Texas

white cloud

(2,567 posts) Sat Mar 31, 2012, 02:29 PM Mar 2012

High court upholds private property over public beach access

Affirming the private-property rights of shoreline landowners, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the public's right of access to state beaches cannot be guaranteed when hurricanes or storms reshape the coast.

The sharply divided ruling will limit the state's ability to enforce the Open Beaches Act, a 53-year-old law that had been used to force landowners to raze or move structures that intrude on the public right of way because of storm erosion.

Writing for the 5-3 majority, Justice Dale Wainwright said the easement that preserves public access to Gulf of Mexico beaches cannot suddenly jump many feet inland after a storm, encroaching on private property where no easement previously existed.

"On one hand, the public has an important interest in the enjoyment of the public beaches. But on the other hand, the right to exclude others from privately owned realty is among the most valuable and fundamental of rights possessed by private property owners," Wainwright wrote.
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/high-court-upholds-private-property-over-public-beach-2273099.html

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High court upholds private property over public beach access (Original Post) white cloud Mar 2012 OP

They killed public beach access essentially sonias Mar 2012 #1

more on the findings white cloud Apr 2012 #2

sonias

(18,063 posts)

1. They killed public beach access essentially

Reply to white cloud (Original post)

Sat Mar 31, 2012, 03:50 PM

Mar 2012

Wait for it. All beaches will now become gated communities for the very rich only.

white cloud

(2,567 posts)

2. more on the findings

Reply to sonias (Reply #1)

Sun Apr 1, 2012, 03:26 PM

Apr 2012

Court: Public beach easement does not roll

By Christopher Smith Gonzalez

The Daily News
Published March 31, 2012
GALVESTON — In Texas, a public beach easement does not roll, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.

And that means the general public’s right to access and the state and city’s ability to conduct restoration projects on Galveston’s West End beaches could be eroding away.

The ruling by the state’s highest court states that if a major weather event, such as a hurricane, erodes a beach, landowners retain their rights to the remaining property, even if it becomes part of the public beach.

The court issued the ruling in response to questions sent down from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals relating to litigation over enforcement of the Texas Open Beaches Act.

Supporters of the court’s ruling said it upheld private property rights. But opponents said it could mean the end of guaranteed public access to Galveston’s West End beaches.

“It seems that the Open Beaches Act — at least for Galveston’s West End — is dead, thanks to the Supreme Court,” Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said. “This is truly a sad day.”

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http://galvestondailynews.com/story/303170/

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