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Oceanfest organizers seek temporary suspension of alcohol rule; council asks for stricter vendor controls
Summary
Staff requested a temporary suspension of Ordinance 12.11(b) so Oceanfest can apply for an ABC permit to serve beer and wine within a defined footprint on May 2. Council pressed for language to bar BYOB and require vendor identification (colored/unique cups) and security enforcement; organizers said they already plan those controls.
Bella (special events staff) asked the council to approve a resolution temporarily suspending subsection 12.11(b) to allow Oceanfest to occupy portions of Roland Avenue, North Shore Drive and South Shore Drive on May 2 and to obtain the North Carolina ABC Commission permit required to serve beer and wine within an approved event footprint.
"Following their presentation to the town special events committee in January, Oceanfest was approved to occupy portions of Roland Avenue, North Shore Drive, and South Shore Drive," Bella said, and explained that the resolution is requested to let the event organizer apply for an ABC permit.
Councilmembers pressed for operational clarity: perimeter boundaries for the alcohol zone, enforcement of a BYOB prohibition, a requirement that alcohol consumed in the footprint be purchased from approved vendors, and distinct service cups so security can identify unauthorized cups. The town attorney (speaker 9) noted existing ordinance language that delegates operational conditions to the town manager and special events committee and recommended that specific conditions (for example, vendor-only consumption inside the footprint and distinct cups) be written into the approval. "Those conditions can be applied by the special event committee," the attorney said.
Mark Boyle, Oceanfest footprint operations manager, told the council organizers intend to staff entrance control, use differently colored cups to distinguish vendor sales from outside purchases and task security with identifying and removing unauthorized alcohol. "We have security in place for both the entrance for people coming in and for people wandering around," Boyle said, adding that the event historically has not had problems with outside alcoholic beverages.
Councilmembers and staff agreed they could refine ordinance language and conditions and return to the March meeting with clarified wording; in the meantime, special-event permitting can proceed under staff conditions.
The council directed staff to work with the event organizers and the town attorney to draft permit conditions that make vendor sales enforceable, prohibit outside alcohol inside the footprint, and ensure security protocols and vendor-cup identification are explicit before formal adoption.
