‘We don’t want a circus.’ North Myrtle Beach defends rules about chairs left on the beach

On paper, it was a parliamentary vote by the North Myrtle Beach City Council to clean up a portion of its law regulating overnight installation of chairs and other items on city beaches.

But before that happened, the council’s chambers took on a courtroom-like atmosphere July 6 as officials hit back against claims by a Cherry Grove merchant that policies in place for decades were now being used to try and put him out of business.

The City Council voted unanimously to prohibit beach gear from being left unattended between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m., but didn’t adjust its policy barring private companies from setting up rental equipment for customers — a specialty of Cherry Grove Beach Gear.

“We do not want a circus on the beach,” Mayor Marilyn Hatley said.

Derek Calhoun and his wife Claire opened online-based service that lets people reserve beach equipment and for an extra fee have it installed and waiting for them in 2020.

But since last week, Calhoun says Cherry Grove has racked up $1,500 in fines for violating a provision that gives the city or a franchised vendor exclusive rights to set up rental equipment on the beach.

“Businesses have never been allowed to go on the beach and set things up. They (Cherry Grove Beach Gear) have never been granted a franchise to do this. That’s been reiterated to him (Calhoun) a year ago, and that’s where we are today,” City Manager Mike Mahaney said.

Calhoun said language in the city’s policy is too vaguely worded.

“It’s not our fault the ordinance is written so poorly. Mean what you say and say what you mean,” he said.

Five-term mayor Hatley and other council members offered a lengthy defense of the city’s policy, saying the on-site rentals help pay for lifeguards and beach patrols.

“For many, many, many years we did have franchises on the beach but they provided lifeguards, they provided beach patrols and in return they were allowed to rent, and they also paid a percentage to the city of what they made, which helped us take care of cleaning and sweeping,” she said.

The Calhouns say they’ve twice asked for a franchise agreement and have been rebuffed.

“As long as I can remember, and I’ve been here a very long time, never, ever has it been allowed for someone to just go and rent umbrellas and chairs and set them up on the beach.”

Private commerce on the city’s beaches has been regulated since 1990, when officials first required vendors to obtain a franchise agreement.

Since then, the rules have been adjusted several times, most recently in 2010 when authorized hours, placement and size of shading devices and removal of equipment was written into the law. Businesses are free to rent or sell gear online or deliver equipment to off-site locations.

City-managed rentals are a revenue stream that officials say helps keep taxes down and pay for lifeguards and beach patrols.

In the 2022 budget, officials allocated $2.6 million in expected profits from the umbrella and chair rentals, with an additional $10,000 from food and drink purchases. Customers can rent umbrellas through the city for $30 a day each. It costs $20 for chairs. Weekly rates are between $80 and $120, while seasonal prices — Memorial Day through Labor Day — are $900 for residents and $1,800 for visitors.

Calhoun said it was misleading to blame private businesses for cutting into the city’s beach rental market. Cherry Grove Beach Gear pays for a business license and hands over 9 percent sales tax from each order, he said.

“So please tell me how our operation takes money from the city,” he said. “We will stand up against the city and prove your ordinance as unconstitutional. I will partner and help raise up other small businesses in the area where you have failed to do so.”

Hatley said regulating private sector business on her city’s beaches is also a quality of life issue.

“Can you imagine what it would look like? There would be people out there selling everything they could possibly sell if you allow people to do business on the beach,” she said.