The Cape Charles Town Council has approved this year’s fiscal year budget to the tune of over $7,903,698.00. Of that almost $8 million, only $20k is allotted for beach replenishment. Given the amount of erosion and the loss of at least 60% of the beach in some areas, it seems that the beach is no longer a top priority for the town.
Sources tell the Mirror that the consensus among top movers on Town Council that is that the beach is the beach, but funds will be more focused and targeted towards the town itself. That is, Main Street and other initiatives meant to benefit local business is now the top priority.
There is nothing wrong with this, however, it exposes a high level of misunderstanding about the fundamental nature of the Town of Cape Charles. Does it make sense to spend tens of thousands to install an elevator in the Library so that the town staff can eventually move in while the beach erodes away to slivers of sand?
Why do people come, and vacation is this quiet little town? To shop on Mason Avenue, or eat Brown Dog ice cream, or have a beer at Kelly’s or the Shanty, or go to the harbor? No. They only come for the beach. The show that made us famous is not called Mason Avenue Bargain hunt, it’s Beachfront Bargain Hunt. So, why have we stopped taking care of the beach?
Part of the problem is we have a board and committee for almost every aspect of life here, but there is nothing that pertains directly to the health of the beach.
During Mayor Proto’s term, he tasked the Dune and Wetlands Board with coming up with a beach maintenance plan. This was entirely unfair, and way out of that board’s purview and expertise. To the Dune and Wetland’s board credit, they worked very hard and collected a massive amount of data from the City of Norfolk. They did come up with a plan, but, as would be expected, it had more to do with creating large dunes than it did with creating a pleasurable experience for beach goers. Isn’t the experience what this is supposed to be all about?
Note: We love the dunes, they’re beautiful and they serve an important purpose. But do they really need to be 29 feet tall?
Cape Charles Town Council seems to be trending in a familiar direction—business owners first, ordinary citizens second (or third, fourth, fifth, etc.). It should also be noted that not a single member of the current council even goes to the beach. They just don’t get it.
The reality is, there would be limited numbers of businesses on front street without tourists—and there would be limited numbers of tourists without the beach.
In the long run, creating a new board with the responsibility of the beach experience should be the goal. Until that happens, a committee should be formed to monitor and study the beach and the people that go there. Ideally, this would be made up of folks that don’t mind getting wet and sandy.
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If this does not change and the beach continues to erode people will start moving out of Cape Charles instead of moving in,and real estate values will drop.
To the Towns credit they did create a kayak storage facility at the north end of the beach where you can lock up your kayak for a small fee. You must register your kayak and pay a very small fee at the Harbor Masters Office. Problem is the Town needs to advertise this service. So far I have seen no announcements about this. We need signage and better communication all around. But Kudos to Jen Lewis – Recreation Director and the Town Management. They listen and respond.
Thank you so much for the kayak info . I had no idea that was available .
Invest in out beach! There is too much competition in today’s world for tourism dollars! Our advantages are small town, growing art Vibe, and a great alternative beach town with calm waters and next to no shark attacks. Not to mention, the golf and restaurants are great too! The competitive threats from “beach cities” are REAL and they have more money for restoration. So, BE WISE town council, mitigate our risk of losing tourism dollars and keep growth minded instead of a risk averse mindset.
Parking is kinda rough folks
Bad for business. Bad for tax base.
While I understand the frustration, and of course the importance of the beach to the town, this article is a tad nihil and rem… people come to Cape Charles for many reasons, the beach may be high on the list, but it is not the sole reason. Further, an elevator being installed in a building is not a vanity project, it is making a space ADA compliant. Interesting read, but it appears there is not much “news,” as it were, in Cape Charles nowadays.
My family and I have been going to Cape Charles for the beach and the pier for a few years now. After we discovered it, my children and grandchildren preferred it to traveling to beaches in the south or the Caribbean. It is clean, water is calm and the area is peaceful, relaxing and beautiful. The town is quaint and the people are friendly. The eateries around service our needs though a grocery and a few more small restaurants will be appreciated. It is unfortunate if the beach is going to be neglected . I’m sure other tourists go there for same reason as we do ; and not to shop, eat st 4 star restaurants or watch a play or show., we go back here to enjoy the beach, relax and get away from the noise and unfriendly people in other beach areas.
As a traveler that skips past other beaches just to come to Cape Charles I hope the town will consider maintaining the beach. It is one of the best to me and my family
While we enjoy all the amenities offered (Brown Dog is certainly a cool treat and we’ve had wonderful meals as well), we spend our time and money first and foremost to enjoy the lovely, calm and unique beach. Please invest and protect what makes Cape Charles unique-the beach.
I give you a tourist’s viewpoint: invest in the beach. We stay at Silver Beach and like having 3 different beach types- Atlantic, Chesapeake and the best choislce of being in St Charles! My younger sons love the calm waters, the ample beach, the shops, the fishing pier and Brown Dog Ice cream
The restoration of the beach at this time would cost less now than later. The shallow beach runs to the channel and could be pushed back with earth movers. Allowing the beach to erode further would make restoration much more expensive if we have to dredge again.
No beach, no tourists. Simple.
Our beach is our lifeblood and that lifeblood feeds the businesses we need to invest in the lifeblood of our beach.
This is not simply an issue about tourism and beach amenity versus business. An environmental assessment of beach erosion and how it will affect the future safety of the whole town is essential. But perhaps this was already done?
If the beach continues to erode without replenishment, what little dunes are there will be next to go. Then there will be nothing to protect or buffer the houses and town streets from storm surge flooding, and futher erosion.
This is my broad-brush perspective. I discovered the delightful town of Cape Charles only this year. I retired from coastal management and I don’t know the details of coastal processes at Cape Charles Town or projected scenarios. Does the Council feel fully informed about this?
This is not simply a beach, tourism, business issue. I advise the Council get informed on potential long-term risks to the whole town, and take necessary action before that one-in-a-hundred storm comes ashore there. Prevention is so much better and less costly than the affects of a major storm on local businesses and residents, if the town loses all coastal protection! Get educated before it is too late!
My family and I drive 3 1/2 hours each year to stay in, and spend money in, Cape Charles. We do this because our kids love the beach, the Bay has less of an undertow current than the Outer Banks, and because we like the character of Cape Charles. We bring more people with us every year- it has become an annual tradition. We drive past dozens of small, and no doubt charming towns, because they don’t have a good beach. I am not a marketing expert, but if Cape Charles can maintain the beach, and the family-friendly downtown atmosphere, the town will continue to become a preferable destination for more people like us, that don’t want to deal with the machine that the Outer Banks has become.
Thank you all for your comments, and thanks Wayne for the fair treatment of this matter. The Town’s new fiscal year begins on July 1 (so happy new year everyone) and for this year the town council did approve a budget line of $20,000 for beach maintenance. This is in addition to the public works crew time spent sweeping the beach, emptying trash cans, and maintaining the fishing pier. The new budget also includes $10,000 for fishing pier repairs this year. This $30,000 total comes from the transient occupancy tax revenues, which means not requiring a property tax increase to fund the projects. Staff will be requesting more, from transient occupancy tax revenues not property tax revenues, for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020. A significant amount of sand is needed at the scoured out section of the beach at Jefferson Avenue. This section takes the hardest hit from both wind and wave erosion in the winter. A longer-term commitment of capital projects includes a bathroom facility at the north end of the beach. This particular project does compete for funding with the twin facility requested for downtown. Both are needed.
There is a new town beach management plan found on the town website, https://capecharles.municipalcms.com//files/documents/TownofCapeCharlesPublicBeachandDuneManagementPlan1701113927031119AM.pdf , and for the past several years the town and Corps of Engineers have done dune surveys. Town council made the beach management plan a priority. Hope this helps and always feel free to email me at townmanager@capecharles.org
Thanks for the background.
We visited Cape Charles just last year. We loved the quint little town and especially the beach. It is one of the only free and public beaches around. Since I am an amateur photographer we also enjoy the wildlife and nearby wild life area. We are from Tennessee and plan a return visit with some fishing gear and an extended stay to enjoy some of the other amenities. It would be a shame to not only lose the small town feel but also the beaches .
My first Cape Charles summer vacation after years along the Cape Cod Shores was last year. Cape Charles offers so much to families who want to get away and experience a quaint summertime vacation and support the local town. Living in Annapolis, MD, my family is witnessing erosion all around and the town is taking action to prepare for rising sea levels. Businesses in downtown Annapolis cannot succeed with constant flooding. Homes cannot survive with constant flooding. Priorities on preventing beach erosion is important across state lines. It isn’t just a small community of Cape Charles. It is another thriving community along the bay and needs funds to support the beach which so many people have historically loved. Please don’t let it fade away like so many other areas along the Chesapeake.
The Eastern Shore of Virginia has many beautiful beaches. They are located on Atlantic Ocean side of the peninsula, which is where a beach belongs.
I was just at the Cape Charles beach this past Sunday (6/30) and have noticed that there is more sand on the concrete walkway impeding the entrance to the beach (down towards the Neptune statue) than before. Making the beach accessible is also part of maintaining it, put the sand back on the dunes or the beach itself and make it easier to walk.
The beach needs more public restrooms. I heard rumor of keeping the Library open late every day during the summer, just so the restrooms would be available.
Do you seriously think people will walk from the beach to the Library to relieve themselves?
That rumor is not exactly correct. The library will have extended Saturday hours and be open Sunday afternoons through September. So while the bathrooms will be available, you can’t miss the new a-frame sign, the library will also be open to residents and visitors wanting increased access.
Let me say as an observer how nice it is to see a town official actually caring about what the people living in his town themselves care about it, and then having the courage to come here openly in a public forum and interact with them.
Let me say that in my experience, that is rare, and should be appreciated by all.
You need to clean up the filthy, stinky water in the bay. It’s not a nice experience to swim in anymore.