Galveston council votes to bar cars from East End beach
Published: Fri, 05/26/23
Galveston council votes to bar cars from East End beach
Katy resident Bev Smith sits with her parents, Judy and Colin Stone, at their parked car at a special use parking area adjacent to Stewart Beach in Galveston on Tuesday.
STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News
The Daily News
By B. SCOTT McLENDON, The Daily News
May 25, 2023
GALVESTON - The city council voted 5-2 Thursday to remove a restricted-use designation, and eventually bar motor vehicles from the beach at Access Point 1C on the island’s East End.
Mayor Craig Brown voted in favor with council members Sharon Lewis, David Collins, John Listowski and Marie Robb. Council members David Finklea and Mike Bouvier voted against.
“We’re on a slippery slope, and we’re just going to close everything down,” Bouvier said.
“We’re here to serve the people, and from what I see we have seven or eight against this and about 80 writing in saying they want to keep this open,” Bouvier said.
People wanting to bar beach parking want a little more private beach, Bouvier said.
That’s a mischaracterization, Collins, who represents the area, said.
Beachgoers have flouted the rules of the restricted-use area over the past several years, trampling over the dune system and partying loudly into the night at Access Point 1C, 228 E Beach Drive, Collins said.
The issue became so abrasive to residents in the area that one homeowner installed a chain to keep drivers from the beach. Police had to intervene before the man removed his hindrance to public beach access.
The motion, if approved by the Texas General Land Office, removes the area’s restricted-use determination, which allowed for year-round access to the beach for anglers, disabled people and boaters with non-motorized watercraft, according to the staff report.
The original proposal, which was deferred during a May 17 special meeting, would have applied to about 2,600 linear feet of beach east of Stewart Beach.
Because the land office requires the city replace beach parking with equal or greater off-beach parking, only about 1,000 feet of that area will be closed to vehicular access.
Rreaf Holdings supplied 143 spots in front of its properties east of Stewart Beach. Property owners closer to Stewart Beach requesting closure didn’t provide ample parking, so the land office would immediately deny a request that included closing that portion of beach, Tietjens said.