Selectmen Discuss Regulation Changes to Renourished Town Neck Beach

KA_Sandwich_Town Neck Beach sand fill construction_winter_cloudy_012216_002SANDWICH – Officials in Sandwich recently had informal discussions about the possibility of implementing new rules and regulations on the renourished section of Town Neck Beach.

Last week, work crews finished dredging and placing about 120,000 cubic yards of sand from the Cape Cod Canal on the beach.

Doug Lapp, the assistant town manager in Sandwich, brought the issue before selectmen earlier this month.

“We are investing millions of dollars to reconstruct it,” Lapp said, “It seems like now is an appropriate time to talk about new management practices in the area.”

As part of the current Town Neck Beach Management Plan, beach fires are prohibited east of the boardwalk and are limited to small cooking fires.

The use of palettes and wood containing nails is also prohibited.

Selectman Peter Beauchemin said fires have been an issue for a long time.

“I spent 30 years on the fire department and for 30 years every summer we chased fires up and down the beach telling people they can’t do it.” He said. “And as soon as you walk away they light them again.”

Beauchemin said he believes the current regulations should be enforced and would have “no problem” with moving fires away from the renourished portion of the beach.

“Nintety percent of them could care less,” he said. “They are down there on the beach. They are going to have a good time and they are not worried about what the local officials say.”

Selectman Ralph Vitacco said the town should look at regulations that would be supported by the majority of the community.

“What I would look at as we move forward is that we have realistic restrictions with realistic expectations.”

Selectman Frank Pannorfi said that having controllable regulations was necessary but would not want to see them banned from the renourished section of the beach.

Selectmen did not believe beach access should be limited where the work has been done and did not want to tighten nighttime striper fishing regulations.

By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

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