Victory for Bob Hovey Overturns Years for private access.
For a number of years, Bob Hovey, owner of Duck Village Outfitters, has maintained that access to the beach in some areas of Duck were originally intended to be public and are not for the private use of homeowner association members only. Michelle Wagner, writing for the Outer Banks Voice has the story.
“A Camden County Superior Court judge has ruled that the Sea Breeze beach access in the Duck subdivision of Sand Dollar Shores is now within the town’s jurisdiction and belongs to the public. The ruling marks a major win for local business owner Bob Hovey and his wife, Tanya, who filed a suit last August against that neighborhood’s homeowners’ association, arguing that the walkway was in the public trust.
Judge Lamott Wiggins on Feb. 14 granted the Hoveys a summary judgment without a trial. In his ruling, Wiggins stated, “It is declared that the “8’ pedestrian beach access easement…is an easement dedicated to the general public for the purpose of providing pedestrian access to the Atlantic Ocean beach held in the public trust by the State of North Carolina and is now in the jurisdiction of the Town of Duck.”
