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Members of the surfing community listen to lengthy debate about commercial activity on Rye town beaches at the town's deliberative session on Saturday.Joey Cresta photo

February 01, 2014 5:43 PM

RYE Debates about public beach access dominated the town deliberative session on Saturday.

The nearly 7-hour meeting gave residents a chance to debate and alter warrant articles that will appear on the ballot next month. There are 28 articles on the warrant, but most of the attention focused on three dealing with commercial beach activities.

Townspeople have grappled with the growing popularity of Rye's beaches and the problems that come with it: congestion, noise, lack of parking, alcohol consumption and disorderly or disruptive behavior. In particular, some residents are concerned that commercial activities like surf camps are taking over the beach.

It's been obvious to me that the frequency and the types of commercial activities occurring on our beaches have been increasing, said Michael Labrie, a longtime beach commissioner and the chairman of the Beach Use Ordinance Committee.

The committee spent the bulk of last year studying the issue and crafting an ordinance that would give the town some semblance of control over a potential explosion in commercial endeavors on the beach. The result of the committee's efforts is Article 23, which proposes a permitting process that beach businesses must go through before they can lawfully operate in Rye.

We forged a compromise that is very reasonable and was very sensitive to the interests of both sides, as well as protecting our town from the liability associated with some of these activities, Labrie said.

However, it was clear several members of the committee on both sides of the issue were not satisfied with the end result. Committee member Tyler McGill, who co-owns Summer Sessions Surf Shop with his brother Ryan, proposed a pair of amendments to the ordinance.

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Battle over beaches heats up in Rye