Hinckley Allen claimed an important win for private property rights in Rhode Island last week. In Roth v. Rhode Island, Hinckley Allen challenged the constitutionality of newly enacted state legislation that significantly...more
In June 2023, the Rhode Island General Assembly enacted legislation granting the public expanded “privileges of the shore,” including but not limited to the right to fish from the shore, to swim in the sea and to pass along...more
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, along with Lt. Governor Jon Husted and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik, recently announced a $152 million investment in projects “to transform communities along Ohio’s...more
Chapter 91 of the Massachusetts General Laws, otherwise known as the Public Waterfront Act, is the primary law protecting the public’s rights to use and access the coastal tidelands of the Commonwealth. First adopted in 1866,...more
In Rhode Island, public access advocates, as well as local and state officials, continue efforts to secure access for the public to and along the shore. My August post, “How About a Walk on the Beach,” summarized the history...more
Managed retreat—the process of moving people and property away from the shoreline—is an unpopular but increasingly accepted response to rising sea-levels. In the inaugural issue of Nossaman’s California Water Views – 2023...more
August. Dog days of summer. And also the best time to take a relaxing stroll along the beach. But where? Public beaches are often still crammed if you can find a place to park. But many of us know of a public access path to...more
The Boston Globe is reporting on NIMBY opposition to a clam shack on Nantucket's Straight Wharf. It seems that residents of the adjacent North Wharf are concerned that the clam shack will increase noise in the neighborhood...more
Dear YouDig?, We bought a gorgeous waterfront lot on the shores of Lake Erie near the adventurous Lake Erie Islands. We love being on the water and we love boating so naturally we wanted our own dock and breakwall. Turns...more
At the core of Oregon’s coordinated land-use-planning law are 19 “statewide planning goals.” These goals set forth policy and directives that local governments must follow in crafting their planning ordinances and zoning...more
In Plaquemines Parish et al. v. Chevron et al., the U. S. Fifth Circuit has ruled on whether 42 suits brought by six parishes and the Louisiana Attorney General against a number of oil companies belongs in federal court or...more
Key Points:- The San Antonio Court of Appeals held property owners lacked standing to sue over lowering dam gates because the damages they alleged were not specific to them but suffered by the public at large...more
The Superior Court’s April 1, 2021 decision in Armstrong v. Theoharides (pdf) was no April Fool’s joke and could have far-reaching consequences for Massachusetts waterfront development. In a case against the Secretary of...more
The $908 billion stimulus package (COVID-19 Relief Package 2.0) that was signed into law on December 27, 2020, which was attached to a $1.4 trillion spending bill to fund the federal government through September, was an...more
On Oct. 19, 2020, the City Planning Commission certified for public review a proposed citywide text amendment known as Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency (ZCFR). The proposal seeks to update and make permanent those zoning...more
If you know someone with property that borders, is adjacent to, or abuts a natural lake, pond, bay, sea, or ocean, they may have littoral property rights. What that means is they may have the right to build a pier out to the...more
Manhattan Beach’s short-term rental ban voided until state Coastal Commission approves - The Beach Reporter – July 30 - The Los Angeles Superior Court late last month voided Manhattan Beach’s short term rental law,...more
At the end of June, in Hill RHF Housing Partners, L.P. v. City of Los Angeles, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s denial of a challenge to the City of Los Angeles’s June 2017 establishment of the Downtown Center...more
On November 25, 2019, the California Court of Appeal ruled that the public’s use of a road for more than half a century to access Martin’s Beach was permissive, and therefore “did not ripen into a public dedication that would...more
As a coastal region confronting the impacts of climate change, South Florida must continue to advance urban resiliency and sustainability innovations through public investments, regulations, and private sector incentives that...more
In the second half of this year the Massachusetts Appeals Court decided three cases in which a party claimed adverse possession or prescriptive rights in real estate. In each case the focus was on one particular element of...more
This blog post is about walls and fences (but probably not the ones you may be thinking about). The walls of concern to this blog post are located in the Town of Geneva, in a part of the state known as the Finger Lakes...more
The Supreme Court, Suffolk County recently upheld a determination of the Southampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) perhaps ending a lengthy and controversial review of the development of a day camp on residentially...more
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The California Constitution contains a similar provision. Reading these constitutional...more
In a recent published decision, the California Court of Appeal had the opportunity to address this issue when the property owners of a beachside residence in the City of Los Angeles challenged a setback condition that the...more