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Council removes commercial-user permit from waterways ordinance after months of debate
Summary
After a lengthy public hearing and broad testimony from local charter-fishing operators, Beaufort County Council voted to remove a proposed commercial-user permit and insurance requirement from the waterways ordinance, then approved the ordinance as amended.
Beaufort County Council on June 22 amended and approved a rewrite of the county waterways ordinance after an extended public hearing focused on a proposed commercial-user permit for guides and a requirement that the county be listed as an additional insured on marine liability policies.
Multiple charter fishing guides and small-business operators told council the permit and the $1,000,000 additional-insured requirement would be burdensome or impossible for some operators to meet. Tony Welch (speaker 31), a local fishing guide and business owner, said the insurance requirement could be cost-prohibitive and that similar permit regimes elsewhere had imposed unexpected fees and restrictions on guides. “I think the county council should proceed with what was attempted at the last meeting, and that's to vote to remove section 102-136 in its entirety,” a public commenter said during the hearing.
Council discussed the permit’s stated purpose — to provide a visible, contemporaneous indicator that a commercial waterway user holds a business license and meets minimum insurance requirements — and whether the county should instead rely on existing business-license enforcement and DNR oversight. Councilmember Brown moved to remove the permit requirement; the amendment passed 7–4. Council then voted to approve the waterways ordinance as amended.
County staff and counsel explained that, as written by staff, the permit would have been issued contemporaneously with a business license and did not require an additional fee; the only additional paperwork would have been proof of insurance. Nevertheless, council members and multiple public commenters worried the permit could become a mechanism for added fees or caps in the future.
What happens next: The ordinance as amended will be recorded and enforced as written; staff said permit issuance was intended as an enforcement aid rather than a revenue mechanism. Council discussion indicated further adjustments to insurance thresholds and enforcement processes would remain possible in future amendments.
