Date : Tue, 10 Feb 2015 11:04:34 -0500
For Immediate Release
February 9, 2015
Contact Jeff Tittel
Yesterday the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee passed S2143 (Van Drew), which establishes time periods for adverse possession of certain property. The non-partisan Office of Legislative Services opinion on this legislation, states very clearly, that it is unconstitutional. In order to carry out this legislation there would need to be a constitutional amendment. New Jersey for over 200 years has had a law in place that states that any properties that were touched by tidal waters are held in the public trust for the people of New Jersey. The law further states, that any properties that were created by fill, below the mean high tide line, belong to the people of New Jersey. Many of these lands that were filled in are the first areas to flood when there is a storm and are the most vulnerable lands in the state to sea level rise and storm surges. This means when someone fills in tidal lands they are actually building on property that belongs to all of us. The property owners have to compensate the people of New Jersey for the use of those lands that are ours.
"This bill in this form would undermine the Public Trust Doctrine, which helped to create the Hudson River walkway, beach access, and fishing access along the Bays. We are concerned that this legislation would be used to extinguish our rights to use these resources that belong to all of us, including public access to beaches, fishing, and access to public walkways. This is an outrageous giveaway, not only of public rights, but of public money. This bill takes the side of landowners and others who have filled in lands they had no right to fill in, over the public trust. Many of these properties were built in wetland or tidal areas illegally. They have had significant impacts on the environment, adding to flooding, storm water pollution, and other problems. When you build on tidal lands you not only fill in environmentally sensitive areas, but create more flooding impacting other properties. In many cases they have destroyed important coastal wetlands, major migratory bird stopovers, as well as areas that are habitat for threatened and endangered species. New Jersey has a way of dealing with these properties through the Tidelands Council. They make sure properties are not adding additional fill or impacting the environment, which they then can settle these claims. We have a system that works for the environment and the people of New Jersey. This bill is trying to change that system to have it work for a select few landowners, while threatening public trust and public access," said Jeff Tittel, Director of The New Jersey Sierra Club.
Tidal lands in New Jersey are held in the public trust. This legislation would violate that trust. The Public Trust Doctrine goes back to Roman times and is embodied in New Jersey Constitution. Under this bill, a property owner who has owned property for more than 40 years, that property owner owns that property outright and does not have to pay claims to the people of New Jersey for that land. Money from the sale of these properties has been used for education. This legislation would bar the state of New Jersey from any claims to riparian land or compensation. This bill not only cuts off claims, but there is no more monetary compensation to the people of New Jersey. The bill does not provide any review of lost value to the state or the impact on public trust. New Jersey has a process for selling and leasing the riparian lands, based on the state constitution. This bill is unconstitutional and violates the long standing history of legislation in New Jersey.
"These lands are technically owned by the people of New Jersey and are held in the public trust. This bill sells out the people of New Jersey and our school children. This bill is robbing our school children at a time when we do not have enough money to fund education. This law violates our trust and sides with, in many cases, wealthy property owners against not only the environment and people of New Jersey. This legislation is unwarranted, unconstitutional, and unneeded," said Tittel.