Town to Fight for Right to Bare All

[HawkeyeNJ]

Town to Fight for Right to Bare All
July 17, 2001 10:17 am EST

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. (Reuters) - Backing the right of beach-goers to bare all, officials in the Cape Cod community of Provincetown said on Tuesday they were prepared to defend their nude beach from those who wanted bathers to cover up.
Two families who own summer homes with views of the beach, dubbed "Spaghetti Strip" by locals because it is so long and narrow, are suing the town to require bathers to keep their clothes on.

Voters agreed at a town meeting in April to make the remote, mile-long strand "clothing-optional."

Only 25 feet wide, the beach is owned by the town. Most of the rest of the town's coastline is owned by the federal government as part of the Cape Cod National Seashore.

"Provincetown has a long history of supporting clothing-optional beaches," said Keith Bergman, town manager of the beach community that has traditionally attracted bohemians and artists. "We have nothing to hide."

"Back in 1996, we passed a resolution asking the National Seashore to officially set aside such an area, which they declined to do."

But Sally Adams, whose family has owned a summer home near the beach for almost 50 years, said the clothing-optional rule has brought nude beach-goers "really right outside our door."

The beach is separated from the town by over a mile of sand dunes -- a distance town officials thought would prevent the nude beach from becoming too popular.

"It's not what one would call easy to get to. You couldn't walk there," Bergman said.

But Adams said bathers take dune buggies or all-terrain vehicles to the beach and bring "their grill, their blankets and their birthday suits."

Her family and their neighbors, Mildred and Nathaniel Champlin, have a hearing on Tuesday at Barnstable Superior Court and hope a judge will bar nude sunbathing on the patch.

Town officials have hired lawyers to defend the clothing- optional rule, said Bergman.

At the April town meeting, about 700 voters of the 3,400 registered in Provincetown passed the resolution making the beach clothing-optional.

 

[Jfur]

Cool!

 

[IJump]

You would think after 50 years the family would be used to it.

 

[pulpp]

since those families been there long before making the beach clothe optional, i think they have every right to sue, to preserve thier property.

 

[kamiam]

since the beach is town property and the PEOPLE of the town has voted to allow it these 2 busybody old biddie families should STHU the voice of the people has spoken

 

[anandfan]

I would be more upset about the dune buggies.

 

[Capn]

Provincetown just trying to help out its nice reputation even more I see. One more reason not to go there.

 

[kamiam]

if I lived there I wouldn't want you coming around either...so your both even

 

[pulpp]

<< since the beach is town property and the PEOPLE of the town has voted to allow it these 2 busybody old biddie families should STHU the voice of the people has spoken >>




if you read the original post more carefully, you will see that the town have not insured that nude beach goers actually stay in the beach area and not cross over the sand dunes area which was intended as a barrier, so unless the town takes steps to insure that people living there arnt exposed to things they dont want to see unwilliningly, and insure that nude beach goers respect the rules and property of others, then those families have every right to sue.

 

[kamiam]

first off, your making 2 assumptions that are not in evidence here...1 that the nude bathers are leaving the beach still unclothed and 2, that the home owners homes are behind the sand dunes instead of being within site of the actual beach...from when I lived on the new england area most summer homes were within a stones throw of the ocean... and easily within site of both the ocean and the beach

 

[SirFshAlot]

the family should just start raising bees right on the border of their property

maybe even African Killer bees

 

[Raspewtin]

OT: I live in a beachhouse and I can tell you that beachfront property owners are sue happy re: the land. Often building up essentially fake environmental groups that promote preserving beaches, to allow them to sue anyone and anything that affects them. It's pretty weird and small of them IMO. They are only fighting this in court b/c they want to increase their property values.

 

[rudder]

Tell them to get a good camera and lens. Take hundreds of photos, and start a voyuer website. They will rake in the cash.

 

[RDMustang1]

hell yea, naked girls running through the streets.. I'm all for that!

 

[SirFshAlot]

hell yea, naked girls running through the streets.. I'm all for that!

apparently, you didn't read the article;

&quot;the beach community that has traditionally attracted bohemians and artists&quot;

 

[Doggiedog]

Umm..you wouldn't want to be near anything naked in P-Town.