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A parking by permit only proposal along Deal’s oceanfront has maddened area residents who, for decades, have enjoyed the mile-long beach.

“Generations have surfed and fished there,” said Oceanport resident Mark Nietzel. “It’s been like that forever and now that they have the new federal and state-funded beaches, they want to limit access to make it their own private beaches.”

Deal is among the last Monmouth County communities to undergo beach replenishment post Hurricane Sandy. The Army Corps of Engineer supervised the $40 million project that pumped 1.4 million cubic yards of sand between Deal and Loch Arbour.

“After the state paid millions to have their beaches replenished it seems extremely unfair that the only people that would be able to park near these entrances would be the homeowners of the million dollar properties that are mostly summer time properties, said Kyle William of Oakhurst.

The proposal limits public parking on six streets along the beachfront between May 1 and Oct. 31. Residents would be issued 6 parking permits per household, valid for one year.

But anglers, surfers and those in support of public beach access say it’s a push to keep the oceanfront private.

“They are limiting parking in an effort to block access to the beaches,” said Manalapan resident Jerry Kelly, who has fished the waters his whole life. “There’s a long history of them trying to restrict use of beach and it’s finally come to a head with Deal trying to limit access to these new pretty high beaches they have been given.

Among the replenishment project stipulations is that a community must provide public access.

“If you look at the Army Corps of Engineers and the DEP state plan access requirements for communities that get beach replenishments, this violates all of them,” said former Loch Arbour Mayor Bill Rosenblatt, who now resides in West Allenhurst. “You are not supposed to make your streets private. Public access is a right we all have and when someone gets beach renourishment they certainly should not be limiting public access.”

Prior to the vote during Deal’s Board of Commissioners meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, the public will be given a chance to make comments and ask questions on the proposed permit only parking.

Members of the local Surfrider Foundation, American Littoral Society, and area fishing clubs like the Neptune and Asbury charters, are expected to attend at Borough Hall, 190 Norwood Ave.

For more information on both sides of the argument, visit Change.org, Surfrider Foundation, Stripers Online, and a supporting Change.org petition . 

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