State Can Condemn Private Oceanfront Parcels For Beach Replenishment: Judge

TOMS RIVER — The state Department of Environmental Protection now has the authority to take privately-owned oceanfront properties in New Jersey for storm protection projects, according to nj.com.

Ocean County Superior Court Judge Marlene Lynch Ford handed down her decision on Wednesday.

"This court concludes that the DEP is authorized under the broad delegation of authority to protect the fragile coastal system to take property for public beach purposes and for shore protection purposes," Ford wrote in her 27-page ruling.

That was good news for the DEP, said spokesman Bob Considine.

"Ultimately, the state’s interest is simply in providing much-needed and overdue protection for the beaches of Northern Ocean County," he said. "As we saw from Superstorm Sandy and coastal storms since, the beaches are vulnerable. We have the support of hundreds of beachfront homeowners who want the protection and volunteered their easements. It is only a limited number of holdouts who are delaying the process. We hope this decision will encourage other Northern Ocean County holdouts to provide their easements voluntarily so we can go out to bid for the project."

Dozens of beachfront homeowners said in a previous lawsuit that the DEP did not have the right to take the parcels for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' storm protection projects.

Attorneys for the property owners said they would consider an appeal..

"We remain convinced that NJDEP is using this project as a smokescreen to accomplish an unlawful land grab," said John Buonocore Jr., attorney for some of the property owners. "These cases present a test of every citizen's liberty and property rights and deserve review at the appellate level."

But Ford set an April 19 hearing to listen to Bay Head and Mantoloking property owners who say a mile-long rock wall built in 1962 and extended in 2013 after Superstorm Sandy.

To read the entire story, click here.

Do you agree or disagree with the judge's decision? Tell us in the comments section below.