New N.J. beach access rules a big step back backward: Star-Ledger Editorial

[storminsteve]

That really sucks. Looks like not much can be done about it then njdiver. Why did they give the towns so much power?

[finchaser]

say goodbye to fishing in DEAL and Elberon they will retaliate for what was done there the last few years by the snag and drop/pencil popper crew

[plugcrazy]

Parking is already a no no on Pullman. Very easy to make all the streets that way.

[hookset]

^If I lived there I would ask for that. Fishermen in the spring are pigs. Can you imagine coming home to your house and a guy is cleaning a fish in front of it or left the rack in your garbage can? I dont blame them for the parking closures.

[surferman]

There are some jetties in the cape may area where it already says no fishing in big letters.

[jigfreak]

^If I lived there I would ask for that. Fishermen in the spring are pigs. Can you imagine coming home to your house and a guy is cleaning a fish in front of it or left the rack in your garbage can? I dont blame them for the parking closures.

Close it all down. Some guys will never learn. No sense in trying its useless.

[DarkSkies]

The lines in the access battles are being drawn. The first battles are these easements that are vexing homeowners and officials alike. We can't move forward without the homeowners signing them. There are vaild arguments on both sides. Here is a Brick Patch article that tries to put some of that in perspective. Sent in by Fin, thanks.


http://brick.patch.com/articles/publ...uspatc00000001
Public Access Fears Dominate Brick Beach Replenishment Meeting
Homeowners concerned with easement language, lack of established dune line
3-24-13

• By Daniel Nee

Though Brick officials have pledged the status quo will remain along the township's oceanfront, homeowners at a meeting Saturday said they have concerns over preserving private beach access as well as the lack of an established dune line in a proposed beach replenishment plan.

In order for the project – which is primarily funded by the federal government – to move forward, oceanfront residents and beach associations would have to sign easements to allow the dunes to be built and maintained partially on private property.

The state has set an April 1 deadline for easements to be signed, while Rep. Jon Runyan's office has set a federal deadline of May 1.
"I do not want to put Ferris wheels or boardwalks behind anyone's house," Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis told more than 100 residents at the meeting. "I don't want more beaches. We have three beaches and that's enough. I don't want to take anyone's private beach."
Township attorney Jean Cipriani said the easements entitle public officials to access private property only for the scope of the dune renourishment project itself, so the prospect of using the documentation as license to build a boardwalk, restrooms or parking lots is out of the question.

"The Army Corps has confirmed through their project engineer that the public access that would be constructed is only to replace the exact access points that exist now," said Cipriani.
But some residents have doubts.
Homeowner Ed Pilot, as well as many others at the meeting, pointed to a subsection of the easement that states one of the goals of the project is to "implement the Public Trust Doctrine and ensure permanent public access, use and enjoyment of the beach and ocean."
"What's to prevent the DEP to come in after the project is finished and sue everyone to allow public access to their beach?" asked Pilot.
Attorney John Paul Doyle, representing 14 homeowners, also pointed to the public acces language, asking whether the easement – the boundaries of which are not technically defined yet in Brick – could mean private streets would be opened for public parking.
Cipriani said the easement is "limited by the project area," meaning the dune renourishment project itself.

Though some residents at the meeting claimed the section on the public trust doctrine – a legal principle that maintains certain lands are held in trust for the use of the public – was not present in earlier versions of coastal easements, a check of public records by Patch found that easement agreements in Long Beach Township and Mantoloking going back to 2007 included the same language.
In Long Beach Township, Surf City and Harvey Cedars, public access points did not change since replenishment projects were completed there, nor were showers, parking lots or other amenities constructed.
Acropolis said even advocates for more public beach access have been largely satisfied by Brick's current access level.
"There is a group of people around here where that's all they do - sue for public access," he said. "They've never sued Brick Township."

Cipriani said the state Department of Environmental Protection will not allow changes to be made to the easement document itself, though the township may be able to add a supplemental section explaining its position on certain issues.

Acropolis said eventually, the debate over whether to sign easements may be ended by legislation.
"There is a deadline, and it will move forward," said Acropolis. "I would much rather have input at the local level with you than have someone in Trenton set the policy as for what should happen."
Legislation that would empower municipalities or the state to condemn the easement areas and factor in the added value of the project to reduce payouts to homeowners is pending, and Gov. Chris Christie has come out strongly in favor of the replenishment project.

Acropolis also spoke of the need for replenishment to protect all of Brick's residents, including those on neighboring streets on the barrier island as well as those across the bay.
"Most of the professionals believe that if the breach [in Mantoloking] hadn't happened, most of the homes on the mainland would not have flooded," the mayor said.

[bababooey]

I don't see compliance with all the folks who are lawyered upalready. This will probably have to be handled in the courts. my .02