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Beaufort County adopts updated waterways ordinance after debate; amendment to require vendor decal fails 6–4
Summary
The county council adopted Ordinance 2026-28 updating Beaufort County's waterways rules after debate over whether code enforcement should use a business-license decal to identify compliant commercial vessel operators. A proposed decal amendment failed 6–4; the original ordinance passed by roll call 9–1.
Beaufort County council voted July 13 to adopt Ordinance 2026-28, which amends multiple sections of the county waterways code. The meeting included an extended debate over a proposed amendment that would have required the business-license bureau to issue a decal for vessels operating commercially so that code enforcement could visually confirm licensing and insurance.
A council member moved the decal amendment, saying it would allow code enforcement officers to determine at a glance whether a vessel and its captain were licensed and insured. "It's simply a motion, requiring that the business license bureau issue a decal of some kind that can be affixed to a vessel operating on the waterways so that the code enforcement officer can visually establish whether or not that vendor is in compliance," the council member said in proposing the amendment.
Opponents argued the decal represented government overreach and that federal or existing authorities (including the U.S. Coast Guard) already regulate commercial vessels and could enforce violations. One council member said removing the permitting requirement previously had been intended to avoid overbroad enforcement. "The whole point of us removing this in the 2nd reading was because of the start of the government overreach," a council member said during debate.
Staff and the county attorney advised that the permitting language removed earlier was not mandated in the current ordinance language and that on-the-ground enforcement would rely on standard code-enforcement procedures and spot checks rather than a visual decal program as part of this ordinance. The staff attorney also explained the final-reading process and why the ordinance was returned for another vote after changes at a prior reading.
The roll-call vote on the decal amendment failed 6–4. Council then voted on the original ordinance language and adopted Ordinance 2026-28 by roll call, 9–1. The ordinance updates definitions, penalties and several sections related to general prohibitions, docking, landing rules, and other waterways governance items.
What happens next: the ordinance will be recorded as adopted; questions about enforcement procedures and any future permitting or decal programs will require separate policy action or administrative rules. Staff said code enforcement would continue to operate under existing authority to perform spot checks and respond to complaints.
