The United States Supreme Court has decided to hear a case involving a proposed beach reclamation project in Florida that affected coastal property owners claim will place a wide swath of public sand between them and the Gulf of Mexico depriving them of their waterfront property rights. The state Supreme Court of Florida had upheld the state project stating that “Florida has a constitutional duty to protect its beaches”. The plaintiffs claim “the intent is a land grab by local government to create a public beach where a private beach previously existed”.
Let’s hope the state prevails in this one. Private ownership of coastal property should not include beaches which should be considered part of the public domain. Because of the state’s rights principle the public trust doctrine is inconsistent throughout the nation even though the public pays for both maintenance of present shorelines and past mistakes that have created erosion or taken access away from the public.
- David Bulloch, Director, SE American Littoral Society