Sandy...Aftermath.....Future of Beach Access.......

[buckethead]

The latest, Sweeney behind it. I hate that JO, I think there was a time when something was important to fishermen and he voted several times against us.

nj.com
Dec 26-2012
The Jersey Shore is still digging and drying out from Hurricane Sandy, the most destructive natural disaster in its history. So what’s the latest recovery strategy from Trenton?Free beaches!
It’s an idea that panders to bennies everywhere who resent being forced to shell out $5 or more to sit on the sand. But it ignores the reality that Shore-goers are used to safe, clean beaches — and that someone has to pay the lifeguards, cops and cleanup crews.

A proposal from Sens. Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Michael Doherty (R-Warren) ties beach tags to the money Shore towns want for post-Sandy beach repairs. Under the bill (S2368), any town that takes state or federal aid would have to offer free beaches and restrooms.
“Where taxpayers are paying for beach restoration, they shouldn’t be taxed a second time just to walk on the sand,” Sweeney said.
But the plan pinches off money to maintain the beaches.

Take Belmar, which sold $3 million in beach tags last summer for lifeguards, police, bathrooms and other beach-related costs. That’s roughly 15 percent of Belmar’s total budget.
Or Long Beach Township, where $1.7 million in 2012 beach tag sales paid the lifeguards. Taxpayers covered everything else.
The bill comes, too, as Sweeney considers challenging Chris Christie for governor.

“It’s a good sound bite,” said Long Beach Township Mayor Joseph Mancini, who doesn’t like the bill. “But it just doesn’t work.”

would let Shore towns keep 2 cents of the 7-cent state sales tax to recoup lost fees. But that requires a constitutional amendment.

Wherever you go to the beach, someone pays for lifeguards or trash pickup. Instead of taxes, like most other states, New Jersey sells beach tags. It rankles, but the user bears the cost.
Taxes fund highways, but we still pay Parkway tolls. NJ Transit will get millions for Hurricane Sandy repairs, but no one suggests they stop charging commuters.

Beaches belong to everyone, and increasing access is noble. Repairing storm damage is a public responsibility, however, separate from summertime maintenance.
Who doesn’t want to see beach tags disappear? But keeping beaches safe and clean isn’t a cost Shore towns should shoulder alone.

[buckethead]

Fema delivers a blow at shore
From Philly.com
http://articles.philly.com/2012-12-2...urricane-sandy


FEMA delivers a blow at Shore



December 24, 2012|By Amy S. Rosenberg, Inquirer Staff Writer



BRIGANTINE, N.J. - Bill Haeser and Bob Huff were neighbors before Sandy, but the storm has chased Haeser and his wife, Laurel, off their block, at least for now.
Still, their dark-humored buddy routine has held, even as the short-term rebuilding on Cummings Place has stalled, and the long-term future of people like them along the Jersey Shore gets murkier.
Both big guys in their own way, they were happy to see each other again last week in the back of the Brigantine North Elementary School auditorium, where at a FEMA town-hall meeting, their mayor had speculated that requirements from proposed flood-map elevations would "decimate" the island.
Story continues below.




Haeser: "I see you filling up that Dumpster."
Huff: "Do you see me limping out there? My knees are shot. I go to the porch at 1, 2 in the morning, look down the block, and it's me, Helen, Tony, that's it."
Haeser: "What are they going to steal, my insulation?"
And really, what can you do if you're Haeser and Huff, at home and in exile, except laugh, cry, lie awake at night, laugh about your Charlie Brown Christmas trees, your six vinegar-sprayed Christmas balls. You vow to stay put in Brigantine one minute, contemplate walking away the next.
Last year at this time, Cummings Place was lit up with the happy surprise of Christmas lights in a beach town, the residents tucked into their horseshoe-shaped street by ocean and bay, their modest yet quirky lifestyle more or less settled.
Settled is the last thing they are now, eight weeks after Hurricane Sandy. Hardly anyone's rebuilding, because insurance payments have not been issued. And there are new wrinkles.
FEMA and town representatives acknowledged last week that the Federal Emergency Management Agency's proposed flood and velocity zones mean steep insurance hikes and the costly if not impossible task of lifting thousands of old homes on pilings.

'Walk away'

Someone like Joe Fumo on nearby Lafayette Boulevard - who is preemptively lifting his home 10 feet in the air like futuristic transformer toys - risks not meeting FEMA's final standards and having to do it all again.
At Brigantine North school last week, the question hung in the air like Fumo's cranked-up Cape Cod: Would FEMA finish the job that Sandy started?
"We'll have to walk away from our homes," said Patty Magee. "I'm not sure people can take a $1,000-a-month rate increase."

[surferman]

John Weber.He talks about access and the public trust doctrine
http://jerseyshore.surfrider.org/cam.../beach-access/

[DarkSkies]

Thanks surferman. According to friends, Surfrider has played a big part of beach access in the Monmouth County area and other areas in NJ. Folks, take a look at the link he posted and check in on them periodically.

An old school surfer friend of mine was one of the ones that got the towns to blink when they tried to ban surfers and fishermen in the 80's.

From what I was told, there was a ban, and some of these guys (with my friend being at the forefront and putting up the cash to hire a lawyer on retainer and start the litigation process) got the towns to blink...and access to surfers and fishermen was restored.

Things were a lot different back then. People actually got involved and went to meetings....and wrote thousands of protest letters.....

I wish some of the younger folks who do so much ranting on the internet today about these access issues would get more pro-active and really get involved.

My Nomad tendencies to fish other states have taught me that these places can be shut down relatively easy, skirting around the Public Trust Doctrine, by restrictive parking regulations.....

Those who would be so critical on the internet, demanding access because of this Doctrine....should remember that.....

[DarkSkies]

Another good story is in Spring Lake.

I believe it was the 80's...when Finchaser, Joe Melillo and the clubs they were affiliated with, rallied together....over 100 guys and their vehicles...and locked down traffic in Spring Lake as they paraded up and down the main street with their vehicles...protesting.... when access to surf fishermen was shut down.


Sadly, I doubt that even with more people fishing today, if we needed to do this to make a point, if it could ever happen. The apathy out there is appalling.....

I say this not to anger people, but to perhaps ignite some sort of spark, in those that still do care....

With the beach rebuilding we will continue to have access issues. Even with federal dollars coming in for replenishment, somehow fishermen always seem to get short changed.....We need to remember this and keep ourselves informed. To those who contributed to this thread, thanks for continuing to do that.....

[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.

[VSdreams]

Check this out a state that makes it mandatory to improve fishing access when bridges or roads are improved.
Is it NJ? No way. it's Maryland.



New law to improve recreational access along bridges and roads
View all related news articles

On April 9 , Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law HB 797 which promotes safe recreational fishing, canoe and kayak access to waterways along Maryland’s bridges and roads . KeepAmericaFishing thanks those Maryland anglers that took action and sent their message along. We hope that other states will follow this model and improve their own recreational waterway access
Lack of access to fishable waters is commonly cited as one of the top concerns among anglers. In an effort to help turn the tide and provide better public access to Maryland’s thousands of miles of rivers, streams and shorelines, Governor O’Malley recently signed into law a bill (HB 797) to promote safe recreational fishing, canoe and kayak access along the state’s bridges and roads. This is a tremendous victory for anglers and can be used as a model for other states to incorporate. KeepAmericaFishing™ wishes to thank the legislators, fishing and conservation organizations, and interested citizens who helped support this bill’s passage. KeepAmericaFishing members supported this legislation and we thank you for helping make passage possible.

Maryland’s 10,000 miles of rivers and streams, as well as its 4,000 miles of tidal shoreline, can be difficult to access because adjacent roads and bridges can lack safe shoulders, pull-off areas or parking. These areas often were constructed without regards to access and angler safety. Oftentimes access can be provided at minimal or no cost, but is not incorporated in project planning.

HB 797 addresses this problem and will enhance waterway access by requiring state and local transportation departments to consider providing, where reasonable and cost-effective, waterway access in roadway construction or reconstruction projects.

Before being signed into law by the Governor, this non-controversial, bipartisan and cost-effective legislation passed the House of Delegates by an overwhelming 130-3 margin and the Senate by 47-0 margin. The bill was supported by KeepAmericaFishing, the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Foundation, the Chesapeake Conservancy, Maryland Bass Angler’s Sportsmen’s Society, and many other fishing and conservation organizations, as well as the Maryland Department of Transportation and Department of Natural Resources.

HB 797 would help promote outdoor recreational opportunities for families; greatly improve safety for recreational users and motorists alike; help stimulate the economies and livability of local communities; and enhance the health and quality of life of our citizens. KeepAmericaFishing looks forward to working with other state legislatures and transportation agencies to incorporate this beneficial and non-controversial legislation throughout the country.


http://www.keepamericafishing.org/ac...igned_into_law

[VSdreams]

This is the actual law. Why can't we have something like this in Jersey?

http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2013RS/bills/hb/hb0797f.pdf

[finchaser]

I guess because were not in bed with Omega protein,because we don't look the other way with all the illegal netting in the Chesapeake . We are a game fish state and don't have a commercial fishery with an 18" size limit . So I guess they want to be reelected so they flip them a bone from time to time.