The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld the state Utilities Commission’s decision to regulate a mainland parking lot tied to the Bald Head Island ferry. But appellate judges have rejected the commission’s regulation of a related barge operation that transports goods to the island.
The Village of Bald Head Island and the provider of transportation services to and from the mainland are taking contrasting approaches to the timeline for resolving a legal dispute. Competing court filings Thursday at the North Carolina Court of Appeals exposed the divide.
A legal fight over regulation of one parking lot and a barge service could have broader implications.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals will decide in the weeks ahead whether the state Utilities Commission had the right to start regulating a barge and mainland parking lot tied to the Bald Head Island ferry. A dispute over that decision generated an hour of oral arguments Wednesday at the state’s second-highest court.
