 Today at 2 p.m. in Trenton, the Environment and Solid Waste Committee of New Jersey's General Assembly will consider bill (A4092), which would firmly establish that waterfront areas must be accessible to the general public. The American Littoral Society is urging committee members and the state legislature as a whole to vote yes on this important legislation. As has long been recognized by our courts, the public has a right to access and use the waterfront in accordance with the Public Trust Doctrine. The State of New Jersey, in its role as the trustee of lands subject to the Public Trust Doctrine, has a duty to protect and preserve those rights. This duty remains extremely important, as the public demand for waterfront access will only continue to increase as the population rises and the coastal landscape changes and redevelops.
Yet today, not all waterfront areas are accessible, and many communities of people have inadequate and unequal access to the public trust waters of the state. A4092 provides clear policy guidance for the protection of the public’s rights under the public trust doctrine. A4092 reflects the recommendations of a multi-stakeholder Task Force which met last year in the wake of a court decision invalidating the state’s ability to require public access of coastal development. The American Littoral Society has been fighting to defend the public's right to access coastal areas since the organization's earliest days. The society works continuously to enhance access to the coast for everyone, and fights privatization or any other attempts to undermine any aspect of the Public Trust Doctrine. Click here to learn more about Littoral Society work on the Public Access issue. Comments are closed.
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