Outer Banks irony
My online colleague, Russ Lay, recently wrote that Dare is believed to be the only county in the state that doesn’t allow seafood to be sold at farmers’ markets.
My first reaction was: Of all places. My second reaction was: It’s not surprising.
Such ironies can be found all around Dare County. The Outer Banks is known for seafood, but most of it is trucked off to places like New York or undersold by imports. So the county has launched a campaign with a new logo to promote local seafood and encourage local restaurants to serve it.
And yet, the county’s public health board won’t allow it to be sold at farmers’ markets. The stated reason is potential health risks. But Wilmington features a riverfront farmers’ market that includes seafood, and vendors are subject to specific rules for storing and handling fish.
If turf protection is a factor, let free enterprise rule.
Meanwhile, in Nags Head, commissioners decided last week to allow only one of either a produce stand, a hot dog stand or a coffee cart outside a shopping center. There has to be an irony there somewhere. Colorful vendors cluttering the asphalt?
The vote by the Board of Commissioners wasn’t unanimous. But I get the sense that some people would rather not have any outdoor vendors. The planning board said it was concerned about a carnival atmosphere.
The ordinance already sets down how the stands should look and when they can operate. Why not just leave it at that? There’s no evidence that huge numbers of vendors are lining up to do business in Nags Head.
Then there’s the resistance to an open air farm and flea market at the old Foreman’s lumber yard, an overgrown and decrepit eyesore in Kitty Hawk.
It is being billed by the developers as a venue for local artisans and vendors, even families wanting to unload some reusable items after spring cleaning. One of the concerns is that it would not conform to the beach village image set forth in the town’s land use plan. I saw an artist’s rendering and it looked pretty beachy to me.
Hooters next door looks kind of coastal, but it still reminds me of a building on the fringes of a shopping mall. Maybe it’s the big orange sign.
The Outer Banks used to take pride in being “unique” with its entrepreneurial spirit. A place where mom and pop could make a decent living and where you could barter for goods and seal a deal with a handshake.
That’s a bit unrealistic in this day and age. But why put up roadblocks to preserving or recapturing at least a small sense of that spirit?
This column originally appeared in The Virginian-Pilot.
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Mike F says:
This is one great article.
Jed says:
It’s a real estate-serves-real estate economy. The boards are all run by realtors. They rent stores. Why let a bunch of hobos in tents compete?
Bob O says:
It’s a free market vs. Centralized decision making debate. I would hope Realtors, defenders of property rights, would defend a market based approach. Some do, some don’t.
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marsha melkonian says:
Those huge towel and souvenir stores certainly are not village or attractive! Who ever allowed them in? Let’s keep OBX small, and not allow the large hotels in.
As for the small motels, isn’t it a shame that they were not allowed to expand. They were the quaint OBX that people remember from their childhood, and would want to bring their kids back to, and all right on the beach! It made the beach more communal, instead of houses lined up looking like they own that part of the beach. Don’t block the view and air even more. Keep the beach and sound front low!