Own a beachfront property in New Jersey? Read this.

We are the New Jersey title insurance agent that does it all for you. For your next commercial real estate transaction, house purchase, mortgage refinance, reverse mortgage, or home equity loan, contact us, Vested Land Services LLC. We can help!

This is from our friend Larry Bell, Esq. at CATIC.

Public Trust Doctrine Is Now The Law In New Jersey

By the law of nature these things are common to all mankind – the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the shores of the sea. No one, therefore, is forbidden to approach the seashore, provided that he respects habitations, monuments, and the buildings, which are not, like the sea, subject only to the law of nations. From Book II of the Institutes of Justinian, Roman Emperor Justinian, circa 500 AD.

Dating back to Roman law, public rights to the seashore gave fishermen and travelers by sea unfettered access to dry land. Those public rights were maintained through the English Common Law and brought to America by the settlers of the original 13 colonies. A common law right, public access to the shore has developed in New Jersey through several court decisions, the first of which was the 1821 case of Arnold v. Mundy, 6 N.J.L. 1, where an owner of land adjoining the Raritan River claimed exclusive fishing rights to tidal oyster beds abutting his property. In that decision, the Court held that “[Common Property includes] ‘the air, the running water, the sea, the fish, and the wild beasts. [These are] things in which a sort of transient usufructuary possession only, can be had ....’” Unlike other public property, it was “ ... to be held, protected, and regulated for the common use and benefit.” Several other decisions and numerous regulations would follow as reviewed by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.

On May 3, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy made the Public Trust Doctrine the law of the state when he signed P.L. 2019, Chapter 81 into law with an effective date of July 1, 2019. It was a long time coming, but NJ now has a law that codifies the Public Trust Doctrine, intended to ensure public access to beaches and tidal areas, and promote, protect and safeguard public access rights. The new law affects both the 127 miles of NJ oceanfront beaches as well as the more than 1,200 miles of tidally influenced rivers and bays throughout the state.

The law supports the creation of new access points and the enhancement of existing ones, and is intended to provide the tools to defend against attempts to block access. It gives the NJ DEP broad regulatory power not only to create, enhance, and preserve public access, but also to ensure that there are necessary amenities in place to support it, including public parking and restrooms. The new law will have significant ramifications for landowners, municipalities, and developers, and will affect planning, zoning, and new construction in affected areas. It does not change the landscape, and standard title insurance exceptions for the rights of the public remain the same, but it is notable that some 1,500 years later Roman Emperor Justinian and Governor Phil Murphy wound up on the same page.

For your real estate purchase or mortgage refinance or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow@vested.com

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