April 17, 2008
Good Afternoon…. NCBBA members and other interested parties….
This note is to bring all of you up to date on the Consent Decree your Officers and Board of Directors were presented by the CHAPA (Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance) attorneys.
The Draft Consent Decree and maps are attached…Please take a few minutes and read the document so my comments below will be better understood.
The NCBBA Officers and Board of Directors met Monday evening (April 14, 2008) with other CHAPA members and Dare County Attorney Robert Outten, to confidentially discuss acceptance or rejection the document you have read. At this stage our options were to accept or reject, not further negotiate the Consent Decree. The consensus of the group was that the agreement was less than satisfactory but acceptance was in the best interest of the Outer Banks for several reasons which are listed below:
· Rejection would effectively put a lock and key year ‘round on the Spits and Points for the next 2 years.
· Rejection would put the decision in the judge’s hands and almost certainly meant closure of the areas in the injunction.
· Rejection would mean additional litigation at immense cost with little certainty of a positive outcome in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
· Acceptance allows limited access to the areas in question.
· Acceptance allows NPS flexibility in closure and buffer actions.
· Acceptance prevents a financial catastrophe for the Outer Banks business community at the expense of open and unrestricted beach access.
· Acceptance keeps a majority of the Interim Plan in place which is guiding NPS management right now.
· Acceptance of the “nothing in the Consent Decree sets any precedent for the terms of any negotiated rule nor does it set any binding requirements for the special rule”.
The Board of Directors has voted to accept the Consent Decree in the best interest of the entire Outer Banks ‘Community’ along with the other members of CHAPA. We are now challenged to improve on this Consensus Decree through the Neg-Reg process and we will take that challenge with all the ambition we possess on behalf of our membership.
Thanks you for the words of support and willingness to help NCBBA. The Neg-Reg process has now become more vital to the future access of the Seashore Recreational Area.
Sincerely,
Jim Keene, President, NCBBA
Representing all of our members…“Supporting Recreational ORV Access”
NCBBA Board of Directors
contactus@ncbba.org
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