The Toms River...private property?

[Stu]

I currently work right on the Toms River. Outside the property is fenced and there are 'Private Property' signs on our side of the fence. Does that mean that part of the river is privately owned? I see people canoeing & fishing it all the time. Or does it mean whoever put the signs up faced them the wrong way?

[bach2yoga]

I could be wrong--but I thought that while someone could own the land that water is on, they didn't actually own the water itself. So you can own the dock or the slip or whatever, but the water it is on is not privately owned.

We have a stream through our yard and that is what the DEP told us.
So any signs should be referring to land or buildings or other structures. Maybe they just posted it wrong or it got turned around?

Renee

[BEHR655]

Just remember, if he's standing there with a shotgun when you go by, he is right. :rolleyes:

[bach2yoga]

Just remember, if he's standing there with a shotgun when you go by, he is right. :rolleyes:

Yeh, I don't think I would argue with that....

[bach2yoga]

I spoke with Cari Wild of NJ Natural Lands Trust yesterday about this. She handles land aquisitions for the trust.

She says that since the Magna Carta, all navigable waters are held in public trust. The land is held by the landowner, but not the water.

In the case of a tidal area, the high water line is owned by the person, and below is in public trust; this is called riparian right of state.

She talked about the pendulum that sways periodically between the private property owners rights and the public rights, and brought up the recent beach club in Cape May that was charging 10,000/ year for the right to access the beach. The situation was a bit different, but essentially what she was getting at, she said, is that private property rights are eroding at this time and the pendulum is swaying toward the public trust.

Someone, like Joe Darlington in Whitesbogs, can have water rights, however--which means they have formed an agreement with the state to keep up the water. So he can dike, etc., for the bogs, and care for the water via his water right agreement with the state.

Hope that helps.
Renee

[JIMBO]

Ocean Counties tax maps and owners are on line at the County Clerks Office website.