DEP acts to ensure public access to shore Written comments will be accepted until Feb. 15 BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer Before coastal communities can seek shore protection or Green Acres funds from the state, they will have to comply with new public access rules for waterways as part of a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) proposal released Dec. 17. Along with the newly adopted public access rules, the DEP has also released amendments to the Public Trust Doctrine, which is a legal doctrine that defines and maintains public access to, and use of, tidal waterways and their shores. Both proposals respond to concerns raised last November when the DEP first proposed the Public Trust Rights Rule to regulate public access to New Jersey's waterfront. "Our shoreline belongs to everyone and with these rules it's our goal to make sure that all New Jerseyans have a right to access and enjoy our beautiful waterfront. These rules really apply to those entities, those towns that come to us for shore protection funding. If they're going to seek funding to protect the beach then they are going to have to provide access," DEP spokeswoman Karen Hershey said Dec. 19. The DEP proposed the new rules relating to public access to be adopted as amendments to the Coastal Management program. First issued Nov. 6, 2006, the proposed rules drew a standing-room-only crowd of concerned residents to the Monmouth Beach Cultural Center for a panel discussion sponsored by P.J. Peterson Realty July 17. The DEP did not send a representative to the forum, but there will be public hearings on the new proposal scheduled for Jan. 16 and 17 in 2008 and written comments will be accepted until Feb. 15, 2008. The proposed rules can be accessed at www.nj.gov/dep/cmp/access. "This is basically the same thing that the DEP is suing Sea Bright and the beach clubs [for] … it's really nothing new, they are just publishing it," said Sea Bright Councilman Thomas E. Scriven. He added, "This is something that as far as Sea Bright goes, we are in the process of doing discovery motion along with the beach clubs to answer this in court." In September 2006, state Attorney General Anne Milgram and the DEP filed suit against the borough of Sea Bright and several private beach clubs in the borough seeking more public access to the beach. The suit seeks public access to beaches renourished with public monies, including the shoreline being developed as luxury homes, and repayment of a share of the public monies spent for replenishment. "The borough maintains we have done everything within its ability to facilitate public access to the beach … have been in full compliance with all agreements and requirements that have been placed on the borough. The claim that has been filed against the municipality … is without merit," Sea Bright Borough Attorney Scott C. Arnette said Friday. The Borough of Sea Bright filed an economic counterclaim against the state in January in the amount of $733,729.10. "It's going on and hasn't been anywhere near resolved," said Scriven of the lawsuit and subsequent counterclaim. "It's a back and forth procedure because at the same time they are suing us and we are suing them." He continued, "As far as the larger picture … it is probably to extend this policy to cover all of the towns on the seashore because they are suing Sea Bright for this and now they are putting this regulation in. I think what they are trying to do is to get the other towns involved, [like] Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, all the way down to Cape May." According to the DEP's public access adoption and concurrent proposal fact sheet, the adopted rules: "require that development on or adjacent to tidal waterways and their shores provide onsite, permanent, unobstructed access to tidal waterways and their shores at all times, including visual and physical perpendicular and linear access; contain standards for fees for public access to or use of public and privately owned beaches, addressing the amount of the fee charged, discrimination and ability of the public to purchase badges or passes; set forth standards to the public's ability to access and use tidal waterways and their shores by addressing signage, parking and barrier- free access; Also the rules "require the public access portion of the site to be permanently dedicated for public use through the recording of the department-approved conservation restriction maintaining the publicly dedicated area in perpetuity; set forth public access requirements for municipalities that participate in the state's Shore Protection Program funding and for those municipalities, counties and nonprofit organizations to be eligible for funding under the state's Green Acres Program." "I think that the rules are a big victory for fishermen, surfers and people who love the beach. The coast and the beaches are resources that belong to the public and these rules are going to help make sure that the public can get to that resource," Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society, said Friday. Dillingham said the American Littoral Society, based at Sandy Hook, has been advocating the need to strengthen the public's right to access the beach for the past decade. He added, "These rules are going to open those closed doors to the ocean, which belongs to all of us." There are also separate requirements for public access to be eligible for Shore Protection Program Funding and Green Acres Program Funding to acquire or de- velop a site along a tidal waterway. The state's Shore Protection Program awards a total of $25 million annually to projects that provide protection of life and property along the coast, including beach nourishment projects. "These rules apply to those entities that are seeking public funds for shore protection so before they could seek any shore protection funds they would have to comply with these rules," said Hershey. For those municipalities that participate in the Shore Protection Program for projects along the Atlantic Ocean, Sandy Hook Bay, Raritan Bay or Delaware Bay public restrooms within 1/4 mile of the project area at 1/2 mile intervals and sufficient parking must be provided to accommodate the public demand to access to the project, according to the fact sheet. "The really key part of [the rules] is that they're going to make sure that there are parking and bathrooms nearby public beaches and it's a very practical thing because without a place for families to park or to attend to the calls of nature it really becomes a private beach and that has been unfortunately a reality," said Dillingham. In each instance, the requirements for the municipality, county or nonprofit include to adopt a public access plan and ensure that ordinances and activities do not limit access, according to the fact sheet. "The rules are intended to ensure that the public's rights continue to be protected and that improvements are made so that the public has realistic and meaningful opportunities to enjoy the resources," it states in the fact sheet. There are also some exceptions that apply to the new public access rules, which include: restrictions or closures due to public safety or security instances and hazardous or military operations.