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8 SandBar 1 (2009-2010)

handle is hein.journals/sndbr8 and id is 1 raw text is: Legal Reporter for the National Sea Grant College Program

Our coastal resources face a variety of com-
peting uses, including fisheries and aquacul-
ture, seafood processing, trade, energy pro-
duction, tourism, and recreation. Develop-
ment pressures and shifting coastlines threat-
en water-dependent industries and water and
beach access for coastal residents. Ad-
ditionally, our coasts face immense popula-
tion pressures. In fact, more than fifty percent
of our nation's residents live in coastal coun-
ties. In this edition of The SandBar, we have
focused on various issues surrounding coastal
development.
One of the most critical chal-
lenges to coastal development
is public access to the coasts.
While the public has the right
of access to the shore through
common law, landowners along
the coast enjoy private proper-
ty rights. In this issue, a feder-
al district court case highlights
the problem. In that instance,
the court struck down the New
Jersey's public access require-
ments for municipalities.
The cases also highlight chal-
lenges of local zoning boards
struggling to balance the
rights of coastal landowners to

develop their property and the need to pre-
serve the coast from undue development. For
instance, a Connecticut court affirmed a local
board's variance allowing construction within
a setback, while a Massachusetts court over-
turned a board's decision allowing a septic
system in a coastal dune.
Please enjoy the issue, and, as always, feel free
to contact us with any thoughts and comments
that you might have. We are here to serve you,
so please let us know how we are doing.9

Beach scene courtesy of ©Nova D eelopment Corp.

Coastal Development Issue

A IDBAR

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