Dogs Allowed At Brick Farmers Market On A Trial Basis

BRICK, NJ — Dogs will be allowed to join their owners at the Brick Farmers Market for the summer of 2023 under a resolution approved by the Township Council on Tuesday night.

The approval was of a one-year waiver of the ban on dogs in the bandshell area of Windward Beach Park, where dogs normally are not permitted because it is considered part of the beach area, Councilwoman Andrea Zapcic said.

She said dog owners had been lobbying the town to permit dogs at the market, which operates for five hours on Saturday mornings from May through September.

Dogs must be leashed and under control, and owners must clean up after them.

The change initially was on the agenda released April 7 for Tuesday's meeting as an amendment to the township's ordinance covering beaches and waterfront areas. But the ordinance amendment was pulled from the agenda before the meeting and replaced with a resolution instead.

"We are doing this by resolution for a year, to see how it goes this summer," Zapcic said, explaining why the council was not modifying the town's existing ordinance instead. That way the town is not in the position of having to change an ordinance twice if the experiment does not go well.

Note: This article has been updated to clarify that the council initially considered this change as an amendment to an existing ordinance.