Kure Beach Renourishment Project suspended due to Non-compliance with Army Corps regulations

"The fact that residents pay taxes and live here regularly and fund the infrastructure that the tourists take advantage of."

NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY)– Kure Beach residents may face higher parking rates. According to the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the town of Kure Beach isn’t fulfilling the Army Corps’s beach renourishment requirements. The city has the required number of parking spaces, but the USACE is flagging Kure Beach for not offering parking on equal terms.

The town of Kure Beach renourishment project is suspended- at least for now- due to a failure to meet the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach renourishment requirements. A letter from Mayor Allen Oliver shows that the town is not in compliance with guidelines, resulting in the suspension of the project.

The issue revolves around the town’s paid parking spaces. The USACE confirmed that Kure Beach has the required number of parking spaces. However, the corps’ says the town is not offering parking on equal terms. Residents are facing higher parking rates now, with some accepting the price increase.

“The fact that residents pay taxes and live here regularly and fund the infrastructure that the tourists take advantage of, resident Michael Smith explained. “I don’t think the town has a choice, and we will have to live with it this year.”

The responsibilities for Kure Beach are to maintain 443 parking spaces open and available to all on equal terms. The town is selling both resident and non-resident parking passes, with permits for outsiders being priced higher.

“We sold a resident and non-resident pass, which was substantially more for non-residents. Our logic was that non-residents don’t pay taxes,” Mayor Allen Oliver said.

According to Mayor Oliver, the different pricing reflects the fact that non-residents do not contribute to local taxes but still benefit from public services.

“We do our parking fees annually. We adjust them annually. We did not go up last year. We have not gone up since we started four years ago,” Mayor Oliver said.

The parking season runs from March until September 30th. Initially, residents were paying only $20 a year. In this draft 2025 parking fee schedule, seasonal permits will be $100 between February 3rd and March 14th. After that, prices will be raised to $225, just over 11 times more than the original cost. The proposed parking fee schedule is only a draft. Mayor Oliver says the board will vote on it in the town meeting scheduled for December.