The Town of Carolina Beach works to balance the parking needs of residents, businesses, and visitors. However, based on a recent interpretation by the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), the Town of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach were faced with losing the 2025 beach nourishment cycle and the funding for the 20-plus million dollar project unless changes were made to the existing parking programs.

Prior to putting out to bid the scheduled Carolina Beach and Vicinity Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, the USACE conducted a validation of the Town’s “non- Federal responsibilities” under the Project Cooperation Agreement (PPA) which requires, in part, the Town to provide 767 spaces “open and available to all on equal terms”.  This requirement is not new, and the Town provides significantly more parking than required.  However, recent guidance from the USACE required the Town to make changes to ensure the scheduled nourishment project would take place. Specifically, the USACE interpretation of “open and available to all on equal terms” requires the spaces to be within a ¼ mile of a beach access and to be spaced throughout the geographic area of the nourishment project. Further, the USACE’s position is that by allowing residential parking passes in these areas, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach would not meet the requirements of the PPA which would suspend the scheduled nourishment project.

The window of time for conducting the scheduled nourishment project is from November 1, 2024 - March 31^st, 2025.  Failure to get the project out for bid while discussions continued with the USACE would have irreparable consequences to the condition of the municipal beach strand and the dune infrastructure. While the Town appreciates its partnership with the USACE, it disagrees with USACE’s interpretation regarding resident parking passes and looks forward to continued discussions on this issue.  Council took the action necessary to keep the nourishment project on schedule.  These changes have been in effect since October 2^nd and will remain in effect until the paid parking season concludes on October 31^st. Council has directed staff to continue speaking with the USACE about its recent interpretation in advance of Council’s yearly discussion concerning resident parking passes. 

The Town has prepared a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on its website to help answer questions you may have regarding the recent changes. CLICK HERE to view.