SCARBOROUGH — If the Higgins Beach residents get their way,
free parking in their popular beachfront community will soon be a thing of the
past.
At the June 26 meeting of the Scarborough
Ordinance Committee, Bill Donovan, chairman of the Higgins Beach Association
Civic Committee, presented a draft ordinance that would limit parking in 11
Bayview Avenue spots, adjacent to the public beach, to holders of a town beach
pass.
The passes, good for all town beaches, cost $35
per year for residents and $65 for non-residents. For $20, people who live or
pay taxes in town can get an annual pass good for any one beach. Passes are
free for residents 65 years of age or older, and for military veterans living
in Scarborough. Two handicapped spots on Bayview Avenue would not be subject to
the pass requirement.
As proposed by Donovan, the parking on Bayview
Avenue would still be limited to one hour, from May 1 to Sept. 15, even with a
paid pass. Although the time limit is not enforced from Sept. 16 to April 30, a
pass would still be required.
“That’s lame,” said Brett Dobrovolny, owner of
the Black Point Surf Shop, on Monday.
“It’s been an ongoing battle. I feel like
they’re just trying to get rid of what parking is actually there.”
Dobrovolny said surfers, even out-of-towners who
would be subject to the $65 pass, probably wouldn’t be fazed by the ordinance,
if it gets out of committee and is passed by the full council, at least during
the summer. Surfers are barred from Higgins Beach from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and the
person manning the town-owned parking lot on Ocean Avenue knocks off at 5 p.m.
However, surfers would miss the Bayview spots during the winter, when they are
the sole users of the beach, said Dobrovolny.
“That’s when the parking is really crucial,
because it’s freezing out and kind of a long walk to the parking lot,” said
Dobrovolny. “So, that would be kind of a bummer.”
But for Donovan and his fellow Higgins Beach
residents, what bums them out is the intoxication, noise, nudity and public
urination of beachgoers, all detailed with pictures and video footage in a
93-page report given to the Town Council last fall.
“We think this is a self-regulating, simple
solution to deal with some of actions and behavior problems on the street that
has not been addressed by anything that’s been done so far,” said Donovan.
“Access to the beach is important, but that access should be orderly and
organized and thoughtful.
“It’s our hope that though this proposal we can
increase the accountability of people who come [to Higgins Beach], because for
all the things that have been done, the behavior problems persists,” said
Donovan.
Last year, the Town Council answered
longstanding issues at Higgins Beach by banning on-street parking throughout
the historic district, expect for a newly created strip of short-term spots on
Bayview Avenue. To replace those lost spots, the town paid $1.27
million, using money from a Land for Maine’s Future grant, to buy a private
parking lot on Ocean Avenue. Last month, the town spent $40,000 to
expand that lot to 82 spaces. When privately run, before paving and striping,
it reportedly held up to 110 cars. Last year, it cost $5 to park in that lot.
This year, the price has been bumped to $10 to match other beaches in town.
“So, you’d only have to go twice to equal what
it costs now to go to Higgins Beach,” said Donovan, comparing the Higgins-only
beach pass to the Ocean Avenue lot. “It’s a wash for all intents and purposes.”
The town also recently built a sidewalk between the new
Bayview parking spots and the beach, and a 100-foot-long by 6-foot-high fence
to shield Donovan’s house from the on-street parking.
“His house is literally only feet away from those Bayview
Avenue spots, so he was the most affected,” said Town Manager Tom Hall on
Friday. “You can understand how just the coming and going, and car doors
constantly shutting, could be kind of a nuisance.”
Police also increased patrols in the area, buying an
electric “bubble car” to control turnover of the Bayview parking, and to
otherwise mediate between private and public interests.
“We find that when the police officer is
on duty, we get pretty good results,” said Donovan. “But as soon as the police
officer is not there, the behavior changes dramatically.”
The town recently drafted a new beach brochure that gives
what Hall calls “neighborly-type suggestions” for proper
behavior.
Beginning in September, the town will demolish a cottage
in the Ocean Avenue lot, and spend $288,000 to build a bathhouse where surfers
can change in and out of their gear.
Despite attention town councilors have paid to concerns
expressed by the Higgins Beach residents association during the past year,
ordinance committee members seemed dubious of Donovan’s proposal.
“I understand the attempt to corral the
problem,” said Councilor James Benedict. “There is a problem. I’ve been down
there and seen it. There’s stuff going on that none of us would like to see in
our neighborhoods. I just wonder if there’s a more effective way to get what
you are looking for.”
“I also understand where you’re coming from,”
said committee Chairwoman Carol Rancourt. “What gives me heartburn is that it
cuts out, except to those who are willing to pay, access to the beach to a
large portion of Scarborough residents.”
The committee will take up Donovan’s proposal at
its next meeting, July 31.
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