Avalon’s Beach-Tag Ordinance Turns 50

For four generations of visitors to the Seven Mile Beach, beach tags are not only accepted, but for the most part expected when planning a visit. But that wasn’t always the case. The beach tag in Avalon celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer, one year after Stone Harbor, which became the first town in Cape May County to charge beach fees in the summer of 1971. The summer of 1972 marked the first season for beach fees and beach tags in Avalon.

Following its neighbor’s lead, Avalon Borough Council introduced an ordinance at its meeting on Dec. 15, 1971. The measure passed on first vote. A public hearing and final vote were set for Jan. 5.

More than 40 citizens attended the Jan. 5 meeting, yet none chose to speak out for or against beach fees. The ordinance passed 2-1 with commissioners Ellsworth Armacost and Robert Bruce voting in the affirmative. Mayor Edgar Bell voted no. Thus, Avalon became the second town in Cape May County to impose beach fees. After the meeting, Bell explained that he did not oppose the concept of beach fees, he simply opposed them without a public referendum – thus the reason for his no vote. His no vote without a referendum was keeping with a campaign promise that he made. An unofficial survey at the time showed that 80% of Avalon residents favored imposing beach fees.

The foresight of Avalon’s Borough Council in 1972 to impose beach fees continues to pay dividends today, five decades later, as Avalon continues to have one of the finest, safest beaches on the East Coast.

“Beach fees help communities provide the staffing and equipment necessary to provide a high level of public safety in an environment where multiple hazards exist every day,” says Mayor Martin Pagliughi. “The benefit of beach fees is seen by everyone who carries a beach tag on to the beach in Avalon. The highly skilled beach patrol, their stands, rescue gear, and the overall cleanliness of the beach are all provided by beach fees. Safety is always the No. 1 priority on any public space or land, and it comes with a measurable expense.”

Over the years, some people have misunderstood the purpose of beach fees. They do not fund beach-fill or sand back-passing operations. By state law, no municipality can make a profit from its beach utility fund. At best, they must be self-liquidating, but typically most operate in a deficit each year.

In 1972, the new ordinance-imposed fee for the seasonal beach tag was $2 up to May 31 and $4 after that. It was $1 for a weekly tag. Tags would be required for anyone over the age of 12 using the beaches from 10am-5pm from the third Sunday in June through the Saturday following Labor Day.

Securing tags was a little more challenging a half-century ago than it is today. Tags could be ordered by mail, but all tags, including those purchased by mail, had to be picked up at the beach tag booth located behind Borough Hall. All tags were sold only through this location. For example, if a checker found you without tags on the 65th Street beach, you’d have to leave the beach and go back to the tag booth on 30th Street to purchase the necessary tags. Tag checkers, as they were called in 1972, were not permitted to sell tags that first summer.

“That was a big inconvenience,” remembers Avalon native Carol Hart-MacFeat, a member of the first class of beach tag checkers. “If it was a family, we were permitted to let the family remain on the beach while one person went back to 30th Street to make the purchase. But needless to say, there were lots of unhappy people that first summer.”

Avalon and Stone Harbor’s tags were also not reciprocal in 1972. “Most people didn’t really know where one town ended and another began on the beach,” MacFeat says. “So that summer we spent a lot of time turning folks back because they didn’t have the right town’s tag on at 79th Street.”

Avalon’s first beach tag checkers, June 1972.

That first group of checkers all had to be at least 18 years old. They worked six days a week, with a half-hour for lunch.

“I think they were really trying to stress the beach fees that first summer,” MacFeat surmises. “Because in addition to the checker who was assigned to each guarded beach, our beach supervisor walked the beach all summer, double-checking enforcement.”

Just because an ordinance was passed didn’t mean that everyone on the beach was on board with the concept.

“Oh, no,” MacFeat says. “I can still remember the arguments that people had: ‘I fought in the Pacific so that we’d have free beaches in Avalon.’ Or standing in the water – ‘Riparian rights, I’m not on the beach.’ But mostly, ‘I pay taxes – I get to use the beach for free.’ There was a lot of pushback that first summer.”

The checkers had to call the police on numerous occasions. There should have been no question as to the authority of the checkers. After all, despite the heat and humidity of the summer, they each wore an actual police button-down shirt with a badge, and a pith helmet. “Those uniforms, especially the helmets, were horrible on those hot and humid days,” MacFeat says. “But that was part of the job the first summer.”

Today, the beach tag inspectors are supervised by Avalon’s Beach Patrol. And just like they did in 1972, the inspectors are on duty all summer long and continue to be an integral part of Avalon’s fine beaches.