Raleigh Avenue Beach Assn. v. Atlantis Beach Club

879 A.2d 112 (2005)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Atlantis Beach Club, Inc. (D) is the successor in title to a Riparian Grant from the State of New Jersey. Until 1996, the beach on D's property was open to the public free-of-charge. In the summer of 1996 D established a private beach club known at the time as Club Atlantis Enterprises. The club charged a fee of $300 for six seasonal beach tags. The membership fee for new members and members who had joined the beach club in 2002 was set at $700 for the 2003 summer season. Members were entitled to eight beach tags per household. D also sold 'Access Easements' at $10,000 each, paid in cash. Easement holders were required to pay an annual membership fee determined by dividing the actual costs associated with operating the beach club by the total number of members to arrive at the holder's proportionate share. Tony Labrosciano, a member of the Association (P), was issued a summons for trespassing when he attempted to leave the wet sand area and walk across the D property to the eastern terminus of Raleigh Avenue in order to take the most direct route back to his home. D filed an Order to Show Cause and Verified Complaint against Labrosciano, other unnamed persons, to enjoin Labrosciano and members of his class from 'trespassing, entering onto and accessing' the D property, and declaring that Atlantis is not required to provide the public with access to or use of any portion of its property or the adjacent ocean. P filed a complaint against D and claimed that D was in violation of the public trust doctrine and sought free public access through the D property to the beach, and to a sufficient amount of dry sand above the mean high water line to permit the public to enjoy the beach and beach-related activities. The trial court issued a ruling from the bench, holding that the public was entitled to a right of horizontal access to the ocean by means of 'a three-foot wide strip of dry sand, immediately landward of the mean high water line and extending from the northern to the southern boundaries, which may be utilized by the public, at no charge, for the purpose of entering into and exiting from' the area located below the mean high water line. The trial court also held that the public was entitled to limited vertical access to the ocean, consisting of a path from the bulkhead through the dunes on the property. In the court's view, 'the Public Trust Doctrine does not apply to permit the Department to regulate the use of the Beach Area.' The State and P appealed. The Appellate Division reaffirmed that 'Atlantis cannot limit vertical or horizontal public access to its dry sand beach area nor interfere with the public's right to free use of the dry sand for intermittent recreational purposes connected with the ocean and wet sand.' D could charge a fee to members of the public who remain on and use its beach for an extended period of time, as long as D cleans the beach, picks up trash regularly, and provides shower facilities. D was required to provide customary lifeguard services for members of the public who use the ocean areas up to the mean high water line, regardless of whether those individuals remain on the D beach area or merely pass through. D appealed. D maintains that persons who are not members of the Beach Club may only walk along the three feet of dry sand that lie landward of the mean high water line.