town's Old Garden Beach Association and town officials will soon meet to discuss how to handle the situation.
The group's target will be the town's present commercial permitting process, which currently allows the Department of Public Works to issue permits to visiting commercial groups, such as diving organizations, with the intent of boosting the local economy.
The problem with that, say the policy's opponents, is not only that the criteria for assigning such permits are limited at best, but also that such groups in actuality contribute little to the local economy while crowding and disrupting local areas like Old Garden Beach.
"This small neighborhood is not suited for commercial use of this nature," said Norwood Avenue resident Carol Delaney.
Old Garden Beach Association president Richard Morris -- who pointed out that the association has undertaken many civic projects in the area, from spring cleanups to ramp and stair repairs -- expressed concerns with the permitting process and said he and Delaney will work with the selectmen to help clear up the issue.
Morris and Delaney will be working on solutions to the issue with Selectman Nicola Barletta, a resident of the Old Garden Beach area who has seen what many others have seen in recent months.
"I've talked to most of (the divers), and they're very nice people," Barletta said. "There are just too many of them."
Barletta added that he has spoken about the permits with DPW representatives, who said that they are assigned for multiple activities -- not just diving -- to keep outside groups actively coming to town. Painters, for example, frequently ask for such permits.
"I think the problem is in the interpretation," said Barletta.
One major difficulty, said DPW senior field coordinator George Robertson, is that many groups who show up at the beaches do not even get permits, and even the ones that do have permits show up in unpredictable numbers.
"We have no idea how many people are going to show up," Robertson said, noting that advice from town counsel might be helpful in crafting clearer regulations. "We need help legally."
Because the state has classified the town's beaches as open to the public, Selectwoman Joanne Wile said that making some kind of regulation against diving classes -- not diving in general -- might be a positive step.
"It's all in the wording," she said. "If you get the right words, you can control it."
Recent research from Delaney showed that Old Garden Beach -- commonly touted as a prime diving location by several New England diving Web sites -- is booked for seven weekends between June and August for commercially sponsored shore dives.
In terms of enforcing present regulations, Police Chief Tom McCarthy said that groups without permits and parking violators are punished as often as possible, particularly on the busy weekends, under the watch of Sgt. Douglas MacMillin.
"He has been aggressively enforcing anything he sees down there," McCarthy said.
One problem, said McCarthy, is because most of the complaints come on weekends, the department only has two officers on the road that can handle arising issues.
That's why the solution to the problem, said Delaney, has to center around limiting commercial use of the beach.
Adding weight to the neighborhood's cause, Delaney presented the selectmen last night with a list of negative impacts such diving groups have had on the area. In addition to blocking the beach's ramp and "disturbing the peace" with large caravans of automobiles that arrive as early as 5:30 a.m., the diving groups clog the "resident only" parking areas -- and accept the $15 fines -- to the point that residents can't use the area, Delaney said.
In the past, said Delaney, divers have also offended neighbors by changing clothes in open areas, drinking alcohol on the premises and even using the bushes as bathrooms.
"If you were to walk through, you'd see a very unpleasant sight of human excrement and toilet paper that's been left there," Delaney said.
With issues such as those in mind, Selectmen Chairman Charles Clark invited the group of volunteers to research the situation with the help of town officials and town counsel to come up a plan that can be implemented as soon as possible.
"It seems like we have all the right tools," Clark said. "The thing is we won't know without testing how those tools will stand up."
