If the idea of "Bring Your Own Bottle" was not in our Ocean City the signs would not be on our lawns. So tell the other people most of Ocean City does NOT want public drinking......

who are the "other people"? and how will you know what most of our OC wants or doesn't want until you ask them all? re: put it to a vote and let it live or die

so are you telling the residents of OC that we can not place a sign out on our lawn that shows or spells out "keep your dog off the property" or "don't sh...t on my lawn" ....is this illegal too? Because let me tell you how disrespectful DOG OWNERS are......most of the dogs aren't even on leashes..pathetic.
And I gather builders or contractors can no advertise on someone's property ?

I will elect to "voluntarily" not comply !

I support BYOB and I think the signs should be allowed. I don't think the ordinance is enforceable based on freedom of speech. What's the harm? I may disagree but I don't find them offensive.

I'm howling here! Council better get started on that "wider look" before the Christmas season when citizens display "Keep Christ in Christmas" signs. Will I still be able to hang a sign that says Merry Christmas? What about my Easter bunnies? And my pumpkins? What about my pumpkins? I'm howling! With so many really serious problems in the world and the police having to deal with the hoards and drunks this Saturday, are these simple white non-offensive signs that big a deal? Yes, only in Smalltown, USA! Did you know that if you display a Don't Change OC sign on your lawn you'll get a free set of Ginzu knives?

I am for the BYOB, but the signs are fine with me,, the only problem I have is the Chruch is paying for them.. They should stick to talking about God.

I'm less worried about the signs than the squashed petition/ election process. What happened to democracy? Where else do the non-political heads of government stop their people from voting? Let my people vote without fear of their local jobs.

I have yet see a better idea for transforming our downtown. My doctor won't let me eat most of what's served in OC restaurants.

thank you, Rick.... your posts are an inspiration to the debate.... and you said everything that makes sense to me and a lot of other people..... downtown has great potential..... let's hope it can be revived!

Inpsirational? to whome? How about naive. Of course people who don't want more impared drivers on the busy streets at night or like OC for its uniquness don't want this change, and the greedy petition drive is the inital step to this and other unwanted changes.

Transform downtown into what? Gee, some people have to drive all the way to Atlantic City for adult entertainment. Let's add a couple strip places also - BYOB of course.

your comments, Parker, are "over the top" and bordering on comical..... do you really believe this? you think BYOB will result in strip places??? I know you cannot possibly be serious...... and that is what we need here, --- a serious discussion, not more hysteria..... did you see any strip clubs in stone harbor or cape may????? I am actually done with this debate.... I support BYOB for lots of reasons.... and hope our residents put it to a vote..... the posts are just getting too silly for me......

Parker, you need to grow up and make rational arguements. BYOS really!!???

Last night was a classic example of the hypocrisy.... my wife and I don't like going to large parties with lots of drinking, we would prefer to go to a nice quiet restaurant with some friends. Last night during Nights of Venice there is a city wide party with the drawbridge up making it difficult to leave the island. Even if you could, when you move your car you lose your parking spot. Sirens were going off non-stop last night for police and fire. But that is fine -- we just can't have wild married couples going out to eat with a bottle of wine. That would ruin the "dry image" of Ocean City.

lets forget about the signs,, who cares,, let people say what they want,, let the vote be the real voice and hope, things change,, if not our town will not make it.. we live in 2011 not 1915, wonder what a fireman or police made back then? What was the general price of a home then.. Give our downtown a chance to make it.. It may not work, who knows until we try.. N. I. V. packed the island and I a sure everyone made more money in what is now a short 6 week summer season.. Open your eyes change is not bad it is a normal process

having city workers send letters to people who have signs on their lawns proves that our work force is totally overstaffed. how many man hours will it take to survey the island, run-off the letters, post the letters, etc.
if we have employees with enough time on their schedule to perform this task, then what are they doing the rest of the time? it seems to me that it's time to reevaluate how many people are employed by the city. it seems that the dept heads did not do a very good job projecting there needs during the last budget process.

sorry for misspelling "their" in my comment.

Why is this not concered to be a political issue by way of signing a petition is a means of voting therefore the signs should not be removed.

political signs can only be put up 30 days before an election.

Vic how long is it for signing the petition? When the petition drive is done then the signs can come down.

I guess you must be a resident to understand all that is taking place in your town. I have not had the pleasure to visit OC for 5 years, but before that my family visited every year. ( I will return)
Ocean City is a gem along the NJ coast and part of the sparkle is that you can go back in time as life once was. Quiet, safe and friendly. Do not lose what your community "has" and others do not. Treasures are rare. Be good caretakers of what is good.

Since this is an issue that directly affects the people who live in the city, it should be their right to display their opinion on the subject.
It is amazing what Ocean City will and won't tolerate.
How about the signs for the "Noreaster's Soccer Team" which are displayed on public property as well as at local playgrounds in Ocean City?
How about the summer camp signs which are hung at on the fences at 34th street playground, as well as at 6th Street by the school?
How about all the building and developer signs stretching on all the properties streching across Ocean City?
What about all the realty signs tacked to every rental property on the island?

Seems like the real issue here is that Ocean City isn't making any money off the Anti-BYOB signs...
Regardless of your position on the BYOB debate, everyone should realize that limiting freedom of speech is against the First Amendment, and that is the scariest thing about this whole situation.

-And to Parker

I got the point of your post and I totally agree.
I don't think your points are "over the top" or ridiculous.
Then again, I think people should be allowed to voice their opinions even if I don't agree with them.
Seems hypocritical to argue for the right to do something, but then attack someone else when they express a belief or a thought guarenteed by the Constitution.

Not one person who is BYOB has made a single valid point as to why "BYOB" would positively affect Ocean City.
Its all a bunch of hypothetical theories and people's opinions simply because of their personal desire to drink, not for the "betterment" of the city.

There is nothing wrong with Ocean City being a dry town, and after this proposal is voted down, I hope that it is the end of it.

Jonathon, as to the betterment of Ocean City...whether BYOB passes or not, Ocean City will remain a dry town. If the city is to be truely dry, then revoke the permits and licenses for private clubs and hotels that can pay to serve alcohol.
I am a commerical builder of major projects, the work I do litterally changes the skyline and fabric of cities. I'm a registered professional engineer with mulitple, diverse professional certifications, so my comments are not without economic developement experience.
The simple permission to bring a personal bottle of wine to a restaurant spurs increased business activity to a downtown area without it. This is a dcoumented fact in economic developement. Capturing just 20% of the traffic leaving Ocean City every night would transform our downtown for the better, nothing else has worked.
I respect anyone's personal alcohol concerns, but we're not talking about re-opening the Dunes in Ocean City. Lastly, I will be by your side if anyone wants to try selling alcohol in our town; I'll fight it to the end.

rick, if you are involved in redevelopment, like you claim, then you have to admit that the reason people choose to leave ocean city for a meal is the lousy restaurants (lack of good food, lack of good decor) in ocean city. bring your own bottle of wine to a restaurant in ocean city will not force the restaurant owners to invest in their establishments. during the summer they are all pack full of customers, so they have no incentive to improve. then they complain when the tourists leave and they can't compete with the mainland eateries. byob will not change this.

We need new blood to raise the bar. I don't see it happening organically in OC without some change in economic incentive or business model. Its worked in other towns. I'm tired of having to go to another town for a great meal. It will take some time for this to evolve.

For many years up until about 2004 there was a BYOB establishment here in OC at the corner of 7th and Moore Avenues. Affectionately known as The Bean House to the Ocean City Police Department and locals. How great it was to see men and women taking a leak beside the building in broad daylight, hearing drunks argue as they walked down the street, hearing the sound of beer bottles being smashed in the street or seeing drunks passed out on the corner. Oh how I long for those days and look forward to all sorts of establishments with BYOB in the future. It will be so great for our town.

Oh, so now now we're comparing an illegal speakeasy to an established restaurant with toilet facilities. How desperate can you get to instill fear and continued misinformation?

Duffer, you can continue to spin a tale of horrors -- or, you could drive to Ocean Grove, Haddonfield or Collingswood.... Let me know how many drunks and people peeing outside that you see.

By the way, if Collingswood and Haddonfield are such models why do people flee there in droves to come to our fair town??? Sounds like it should be the other way around.

Night in Venice really has no effect on me. Just never got the hype with NIV. Always just seemed like a bunch of people (mostly shoobies) showing off to other people (again mostly shoobies) who were showing off. Always just seemed lame to me. Cancel it, I couldn't care less.

I bring up the Bean House because it is a very real part of our town's history that I had a front row seat to view. I couldn't tell you how many times I called city hall to complain about the situation and nothing was ever done. Ultimately it was developement that made the Bean House go away not anything the city ever did to stop it.

The Bean House represents the worst case of what could happen if BYOB is allowed. That is why I mentioned the law of un-intended consequenses earlier. Its the "what if" we let the cat out of the bag so to speak. I've already seen what is possible if BYOB were in the hands of an operator and patrons who showed a disregard for his neighbors and the cities laws. If this law went into effect it would be harder rather than easier to correct quality of life issues that BYOB could bring. If the city couldn't stop an illegal speakeasy what makes you think they could stop a restraunt that got out of control if the laws are relaxed?

Please keep in mind that I am not against drinking at all. I just have no problem with things as they are. I see no reason to change and bring the possibility of problems over to our side of the bridge.

Doesn't the original charter of Ocean City require it to be a "dry" community? How can an original charter be changed? That seems to me the same as changing someone's will. I spent every summer of my childhood in OC, at Ocean Court, and when my parents wanted something to drink with dinner, we went into Somers Point. It's just over the bridge. Why does the athosphere of OC have to be changed? Alcohol will just ruin the community. I am not one who never has a drink, but I do not see a problem with a town respecting and keeping its original charter which requires the community to be dry. There is enough drunkedness in AC and Wildwood. Keep it out of OC.

Re Night in Venice - when I spent summers in OC, the only people I knew who were involved in this event were those with permanent homes in OC - mainly those more wealthy than my parents, definitely not "shoobies". Even if it were something I did not attend, I still feel that those who do participate and look forward to it, should be allowed to enjoy its continuance. Please do not turn OC into a Wildwood or AC. They are the absolute worst shore points. OC has a special quality. Keep the old and add the new only when it is advantageous, not harmful to the general spirit of the community. Not every shore point has to be a place for teenagers and young adults to run riot during the summer months, drinking as much as possible and risking the lives of others on the highways.

I know I am rehashing old times, but again re BYOB in OC - the very worst accident in which my family was ever involved happened as we were returning to OC from dinner in Somers Point. We were stopped on the 9th St. bridge for a bridge opening when a young man came barreling onto the bridge, drunk as a skunk, from a bar in Somers Point. He plowed into us (three generations in the car) at high speed while we and 5 other cars in front of us were stopped. The impact caused us to hit the car in front of us, with a richocet effect, which reversed itself after the first car hit the raised bridge. Eventually the right front wheel of our car wound up on the guard rail. My grandmother was shoved under the dash. Somehow my shoes wound up in the middle of the bridge. My mother sustained such impact that she lost the baby she was carrying and the steering wheel broke in half and penetrated my father's abdomen. Shortly thereafter, the car caught on fire. We were all very fortunate to survive that - and we were stopped! Do we really need this in OC? In an ideal world, anyone trying to enter OC from a non-dry location, would have to prove ability to drive safely, without impairment. Keep it a family town. God knows there are few of them left these days. BTW, the drunk who hit us sustained not one injury, I am 64 now and this happened when I was 9 years old yet I remember it as if it were yesterday. Don't let this happen to your family. Keep it dry!

Once again we are looking at this through rose colored glasses. Lets look at the possible worste case if a dive decided to use BYOB and push the envelope. Then throw in some unruley patrons and a few . Now ask yourself if you'd want to live next door to that. I've mentioned in other posts about my experiences living near the old West Side Luncheonette in the days when it was for all intents and purposes a BYOB establishment. I can assure you that nobody would want this next door to their house. Please don't say it could never happen because it already has in our city's past.

I guess I have the same problem with alcohol in OC restaurants as I do with smoking in restaurants. I feel that we should be able to get through a meal without alcohol. Back in my day, you could have your "hootch" at your home/apartment, etc. but just not in an OC restaurant. Leave the BYOB off the table, and go home sober and safe and have your drink at home. Keep everyone on the roads safe. We always think "never us" but my above tale will show you it can be us. We were all lucky to walk away from that accident and I have a problem with bridges to this day because of it. I think in the early stages of a "buzz" we all feel that we are fine, not impaired, etc. but consider the worst - how would you feel if you hurt someone, or someone in your family was hurt. Leave OC dry in its restaurants and go home and have your preferred beverage in the safety of your home. Again, I am not anti-alcohol, just anti-alcohol in OC. I am sorry to hear that Night in Venice has degraded the way it has. Once upon a time it was a classy affair but if the purpose of Night in Venice is to show off the boats, why is alcohol necessary? Enjoy the world around you without impairment.

the purpose of night in venice is no longer to enjoy the boats. if you noticed, the number of boats in the parade decreases every year. the boat owners even have to be bribed with gas cards in order to participate.
today, night in venice is an excuse for people who own houses along the bay to host bigger and bigger house parties. the houses are now better decorated than the boats, and the alcohol flows freely. notice where the worse traffic jams occur.....where the houses are having their parties. it's so bad, that it is impossible to park anywhere west of bay ave. because of the change of venue, it's not even necessary to have any boats for night in venice.

Vic, that is a shame. It used to be so nice to watch the boats. Now it sounds like a big party. It ruins it for others. For one, I think the Do Not Change OC signs should be allowed to stay and I hope the Chamber reads all the posts here.