Rotary Beach R.I.P.

[Jo]

By all means post your opinions, that is the general idea. However, try not to let it slip into mindless insults back and forth. That way, the thread stays fun, and interesting.

*edited to add: And to the rascals who embraced the above reference to 'fun' and posted accordingly, 'fun' in the case doesn't mean wildly off-topic!

[dreamon]

My opinions are based from the someone who enjoys using Rotary Beach as a swimmer, reader, boater and watching all the kite surfers. They are amazing to watch, one day I may even try it.

That long rows of pilings greatly interferes with their use and enjoyment of the area.

[251]

I am another one of those who is disappointed by this development, having used Rotary Beach as my primary swimming beach for a number of years and, more recently, for watersports.

This development seems to benefit the few at the expense of the many. I think Rotary Beach is used by a number of different niche groups (e.g. families looking for a quieter beach, paddleboarders, kiteboarders). Each group may be small individually, but together they form a large group of people, all of whom stand to be affected by the development. Most people who say these groups will be unaffected seem to have little understanding of how they use the beach. I wouldn't necessarily expect people to have an intricate knowledge of a specialist sport like kiteboarding, but unfortunately a lot of people seem to think they know enough about these sports to dismiss the concerns of those most familiar with them as overreaction. Without going through the dismissals one by one, I'll just say that many of them are very ignorant.

To say that there's plenty of space and that the people who use this beach should go elsewhere seems to ignore the fact that this is the designated watersports beach. In the area just downwind of the marina, it specifically states 'no swimming or motorboats', which leads kiteboarders, windsurfers, etc to believe that this is where the City wants them to do their sport. It's true that kiteboarders/windsurfers could launch from other beaches, such as Gyro, but they are of the understanding that the City and the public (rightfully) would not want them doing their sport where there are lots of swimmers. This
was a reasonable arrangement and worked fine because the City seemed to be maintaining a separate watersports area, but obviously it was going to be a big deal to the kiteboarders/windsurfers if the City then failed to protect this area. To suggest that the location of this marina is just as good as anywhere else suggests people don't understand this point. Here's an analogy: imagine the City allowed someone to build a picnic table in the middle of a cycle path. Sure, cyclists could ride elsewhere, but wouldn't it be a bit outrageous for the city to allow a picnic table to be built in that particular spot?

I accept that more moorage may be needed for boats, but I have a big issue with the location in which this extra moorage is being built. To say that a rising population means more boat moorage will be needed makes some sense, but to conclude that we should also accept that it should be built where it will disrupt the watersports area and in front of a beach that many hold in such high regard does not make sense to me at all. A rising population means more swimmers and watersports users, not just more boaters, so a rising population alone isn't justification for building boat moorage at the expense of ruining a popular public beach.

Saying that people just don't like change isn't a good argument - there are changes that almost everyone would accept and there are changes that no one in their right mind would accept. Whether particular changes should be made and whether they represent 'progress' should be decided by a balance of factors including public opinion, but in this case, as others have said, it seems that there was very little public consultation on the matter. The articles mention that none was required because the dock was on private land, but surely the lake itself is not private land. The same articles state that Manteo did seek feedback through advertising in local newspapers, so doesn't this perhaps suggest that in fact they did need to seek public feedback, but just didn't do it in an effective manner? If they were required to obtain public feedback, then the fact that no one seemed to know about the proposed dock suggests to me that they did not address this requirement adequately. Since 552 out of 879 people in the Castanet poll said they were concerned about the development, this suggests there would have been a lot of opposition. Clearly, this group is much larger than just kiteboarders/windsurfers. These 552 concerned poll respondents would be expected to represent just a small proportion of the actual number of people who would be in opposition, so, although some have suggested that a few naysayers should not be allowed to block a development, in this case I think the indications are that there are many who are concerned and that, if public consultation had occurred, considerable public opposition might have been demonstrated.

[Swoop]

...have to admit, as much as I was truly disappointed with this initial project, I think a tip of the hat is well deserved to Manteo for not only hearing resident's and user's voiced concerns, but reacting in a positive manner...well done Manteo...
http://www.*bleep*.com/news/news/Loc ... hing_to_Do

[Graphite]

I am impressed!

[Catri]

Hats off to Mr. Block and company!

[Anonymous123]

Public pressure works.

[Atomoa]

1. Ha-Ha to the people who said there was "no impact" - even the builder thought there was a impact.

2. Ha-Ha to the people who said that "whining about it on Castanet wont change things". Castanet is the communities bulletin board. If we stick together we can make things happen as a community.

Hooray for the decision. Impressed.

[Queen K]

They "discovered that the approval process time took seven years and allowed time for public input"????

Like as if to say, in the beginning they thought at first that you can just do any old thing to a huge public lake?

Sure they are doing the right thing and it's costing them money to remove piliings, but my impression is that they all got drunk at the company CEO meeting and decided to make lotsa bux with a huge marina, did no research, hired a guy to insert pilings and just suddenly "discovered" seven years of hell and public input.

OH YA, that's what the news article quotes, "we discovered...."

Discovered AFTER inserting expensive marine pilings? At what cost to each? Or was it that they really discovered is that there is a reason WINDSURFERS go to Rotary all the time and 30 slips would be constantly battered by the wind?

[normaM]

Well he has more money that God so I'm guessing it wasn't public opinion that swayed him
Wonder if the places are all sold?

[Queen K]

Good point, people with more money than God just wake up in the morning and start inserting marina pilings as if nothing else is going on with by-laws, or environmental laws, or seven layers of beaucrats to get through to get the process approved. Or did they figure it'd be too big to be made to take it down if it was already up?

Sorry, I meant, "too rich to be made to take it down if it was already up".

[Swoop]

Good point, people with more money than God just wake up in the morning and start inserting marina pilings as if nothing else is going on with by-laws, or environmental laws, or seven layers of beaucrats to get through to get the process approved. Or did they figure it'd be too big to be made to take it down if it was already up?

Sorry, I meant, "too rich to be made to take it down if it was already up".

...as opposed to this as I am - that's not how this was done...they did the proper applications, and the approvals were issued...frankly, public apathy is more to blame than anything - myself included...it wasn't until the physical development was initiated, that the real scope of this became apparent...love or hate Block/Manteo/development - this was certainly not a matter of build now - ask for forgiveness later...rich yes - stupid no...again, end result - they are at least seemingly acting in a manner that does deserve some recognition in that they are bowing to public pressure/having second thoughts/sales maybe not what they hoped - whatever the reason(s) - they're at least reacting in a positive manner and revamping the approved design...good to hear...now we'll just have to wait and see how much of a change it results in...

[normaM]

oh please
next someone will say Adrian doesn't need a marina cause he already walks on water!
But keep giving him the polite golf claps

[Swoop]

oh please
next someone will say Adrian doesn't need a marina cause he already walks on water!
But keep giving him the polite golf claps

...oh please?...right back atcha...like I said - I did not/still do not in any way want/like this expansion whatsoever...read back through this thread and you'll clearly see my opinion on this matter...I also am of the conscience, that when someone/group/company rethinks their plans/direction based mainly on the strong opposition to their fully approved through the proper channels business expansion - to the point that at their cost, announce they will revise/scale back their proposed expansion in an effort to work with the community, then I'm also going to be the first one to stifle my distaste and say "good for you"...I certainly do not believe Adrian "walks on water" - that much is plainly clear in my previous posts - but I am of the moral fibre to know when a simple "thanks for listening" is in order...seriously, based on some of the comments, some of you on here are certainly considerably more adept at "water walking" than others...

[YouBoard]

I believe that Mr. Block and Rykon / Manteo did finally get and understanding the interests of the entire community. Perhaps they were waiting for the busy summer to see the results of the initial build, who knows.

They have a right to a dock, and may have had a legal right to build it that initial size, but after concerns from the various sections of the community they did what very few profit driven corporations do these days... the right thing for the community.

The community buzz went from a silent protest of Manteo to a loud applause. I for one will dine there tonight! Very impressive Manteo. Very impressive.