Selfish Beach Front Homeowners Jeopardize State Dune Project

After Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey has set out to build protective sand dunes along the state’s 127-mile shoreline. Homeowners who own beachfront property, however have tried to block the project and some have managed to receive compensation for the loss of their oceanfront views. In the last two months, the court in Ocean County awarded over $590,000 by juries to owners of two homes in Point Pleasant Beach. On Thursday, a couple was awarded $330,000 for the loss of beachfront property and oceanfront views.

“It is shameful that people are suing to get money from the dunes that are protecting them from storms. We as taxpayers are paying millions of dollars to restore beaches and build dunes to protect lives and property, and now we have to pay them for the privilege. We have found that one of the lessons from Hurricane Sandy is that natural systems like vegetative dunes and coastal marshes work much better protecting people and property than manmade, which are better for the environment. These property’s owners have been selfish caring about their views more than their property or their neighbors,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “If another storm like Sandy came and these dunes weren’t there, property owners would be coming back for the public to bail them out.”

The Point Pleasant Beach owners were the first jury awards since a 2013 state Supreme Court ruling requiring that the protective benefits of a sand dune on a property’s value be considered against the decreased value from loss of land and ocean views. The high court ruling involved homeowners in Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island.

“If those dunes weren’t there and these houses were destroyed, they’d be the first ones running to FEMA for a bailout. In 2013, Homeowners in Harvey Cedars sued wanting compensation for the dunes being close to their property. The Supreme Court sided with the state of New Jersey that the building of dunes was not a taking. This decision is important since some of the hardest hit areas during Hurricane Sandy were protected because of dunes including Harvey Cedars. Many of the areas without dunes got devastated with these areas now wanting money to rebuild, but still do not want put dunes,” said Tittel. “We cannot rebuild the Shore smarter and better without building dunes. That is why we cannot be spending money that is supposed to go towards protecting our towns from future storms for the sake of a private ocean view.”

Dunes are vitally important to the coast of New Jersey they protect against beach erosion, provide habitats for all types of species, and just as important protect property from storms and storm surges. Those dunes are what protected the couple’s house form LBI during Sandy while other areas without dunes sustained major damage.

“These people want more money to replenish their beaches and their homes but they don’t the public to be on their beach. This is downright selfish. The cost is going to go up for taxpayers because there are close to 7500 ocean front lots for easements. Now with the recent pay outs, this can jeopardize state efforts to protect our beaches. What’s even worse is that without funding for dunes, more people, and more properties are in harm’s way,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Instead of spending billions of dollars to protect these homes, we should let nature just take its course.”