Reprinted from Outer Banks Voice

Southern Shores Town Council announced at its meeting Tuesday that it will file an amicus brief supporting the mid-Currituck bridge as part of the ongoing litigation over the project.

The Southern Environmental Law Center has been waging a legal battle to block the bridge and, according to Town Manager Cliff Ogburn, Southern Shores now has until June 13 to file the amicus curiae brief opposing the law center’s position. Amicus curiae, which translates as “friend of the court,” is a brief written by a person or group that is not part of the lawsuit but offers input or insight on ongoing litigation.

The law center filed the suit on behalf of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation and a group called No Mid-Currituck Bridge. It appears that the actual decision by the Southern Shores council to enter the litigation was made in a closed session during its April 14 meeting.

The move to enter the case is the latest and clearest example of recent efforts by Dare County municipalities to create momentum toward building the proposed 5-mile toll bridge from the Currituck mainland to the Currituck Outer Banks that is intended, among other things, to alleviate summer traffic congestion.

Those efforts have featured the recent passage of resolutions in favor of the bridge by a number of Dare County towns, the county commissioners and the Dare County Tourism Board.

In December 2021, Judge Louise Wood Flanagan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina ruled against the law center’s suit to stop the bridge project. That ruling however, came on the heels of a North Carolina Department of Transportation announcement that the bridge would be delayed for two years due to the litigation – pushing the bridge build start date to at least 2025.

The Southern Environmental Law Center filed an appeal Jan. 31 asking that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to declare the NCDOT 2012 analysis prepared for the bridge “illegal and outdated.” And on April 5, SELC filed its opening briefs with that court.

This story is provided courtesy of the Outer Banks Voice, a digital newspaper covering the Outer Banks. Coastal Review is partnering with the Voice to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest about our coast.

Reprinted from Outer Banks Voice

Bob Hovey, the Duck business owner who has waged a three-year legal battle for public beach access in the town, acknowledged that this battle has come to an end. But the war, he indicated, is not over.

Related: Confrontation stirs beach access debate

In a Facebook post on the evening of March 15, Hovey wrote that, “We regret to inform everyone that the Supreme Court of North Carolina has decided not to hear our case and the Appellate Courts decision to overturn the Public Beach Access will stand as law at Sea Breeze Drive for now. Unfortunately, this will have a big impact on several disputed beach accesses throughout Dare County and North Carolina.”

Hovey, who has for years led a crusade for public beach access in the northern Outer Banks town, filed the lawsuit in 2019, several months after being arrested and charged with second-degree trespassing when attempting to use the access at the end of Sea Breeze Drive. These charges were later dropped.

He argued in the suit that a beach access in the Sand Dollar Shores subdivision is in the public trust, but on April 6, 2020, a North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed an earlier decision from a Camden County Superior Court Judge and ruled that the Sea Breeze beach access in the subdivision is private. Almost immediately, Hovey announced his intention to appeal to the N.C. Supreme Court.

Related: Court determines Duck access isn’t public

In the March 15 Facebook post signed by Hovey and his wife Tanya, he said that their “immediate plans” include an intent to petition “the Town of Duck to create additional state-owned roadside parking, handicapped access, and cooperation from elected officials in maintaining accessible opportunity at Plover Drive as the public has enjoyed for nearly 50 years as a publicly deeded access.”

He added that there will be an effort to convince officials at the Duck Research Pier “to return the former public parking lot, picnic gazebo, and 4×4 vehicle access to a public access” and to re-open the former Duck Pier Public Beach. And he pledged to “use the attention and publicity this case has gained to seek any and all opportunities to create access to the beautiful beaches in Duck, Dare County, North Carolina, and beyond for the public to enjoy.”

“The fight for access in Duck is far from over,” he added in the final paragraph of the lengthy post.

This story is provided courtesy of the Outer Banks Voice, a digital newspaper covering the Outer Banks. Coastal Review is partnering with the Voice to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest about our coast.

Reprinted from the Outer Banks Voice

Passenger ferry service aboard the Ocracoke Express will begin May 25 and will operate through Sept. 9.

During the tourist season, travelers between Hatteras and Ocracoke Village can reach their destination by passenger or vehicle ferries that already serve the popular route.

• Departures from Hatteras: 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Departures from Ocracoke: 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The fares are $5 per person one way and $1 per bicycle one way. The crossing time to Ocracoke Village is 70 minutes.

The ferry whisks as many as 96 passengers per trip across the Pamlico Sound directly into Ocracoke Village and in walking distance of all the village has to offer, from dining to shopping to strolls along the waterfront.

The Silver Lake Ferry Terminal is within easy walking distance of most of Ocracoke’s shops and restaurants. Hyde County also provides free tram service around the village, and bikes and golf carts are available for rental near the ferry terminal.

Although not required, reservations are recommended. Make a reservation by calling 1-800-BY-FERRY or Book online.

Reprinted from Outer Banks Voice

When the holidays come to an end, residents of Dare County and its six municipalities are reminded that there are differing polices regarding the disposal of Christmas trees.

All ornaments, lights, ribbons and decorations must be removed from the tree before it can be discarded. 

Dare County

In unincorporated Dare County, public works will not pick up Christmas trees left on the curbside. They can be dropped off at the Dare County Public Works Recycling Center at 1018 Driftwood Drive, Manteo, or at the Buxton Transfer Facility, 47027 Buxton Back Road.  Visit the website for hours of operation. Remove all ornaments, lights, ribbons, tinsel and other decorations before dropping them off at the recycling centers. Drop-off locations to donate trees for dune restoration listed below.

Duck

Jan. 11 is the final day the town will collect undecorated and tinsel-free trees from curbside.

The Boy Scouts will install Christmas trees in a portion of the nourished beach that has experienced some erosion in Duck. Residents and owners that wish to donate their trees to the cause are asked to drop the trees off Friday in the designated spaces in the parking lot behind the town playground. Contact Sandy Cross at scross@townofduck.com or call 252-255-1234 for more information.

Kill Devil Hills

The town will begin collecting natural Christmas trees Jan. 13. Remove all ornaments, tinsel, lights and other nonorganic items. Place the tree in the right of way adjacent to your property and ensure that it is away from all other objects. No artificial trees or other bulk trash items will be collected. Trees must be placed in the right of way no later than Jan. 12. Contact the Public Services office at 252-480-4080 for additional information.

Kitty Hawk

The town will collect trees in the right of way. Better Beaches OBX will use them on the beach in either Kitty Hawk or Nags Head. Trees can also be dropped off at the Kitty Hawk bathhouse.

Manteo

Those within the town limits can place Christmas trees without decorations next to their roll carts during the regular Monday and Thursday sanitation run. Public Works will remove these trees.

Nags Head

Nags Head will begin on Wednesday to collect Christmas trees without the trimmings. Place the tree next to the road. Do not set the tree on top of or near any other bulk or brush items that need to be collected. After Jan. 15, call 252-441-1122 to arrange a tree collection.

Southern Shores

Christmas trees may be dropped off at the Southern Shores Civic Association Hillcrest parking lot, where they will be collected for sand fencing and erosion control. Christmas trees also may be placed in limb and branch piles for collection. Wreaths are excluded and will not be collected.

All metal and decorations must be removed or the contractor will reject collection. Guidelines for limb and branch collection apply.

The Islander Motel

The parking lot at The Islander Motel will serve as as a drop off this year. “Boy Scout Troop 117 are not collecting Christmas trees this year (Dec 2020/Jan 2021) as part of our beach nourishment service project,” according to the website.

This story is provided courtesy of the Outer Banks Voice, a digital newspaper covering the Outer Banks. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Voice to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest about our coast.