CURRITUCK — After being characterized for more than a decade and a half by hot debates, the fate of the Fruitville Beach Service District was decided earlier this week by silence.

"Deafening silence" in fact, to quote Ernie Bowden, the Currituck commissioner whose motion to adopt the district failed to gain a second.

Without another commissioner to support Bowden's proposal, the 16-year quest to create a service district to improve roads and clean up junked cars along Currituck's northern beaches ended Monday night.

Bowden made the motion following a public hearing attended by about 70 Carova residents, a dozen of whom voiced their disapproval of the proposed district. Most said they opposed the district because they feared it would bring additional development to the northern beaches.

County officials had proposed the Fruitville Beach Service District as a way to provide Currituck the authority to maintain roads and remove junk automobiles from the Carova area. Examples of projects would have included the improvement of Sandfiddler and Sandpiper Roads and as well as the east-west roads streets extending from the two thoroughfares.

County Manager Dan Scanlon said neither of the sand roads would have been asphalted or graveled. The project would have involved moving sand from dunes to fill in the roads' low areas and creating swells to hold water. The N.C. Department of Transportation and subcontractors would have performed the grading, he said.

County officials said the $300,000 needed to create the service district and perform the initial improvements wouldn't have cost taxpayers. Instead, the projects would be funded by revenue from the county's occupancy tax.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Barry Nelms said the district's only purpose would have been to improve roadway conditions. But a number of residents disagreed, saying it would have been the first step to opening Carova to commercial development. Residents also said the district would have promoted more tourism and destroyed Carova's unique character.

"I am against the proposed service district because it will destroy a quality of life for residents of Carova Beach, and promote more development," Michael Cherry, president of the Swan Beach Property Association, said.

Lynn Wilson, chairwoman of Can Our Actions Save Tomorrow, also spoke in opposition to the proposed district. She said COAST was formed in 2005 to protect the off-road areas on the Outer Banks. She urged commissioners to vote against the district to "preserve the area's unique character."

Others voiced concern that the improved roads might negatively affect wetland areas, the beaches' fragile wildlife, and hinder the freedom of the Corolla wild horses.

Several residents proposed improving Ocean Pearl Road instead.

A representative of real estate interests urged commissioners to adopt the proposed district. Jeff Malarney told commissioners that the current condition of the sand roads is creating a safety hazard, reminding them of their duty to protect both residents and visitors.

Discussions for a beach service district first started in 1991. At the time, the former president of the Carova Beach Volunteer Fire Department said improving Sandfiddler and Sandpiper roads' drainage and surface conditions was critically important to the protection of life and property.

The topic resurfaced over the years, but came to the forefront when Tropical Storm Ernesto's rains caused flooding and stranded nearly 600 residents and tourists last year.

In response to the flooding, Sheriff Susan Johnson urged commissioners to adopt the district, saying her officers' job is hampered by the poor road conditions in the Carova area.

"Grading Sandfiddler Road is paramount if the Currituck County Sheriff's Department is to effectively and reasonably perform its public safety function," Johnson said at the time.

Carova Beach Volunteer Fire Department president Randall Spencer, however, said his department can respond to emergencies as fast as any other department. Others said more deputies were needed to patrol the northern Outer Banks.