Beachgoers may want to get used to filling in the holes they dig in the sand if they don’t already. The town is working on an ordinance to regulate how deep people can dig on the beach and to require them to fill holes in before they leave.
Mayor Rosemary Hardiman says the town has a rule against large holes on the beach, but its not enforceable. With the ordinance, people could be fined $50 to $100 for not filling in holes they dig or for making them too big.
Hardiman says digging holes on the beach is part of the summer experience and that the town doesn’t want to take that away. She says the goal is to make this activity safer for people and beach vehicles that could get caught in holes if they’re too deep, citing a deadly accident in 2017.
“What happened in Ocean City, where the woman fell into the hole at night, we don’t want something like that to happen here and given the number of visitors we have and how narrow the beach is, we don’t want people falling in or tripping,” Hardiman says.
Under the ordinance, holes can be no longer or wider than 2 feet and no deeper than one foot, but Hardiman says that beach ambassadors are not going to be bringing a tape measure out to check.