N.C. hearings on off-road access

Dare County wants residents and property owners to come to scheduled off-road vehicle hearings to make comments - and they're hoping they'll be the right kind.

The county has mailed more than 11,000 post cards about a hearing to comment on the draft ORV management plan for Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

In recent years, public statements at ORV hearings have, at times, become highly charged and insulting.

"This is a very emotional and frustrating experience," Gary Gross, Dare County public relations project coordinator, said at a county Board of Commissioners workshop last week.

"But we want to be effective each night of these public hearings and not just venting our emotions. We're urging businesslike comments."

Five public hearings on the proposed ORV plan are scheduled at the end of April; three will be on the Outer Banks, one will be in Raleigh, and the last one will be in Hampton, Va.

The 810-page document, released last month by the National Park Service, details where and when ORVs, pedestrians and pets will have access to the beach on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, and where and when resource protections will be established.

Once a management plan is completed next year, it will be in place for 10 to 15 years.

Three informational workshops for the public will be conducted this week by the Coalition for Beach Access, a collection of seven groups whose mission is to preserve public access to beaches on the seashore.

The groups - property owners, anglers and ORV users - had all been participants in the earlier negotiated rule-making process that had failed to come up with a consensus-based ORV management plan.

Each workshop session will compare the main points of the six alternatives in the draft management plan and state the coalition's position. Instructions will be provided about commenting effectively: Be specific; don't be angry; if possible, read from a script.

Although the county is not a member of the coalition, Gross said, it shares the mission of keeping beaches open.

The county mailing, which cost $4,100, provides times and locations on the workshops and the hearings.

The cards were sent to residents and property owners of Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, and to island property owners who live in the Hampton and Raleigh areas.

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com