WyBlog

Judge orders private club to accomodate freeloaders

Private property took another hit today when an activist NJ judge ordered a private club to allow any and all freeloaders to use its facilities. Not only that, but then the judge directed the club to enhance its infrastructure to cater to the anticipated hordes of non-members.

This outrage was perpetuated at the behest of the state Department of Environmental Protection, which sued to grant the public unfettered access to property owned and maintained by the Sea Bright Beach Club.

They changed the rules. In 1993 it was sufficient to allow the public to walk past the club. Now the club has lost all exclusive rights to its property. They have to perform the beach maintenance, but they can't charge for it. They have to provide lifeguards, but who will pay their salaries is unclear. And they are required to install walkways and signs, because to an activist judge such amenities cost nothing.

New Jersey has 130 miles of coastline. The vast majority of it is open and accessible, usually for a modest fee. A few hundred feet belonging to a private club hardly constitutes an infringment on the public's "right" to use the beach. Yet here we are once again with activists objecting to anyone owning even one centimeter of beach.

Anyone except the government, of course. The U.S. Coast Guard "owns" several significant stretches of beach. They're totally off limits; national security you know.

The "free beach" guys will tell you that tax dollars were once used for sand replenishment or seawall construction. Yeah, so? Tax dollars pay for the Coasties too. But their beach is still off-limits.

No, these lawsuits aren't about beach access. They're about stripping away our right to own private property. They're about the "have nots" taking what they aren't willing to pay for, because they detest the people who own what they want. It's about envy, and the desire to get something for nothing.

Would Judge Cavanagh be so quick to undermine private property if the DEP sued to allow anyone with a nine-iron to use his country club's golf course? Not a chance!

The solution is for the state to pay for that which they wish to use. The government already owns some very nice beaches, which the public is able to utilize. If they want more, they ought to buy the property from its rightful owners, not seize it via judicial fiat.

Just this week I noted that there is a word for the taking of private property without just compensation. That word is "tyranny".

Posted at 23:16 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Archived | Perm Link |
Technorati Tags: Sea-Bright-NJ beach+access riparian-rights   |   Tweet