DaPoppa - No more taxpayer dollars to build dams in north Jersey? No more tax payer dollars to aid flooded properties along the Delaware, Passaic or Raritan Rivers? No more taxpayer dollars to aid in wild fires? I don't recall a cry for eminent domain on those counts. We live in a coastal state. The operative word in that statement is "WE." Private beach owners have an obligation to rebuild the dunes. If they do not in fairly short order, the town should do so and send the bill to the property owner. If they do not pay the bill, then open up the land to public access. I don't like the end game in the perpetual easement argument. It makes it way too easy for a town to knock on anybody's door and take away their home. It's kind of like changing the rules in the middle of the game for a property owner. Public access is not an issue of public safety. The dunes, however, are.

Donna, where exactly did I say no more tax dollars to do the rebuilding necessary to repair any of those items? No where. What I did say is I am tired of paying tax dollars to do this rebuilding on private land, then being denied free and unfettered access, as the owners, businesses, towns block access. And if you didn't hear cries of eminent domain in those other instances, you weren't listening. Why continue to pay to rebuild in areas that should not be built on with taxpayer dollars? So the private owners build again in flood prone areas? So we can bail them out? So they can block access to land we help rebuild? I don't think so. Pay them fair market value for the land, and clear out flood prone areas. The cost is not just the rebuild, think of the costs of evacuation and rescue. It's staggering, and the taxpayers bear the brunt.

I think there is a lot of people who feel the same way as you do!

DP - I inferred it when you said "...replenish the beaches with taxpayer money?" I'm not so sure that we are not on the same page, however. I'm simply saying that towns over many decades have allowed and legislated for "private" oceanfront property ownership. I say yet again, the dunes are a matter of public safety. Rebuild them NOW. To wrap beach access in perpetuity into the matter is an argument better suited for another day. Laws would need to be changed and to have vulnerable towns subjected to the slow-moving local and state legislative processes is ridiculous at this point. If a gas leak were detected on your property, it would be repaired immediately. It isn't a question as to who is going to take care of the bill as the leak presents an imminent threat to property owners. I liken the dune argument to the same principal. For towns, such as Ortley Beach, to want to attempt to kill two birds with one stone by muddying the process with beach access issues is endangering the citizens on the barrier island (and on the mainland). PUT THE DUNES UP EVERYWHERE. Argue the other issues later.

Wah Wah Wah

AS a nj lbi resident ...we pay to go on the beaches ,even owning on the island ...$35. a season ..it is not free

Does anybody know what Brick fees are compared to private property owners who pay for their own lifeguards? Maybe a little more then $35 per year.

J - To be effective, you would lose the ocean view. That is what the homeowners of Midway Beach sacrificed and they faired very well during Sandy. The dunes would need to be at least 20 ft. high by about 40+ feet wide.

Didn't a couple from LBI sue the town for this. Ocean view blocked by DUNES!

rureally - Thank the judge on that one. The same happened to an oceanfront owner in Deal and she lost her home, but said it was worth it to live with her precious oceanview for even one day. I have a feeling her flooded neighbors might think differently. Again, the dunes are a matter of public safety that impacts EVERY property owner nearby. The rebuild of those dunes ought to be non-negotiable. Either change the laws henceforth and do not allow for private beach ownership or change the building codes today to not allow for the rebuild of those properties without the aggressive dune system necessary to protect the public.

I wonder the same thing. One of the reason's I frequent the shore so much is the scenery. If I am looking at huge mounds of sand I will go elsewhere.

Bye Bye ray - please go elsewhere. Let us protect our towns.

How about the people that won 340k in a tax appeal litigation because their view was obstructed. They lost the view, but their house survived the storm. What would their ocean view look like if they were floating across Burlington County? All on the taxpayer dime. How darr the public access the water or the dunes they paid for. Damn.

Seabright did great in the storm with those walls JA.

Wow, how uniformed can you be. Seabright was trashed.

http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2012/11/sea_bright_mayor_tells_residents_we_will_rebuild_a_better_sea_bright_with_photo_gallery.html

The dunes at Island Beach State Park were not 25' high nor were they maintained. But while the Governor supports putting up those needed dunes, for some reason - like maybe his summer mansion view would be blocked - he has excluded that six miles from the program. It is bound to have a negative effect on the Back Bay areas as the lack of dunes did throughout Sandy.

Please, stop shouting at us. It is extremely rude!
You want to trash the entire beach economy by removing everything between Ocean Ave & A Street? What about the businesses? Plus, just where are all those people you intend to displace from their homes to go? Public housing?
The houses that are wrecked were mainly a less sturdy type of construction. The waters were able to move them because they had no real anchorage. The solid structures with better foundations that usually included basements are still there, & can be made habitable again. Replacement with better built houses will prevent most future losses by upgrading to storm hardened structures.
When the boardwalk is rebuilt to reflect current storm codes, it's pillions will be sunk 25 feet deep, rather than the 5 feet that gave way under Sandy. With properly reinforced storm strapping that the old structure lacked, the boardwalk will serve as a better buffer teamed up with the dunes that were already created for that area.
Small mainland shore towns cannot simply abandon the shoreline because that zone provides most of the revenue for locals. It also funnels a substantial portion of that money into the rest of New Jersey. The income derived directly from the shore provides services for towns & cities far inland after it goes into state coffers to be redistributed.
You suggestion urges us to slaughter the sea bird that lays the golden eggs. Please rethink this.

Even if feasible, that would only apply to towns with houses located on the beach, and is irrelevant to towns like Belmar, Spring Lake, etc., where the closest houses are separated from the beach by road and boardwalk.

The government needs to stop wasting taxpayer money on rebuilding. If you choose to live there face the risks.

Maybe algore and obama can just drink it all or send it to kenya I think there is a drought there.

that's what happens when you let big government run every facet of your life....bohica