Article reprinted from Atlantic City Press

Avalon sues state DEP; calls beach-fund rules 'bureaucratic extortion'

By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, 609-463-6716
Published: Wednesday, November 14, 2007
AVALON - The borough has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against the state Department of Environmental Protection over a state-aid agreement that Avalon officials believe is too broad, according to a borough news release.
In the complaint filed Nov. 9, Avalon officials are disputing some sections of an agreement drafted by the DEP that requires the borough to provide additional parking spaces and public bathrooms near the beach.

Mayor Martin L. Pagliughi, reached via telephone Tuesday, said that the agreement amounts to "bureaucratic extortion."

Pagliughi said the borough's beaches were "whacked pretty good last spring and this summer" and are in need of replenishment.

The borough is slated to undergo a beach replenishment project in 2008 under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is also looking at doing its own smaller project in the meantime, but both could be held up by the agreement, Pagliughi said.

"They're holding everybody hostage with these state-aid agreements," Pagliughi said, "And jeopardizing the state's $35 billion tourism industry."
The agreement incorporates rules, yet to be adopted, that appear to require, among other things, that shorefront communities acquire land, through condemnation if necessary, to add additional parking for beachgoers, the borough's news release said.

Avalon officials addressed their concerns earlier this year about the agreement through an official resolution; a copy was sent to the DEP, but the borough received no response.

The borough has paid very close attention to the agreement, given that a survey taken during summer 2005 showed that 71 percent of the people who visited Avalon did so primarily because of the community's beaches.

Avalon maintains it already has 62 public access points along its four miles of beachfront that provide an average of 15 access points per mile. According to the state, there are 1,300 public access points on the state's 127-mile long coast.

The aid agreement, which the DEP had asked shore communities to sign by Nov. 6, asks local towns to commit to the following:

n Provide parking sufficient to accommodate public demand to access the project and the beach capacity of all beaches along that portion of the waterway on which the project occurs. n Provide public access ways to all beaches; the linear distance between public access ways shall not exceed one-quarter mile.

n Provide public restroom facilities at intervals of no more than one half -mile, and within one-quarter mile of the landward edge of the beach or dune.

n Provide 24-hour access to all areas deemed to be subject to the Public Trust Doctrine, including marinas.

"The reality is Avalon already provides generous public access points and parking", Pagliughi said in the news release.

According to the borough, it provides 5,700 on-street parking spaces in addition to 550 parking spots in lots for day-trippers, with 370 of them within a quarter-mile of the beach. Under terms of the agreement, however, Avalon officials fear they could possibly have to create even more parking spaces, either through private-property acquisition or eminent domain to satisfy state guidelines.

The borough also fears the agreement would require that Avalon create more public bathrooms near the beach, more than what Avalon currently provides, with the addition of portable/public bathrooms.

Avalon currently provides 15 public bathrooms for the community, which is four miles long and one mile wide. Four of those 15 public bathrooms are located very close to the beach.

Avalon officials also are concerned about language that would require Avalon and other shore communities to provide unfettered, 24-hour access to all tidal water areas, including fishing piers and marinas. Pagliughi believes that this would increase the liability of the municipality and mandate the time frame of when these facilities could be used.

"Avalon is not the only shore town that has major problems with the state-aid agreement", Pagliughi said in the release. "I've spoken with officials in other shore towns who share the same exact concerns that we do. Now, we're forced either to sign an agreement that could put our community at risk of making open-ended financial commitments, in exchange for funding from the state for valuable beach-nourishment projects. That's why we're challenging this agreement in court."


To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:

TGilfillian@pressofac.com