NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW)- In April, residents of North Myrtle Beach sued the city to stop people from parking in the medians along Ocean Boulevard. Tuesday morning, the judge sided with the city.

The lawsuit filed by Len Anthony, and several other property owners argued it’s not safe for people to park in the median and it’s only a matter of time before someone is hurt. Anthony also said it’s against state law to park in the median of a state highway but the judge didn’t agree.

“I’m befuddled, I’m disappointed, I’m upset, I’m tired but we cant let this drop. We’ve got to keep fighting,” said Len Anthony.

Anthony said in court Tuesday morning, the judge ruled they have not been harmed enough to warrant the court’s interference into what he sees as a city council decision. 

“Medians taken over to provide free parking to folks outside the city. It just befuddles me beyond belief,” said Anthony.

Before the judge dismissed the lawsuit, Anthony and about 20 other homeowners got a letter from the city of north myrtle beach saying to move obstructions from the front of their homes 27 and a half feet from the road. The city said that piece of land is actually a right of way.

“We don’t care how expensive your home is. It’s a right of everyone to park in the public right of way,” said Pat Dowling with the City of North Myrtle Beach.

The first phase of letters were sent out to homes from 4th Ave North to 18th Ave North. Anthony thinks it’s payback for the lawsuit.

“Everybody here has always maintained the yards all the way out to the edge of the asphalt and the city has never said you might not want to do that because people might come park on it,” said Anthony.

The city of north myrtle beach released this statement regarding the median lawsuit:

“We appreciate the court having upheld the city’s position in this matter. At the end of the day we still lack the sufficient public parking to accommodate the growing number of visitors we host during peak tourism months and we will continue to work toward short term adn long term solutions.”

The city said it would cost 30 million dollars to buy more land for parking or build a parking garage, which is money they don’t have right now.