A $5 million project on Long Beach Island to restore the eroding beachfront is stymied by homeowners who don't want to allow easements through their property.
"The state cannot compel a group of homeowners on Long Beach Island to grant access to their beachfront property for a beach replenishment project on the fragile barrier island without first exhausting all its options, the Appellate Division ruled yesterday."
"'The core issue here is whether the state can force a private property owner, by way of preliminary injunction, to grant a perpetual public access easement without first following the procedures in the eminent domain act,' the ruling said. 'We are satisfied that the answer to this question is 'no.'
The impasse has virtually halted the beach replenishment project on Long Beach Island.
The Army Corps started work in Surf City in late 2006, but that project closed beaches early in the following spring just weeks before Memorial Day weekend. The sand pumped from the ocean floor onto the beach contained more than 1,000 unexploded World War I-era ordnance most likely dumped in the ocean before such offshore dumping was banned, officials have said."
FULL STORY: Court sides with residents in beach battle
Conservation Easement Program Protects 100,000 Acres of Agricultural Land in New York State
A state famous for its largest city is making a concerted effort to protect agricultural lands as part of a larger national push.
Oceanside Debates the Future of its Coastline
As sea levels rise, California's coastal communities face difficult decisions about how to preserve coastlines and mitigate the looming threat.
Trails and Rails Battle in San Francisco Bay Shoreline Park
Can freight trains and a scenic shoreline park along San Francisco Bay coexist, or are they incompatible uses? The East Bay Regional Park District voted to remove old rail tracks that BNSF Railway wants to reactivate. A local court may decide.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Has Anyone at USDOT Read Donald Shoup?
USDOT employees, who are required to go back to the office, will receive free parking at the agency’s D.C. offices — flying in the face of a growing research body that calls for pricing parking at its real value.
EPA Terminates $116 Million in Grants for Reducing Emissions from Construction Materials
C-MORE grants were earmarked for industry trade groups and universities.
BART Closes $35 Million Deficit
Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.
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