New cabana rules give residents priority
Non-residents may appeal to Board of Commissioners
In response to an updated set of rules for cabana renters sent out two weeks ago, out-of-town cabana renters came to the May 28 Allenhurst Borough Commissioners meeting to voice their concerns about the rule changes.
One new rule states that if a cabana’s license holder dies, they can only pass their cabana down to a child that lives in Allenhurst. If none of their children is a taxpaying resident, then the cabana will go to a name on the residents’ waiting list.
“I do feel that the cabanas are a privilege, not necessarily a right,” said longtime non-resident cabana renter John Insabella, “But i don’t think that privilege should be taken away because of an unfortunate death. Myself and my family have done a lot to earn that privilege: helping out on the beach, carrying groceries, I think we’ve earned the privilege to stay.”
Other new rules state that available cabanas will go primarily to residents on the residents’ waiting list, according to a mailer sent out by the borough. A non-resident list will also be created, though non-residents will generally not get a cabana until the resident waiting list is emptied.
Mayor David McLaughlin said that non-residents who lose their cabanas may appeal to the Board of Commissioners. The new rules are also still being worked on and may be amended, Mayor McLaughlin said.
“We didn’t chip these rules in stone, they aren’t the ten commandments,” Mayor McLaughlin said.
“We’ve got a tremendous amount of pressure from the town, residents saying ‘look, these cabanas were destroyed and taxpayer money is going back into rebuilding them.’” Mayor McLaughlin said. “there’s some fairness to try and clean up the resident’s list because they’re the ones that pay for it.”
Mayor McLaughlin said that updating the resident’s list has been an important part of these rule changes, since there has been no way to track when or why some names were removed from the list over time. The updated list will be posted online and viewable by all, Mayor McLaughlin said.
“Our numbers are in the phone book, everyone can call us and ask questions. I just ask that everyone keep their patience when they share their opinion.”
Read more about the cabana rule changes here and here.
