North Wildwood has lifted a ban on tents ahead of Independence Day weekend.
When North Wildwood Council revised its over 70-year-old municipal code, the city’s beach was starved of sand after offseason storms had battered the coastline, fueling a need for emergency repairs that pitted local officials against Trenton.
Gov. Phil Murphy recently ordered an emergency beach replenishment project for North Wildwood. Now that enough sand is on its beach for the holiday, the City Council on Tuesday ended the ban on tents through a resolution, Mayor Patrick Rosenello told NJ Advance Media.
“The beach is complete, and with that, we have significant width back on our beach,” Rosenello said. “We did not feel that the ban was necessary anymore.”
Until Tuesday, tents, tarps, cabanas, pavilions, canopies, “sport-brellas” and similar devices were barred from being pitched on North Wildwood’s beaches, unless it was on a list of exceptions. When it became effective, local officials anticipated the ban would be temporary.
One rule still applies, Rosenello said, cabanas and tents cannot exceed 10-feet by 10-feet.
North Wildwood was able to gets its beaches replenished after two years of being unable to borrow sand from neighboring Wildwood because of significant beach erosion, local officials argued. Another solution — a federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project — was moving ahead slowly for the past 10 years as the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection seeks the right of access to begin construction. That project, however, was projected to begin in 2025.
At least 22 other towns still have effective bans. Some argue tents and canopies are a nuisance for beachgoers by blocking obscuring ocean views. Threats of lightning strikes are cited as another reason.
Stories by Eric Conklin
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.